Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? < on 10/16/2010 4:24 PM >
I posted the below comment on the photo-critique forum, and thought it might make a good topic in itself...
Last night was at a local concert venue and noticed how good some of the images were on the live view on the cell phone cameras, and point and shoots, being used. Obviously no tripods, and no flashes.
I think that with sensor technology evolving and the advantage of the simple, relatively wide-angle lenses on these cameras allow for some surprisingly good low light photography.
I'm wondering which p&s cameras are best suited for the low light imagery we indulge in.
Any recommendations or suggestions? dyslexic, astygmatistic, & spastic.
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 1 on 10/16/2010 6:38 PM >
At least from what I've seen, Canon P&S's have less noisy images than nikon ones. This should lead to the ability to use a relatively high ISO and still have an OK photo...
Also CHDK exists so you can set the exposure time and ISO manually to whatever you'd like. (good if you plan on using a tripod of some sort) [last edit 10/16/2010 6:45 PM by vov35 - edited 1 times] "Only sheep need a shepherd." -- Voltaire
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 4 on 10/17/2010 6:01 PM >
Thanks for the info, an informative comparison.
The images I've seen taken by the Panasonic LX3 are impressive. Even the Canon S90 seems like a good option.
I'm already using a Nikon D200, but cant bring one in to a live show, and I'd like a backup camera that is easy to conceal.
Tried imaging with my fujifilm s700, but most of the images came out blurry or grainy. It's good for certain purposes but maybe not this particular one. Tough to pocket too.
some samples from the s700 straight jpeg post process [last edit 10/17/2010 6:07 PM by FLEW2 - edited 1 times] dyslexic, astygmatistic, & spastic.
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 6 on 10/18/2010 4:37 AM >
Posted by vov35 again: Canon p&s + chdk exposure time up to 2048"
I've used it before. It's not a good option which is why I didn't recommend it.
The interface is not user friendly and doing super long exposures WILL damage your camera.
It's fully manual and the camera can't meter for settings it doesn't know.
basically if you want to try a 60" exposure at iso 100 you need to meter it buy switching back to aperture priority and shooting 15" at iso 400
the max you could possibly meter correctly for bouncing between settings is about four minutes (iso 100 -> 1600) and there's no guarantee of even that.
Also despite what it says inside the menu most if the hacked cameras shut their sensor off after 120" but it still continues the exposure timer and subtracts a dark frame for the same amount of time.
so if you wanted a 10 minute exposure:
the sensor would detect light for the first two and then turn off the camera would continue to take a picture with the sensor off then it makes a dark frame image and subtracts it this takes 10 minutes
so you just wasted 20 minutes to take a 2 minute exposure.
same thing happens if you do the max (120")
it still takes four minutes to make a two minute exposure.
This is why I bought a dslr. No waiting required. This is the same as "long exposure noise reduction in a dslr" which is a waste of time IMO.
With a dslr: if you shoot raw and use photoshop + camera raw there is no need to have "long exposure noise reduction on".
camera raw automatically fixes hot pixels and the noise reduction can be corrected just as well or better in post.
edit sorry chdk's general max before the shutter turns off is 64" not 120" ... some cameras can do longer but not all. [last edit 10/18/2010 4:52 AM by \/adder - edited 2 times] "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 10 on 10/19/2010 2:51 AM >
well actually the sony nex is in a class of it's own it's a 1.5x crop sensor ... maybe I should consider an end to my sony boycott.
I have refused to buy sony products since the 2005 drm fiasco
the Olympus E-P1 and Panasonic Gf1 are the super small 4/3 mirrorless systems "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 11 on 10/19/2010 5:40 PM >
I second the Panasonic LX5 as well as the Olympus EP-1. I have seen both cameras work in low-light and for their size, they do a good job. The one thing I would make sure to do is buy a camera that can shoot RAW, either natively or with a firmware hack.
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 13 on 10/20/2010 12:30 AM >
Posted by vov35 1) my SD1000 did much better... 2) it enables save as raw mode
I really don't see the issue with the UI. Obviously it's not a dslr but it's a performance leap over essentially everything else listed. xD
I don't see how it damages anything?
The sensor wasn't designed to be in use for that much time. Doing ultra long exposures can cause the sensor to overheat and damage the sensor.
I did the hacked firmware thing and then switched to a DSLR. I can never see myself going back to a PnS as my go-to camera.
I have considered buying a LX3 to take with me instead of the dslr for freeclimbing but haven't been able to budget the cash with court and college expenses.
As it looks I will probably upgrade to a 5D or 50D and just take my rebel freeclimbing and not protect it as well as I should. "No risk, no reward, no fun." "Go all the way or walk away" escensi omnis...
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 14 on 10/20/2010 9:46 PM >
Posted by TheVicariousVadder The sensor wasn't designed to be in use for that much time. Doing ultra long exposures can cause the sensor to overheat and damage the sensor.
While I see the reasoning here, no optical sensors I have ever worked with seem to draw that much power...
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 15 on 10/20/2010 11:36 PM >
I was looking at a quality point and shoot as a backup to my DSLR, and as a means of imaging where it is not practical to take an entire kit with me.
Even with the P&S i would still need a tripod which presents it's own issues as far as portability/conceal-ability.
The images that I've seen from the sony alpha nex-5 are impressive, but is more bulky than your standard P&S. [last edit 10/20/2010 11:43 PM by FLEW2 - edited 1 times] dyslexic, astygmatistic, & spastic.
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 17 on 10/21/2010 1:28 AM >
I think the LX3 seem like a good choice, the Zip Shot tripod reminds me of the poles used to support a dome tent. Clever design, I've seen some interesting lightweight tripod designs from manfrotto.
Actually the ideal thing would be a hybrid extending gorillapod type design. dyslexic, astygmatistic, & spastic.
Re: Best point and shoot cameras for low-light photography? <Reply # 19 on 10/28/2010 12:11 AM >
LX3 (used) or g9 or g10 used. I've shot with all three and own the g9. It really sucks at light metering in dawn/dusk light and NEVER gets long exposures at night, so I just don't use it. I'd prefer the lx3 because it's REALLY wide and tolerable at 800iso. "The extraordinary beauty of things that fail." - Heinrich von Kleist
