Question:
Low light photography with a 'Bridge camera'. (Sony HX1) Can anyone help !?
Billy.
2009-05-05 12:37:21 UTC
Up to now I have always used basic digital automatic cameras, but have been very disappointed with holiday snaps taken in low light without a flash.

Ive now taken a step up and bought a Sony HX1 which had good reviews.

I am going to 'Graceland' in the Summer and want to take great shots indoors without the flash (tripod not being an option) and am confused at the options I have.
As I see it I have the following:- Can anyone tell me the best best:-
Hand hend twilight zone
Anti motion blur zone
'ISO' option in 'scene' option (described for taking low light shots without flash)
Set the exposure higher.
Set the ISO higher manually

Is there other options such as 'burst' mode with 3 different pictures at different exposures.

I'm more confused than I ever was !
Six answers:
2009-05-05 15:07:07 UTC
Just had a nosey around the dpreview's full review. Right so it has IS which is handy will gain you an effective 3 stops or so on your aperture for stills. And it seems to work OK at ISO800 thanks to noise reduction, but you do sacrifice some clarity above 400.



You're going to have to force the settings on your camera. Set aperture as wide at possible (f2.8). Switch on your "Steadyshot" image stabilisation. And your exposure time to 1/30th of a second. Then you will need to adjust the ISO to the point where you're getting a sensible exposure. Though it can manage 3200, anything above 800 is pretty unusable.



Read http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydschx1/
David M
2009-05-05 12:54:02 UTC
You don't actually have many more options than you do with a regular point and shoot. You are still limited by the fact that the cameras offer limited manual control and very tiny sensors.



Low light no flash photography requires large aperture lenses and high ISO settings. Since you can't change lenses on your camera you only have one option left and this is the ISO. The problem is that with the tiny sensors on point and shoot cameras anything over ISO 400 is going to be very noisey. There are programs like Noise Ninja that can do a pretty good job of eliminating noise but it can only do so much.



If your camera offers any manual control I would set the aperture to the largest opening you have. This will be the smallest number F2.8 would be best but whatever the largest you have you should use.
keerok
2009-05-06 00:03:37 UTC
I don't have a Sony so these are pure guesswork all the way.



Handheld twilight = Use at dusk. Light is fading and lesser than normal, the camera will be slower so keep your hands very steady as you take the shot. Remember, breathe, press, pause, exhale. No movement whatsoever except for the finger on the shutter. You may try to use this setting also for candle lights and campfires.



Anti motion blur = For stopping fast action. Use when taking action outdoors under bright sun. Pick a spot where you like your subject to be, then aim at your subject, breathe in, follow your subject smoothly, click when you reach the spot, continue following for 1 second then exhale.



ISO option in scene = Darker conditions, higher ISO, poorer picture quality. Photography is the art of recording light. Lesser light, lesser quality photos (unless you know what you're doing).



If you dare go into manual mode, consider the following.



Aperture or the lens diaphragm opening is measured in f-stop numbers. The smaller the number, the bigger the hole, the more light enters.



Shutter speed is measured in fractions of a second. If lesser than one second, 2 would be 1/2 and 250 would be 1/250. In 1 second or more, there usually is an s or sec after the number like 1s or 2sec. The longer the shutter stays open, the more light enters.



The smaller the aperture, the greater depth of field (distance where objects are clear).



The shorter the shutter time, the less chance of blur. You have to balance all of that and frame at the same time to take great photographs.



OR just trust your auto setting and shoot at will and stop confusing yourself.



If you have several shooting modes try to read them up in the manual. Remember that the manual is your best friend. If you don't have a best friend, search for one in the internet.
2016-02-27 10:27:44 UTC
I agree with Morey. I've been very happy with the Fujfilm Finepix F10. It was one of the first compact digital cameras to go up to ISO 1600. It has a larger sensor than most compact digital cameras so it works really well. The F30 is also good. The F50 is tricky because it has twice the pixels, which means each pixels is smaller (gets less light), but it has image stabilization. Pick whichever of those three fits your budget.
?
2017-02-09 07:54:14 UTC
1
2009-05-05 13:06:24 UTC
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