day shot with olympus, night shot with?

[drektster]

i like the colors of imges taken by olympus, however my e300 does not take nice night shot.

instead of buying a new body. i was thinking of buying a camera for overall shot and night shot.

recently i was thinking of panasonic lx3. do u guys think it is a good decision?

[egnaro]

Hi,

I am just wondering why dun you consider upgrade your existing body to a pro? like E3 or wait for E30?

[ttiongch]

I have bought a LX3 for the reason exactly the same as yours. I wanted a P&S camera which can produce decent night shots when I don't feel like carrying the bulky DSLR.

[Evilmerlin]

Care to define what you mean by "e300 does not take nice night shot"? What problems are you facing?

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by drektster i like the colors of imges taken by olympus, however my e300 does not take nice night shot. instead of buying a new body. i was thinking of buying a camera for overall shot and night shot. recently i was thinking of panasonic lx3. do u guys think it is a good decision?

any dslr camera can take nice night shots

unless you are talking about night portraits with the subject in sharp focus, etc

then you need a flash and/or fast lens and maybe better iso capabilities

[Khair76]

day shot with olympus, night shot with olympus on tripod

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by Khair76 day shot with olympus, night shot with olympus on tripod

Well, with practice you can even leave the tripod at home...here's a handheld shot with the E-330 with 14-42mm @14 for 2.5 seconds:



One of the earliest things I was taught was how to breathe when taking pictures. I've also taken night shots with the E-300, but they are buried in CDs.

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh Well, with practice you can even leave the tripod at home...here's a handheld shot with the E-330 with 14-42mm @14 for 2.5 seconds:

[microcosm]

Once again, before the discussion thread goes into our usual chatroom talk, here is my view about the TS question.

I believe your question comes from your concern about the E-300's usually very warm auto WB colours and noise (due to the sensor being the Kodak CCD) when you shoot in the night, but if you are shooting in RAW, usually that is not a major issue really. Something that you have to learn to handle. But again, the E-300 produces very nice warm skin tones and is one of the most collected "outdated models" of Olympus E-System cameras. That I believe is the reason why you are still hanging on to it. It is a very capable camera in day light shooting.

If you are looking at a good performing high ISO camera with good noise suppression for handheld night shooting with fast shutter speed, then I am afraid you should be looking at the new Nikon D700 camera. But this means you will have to end up getting 2 systems to satisfy your shooting requirements.

For me, I get by with the E-3 and I love noise and love what I can do to manipulate noise to get the images that I want, and controling light properly (do not under expose your shots in low light), disruptive noise is kept under control and images can turn out to be very nice with a certain amount of controlled noise, but this is subjective. People these days like 3D-animation like noise free images. I don't know why, but well, everyone have their preferences.

But if you are looking at a spare/standby camera and something that helps you shoot at higher ISO, (but compromising on handling), then the LX-3 maybe for you. remember one thing, the LX-3 is a compact camera and the handling might not be what you think. Why not meet up with a LX-3 user and have a chance to handle the camera in low light and make up your decision after handling one?

For me, I am very blown away by the Panasonic G1 after handling it both using LV and the EVF. Though the EVF feels a little weird (too much contrast) but it is something that I can get used to, and with the (quite expensive) adapter, you can still use your 4/3 lens from your E-300.

I believe another solution is buying faster lenses (like those Sigma 30mm f1.4) or discipline yourself to use a tripod or master the handling of a cheaper but well made monopod.

If you are looking at "a lazy way out in low light" like I did, then save up like me, to buy a D700 and some Nikon F mount lenses.

- - -

Summary :

• Use a tripod/monopod
• Try out LX-3 first before buying
• Consider also the Panasonic G1 or wait for Olympus m43 system
• Buy a fast lens for low light photography
• Consider moving to Nikon D700 for high ISO performance
• Don't shoot at night?

- - -

Hope this helps you. Maybe join us for our kopi session where we can all discuss in depth about this subject. This is something that we should all think about carefully. Don't discount your E-300 because there are more to it than you think it can do. Shooting in RAw and tweak later is a lazy but fast way, or you can carry a white card and do white balancing before you shoot, and things like that. If you are only using the kit lens with the E-300, then maybe you might want to consider a faster 14-54mm f2.8mm lens. The one light stop does make a difference. And of course, there are the Sigma 30mm f1.4...

happy shooting and hope this helps you with your thoughts about buying a LX-3. The only good thing I feel with buying the LX-3 is that its small size means you have another option when you are feeling like taking photos but not in the mood to lug a DSLR out with you, or in some cases, DLSRs are not allowed at some places.

[nightpiper]

Originally Posted by microcosm If you are looking at "a lazy way out in low light" like I did, then save up like me, to buy a D700 and some Nikon F mount lenses.

U bought the D700? I'm looking at 3 sys to satisfy my needs. Hahahaha

i'm also looking at a P&S, the LX3 no matter how solid at low ISO 80 also lose out to the entry level DSLRs with much bigger sensor. For convenient sake, think its ok U have any P&S to recommend? Buying one b4 this xmas

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by ttiongch I have bought a LX3 for the reason exactly the same as yours. I wanted a P&S camera which can produce decent night shots when I don't feel like carrying the bulky DSLR.

Seems like a common excuse to get LX3. Me too

[viewwing]

For P&S night shot... if you can still find the F31FD (6MP, 1/1.7 SCCD)from fuji... thats quite an amazing piece of art... it manages to go up to iso 400 without much problems... and if you're not that picky about image quality and just want to capture a night "moment" its iso3200 has a neat feature that cleans up the picture pretty well.

Its successor F50FD (12MP, 1/1.6) bigger sensor, is still around for sale in shops... but i thought its not as good as its predecessor... but still a great night shot P&S.

Hope this helps

[bruno84sg]

Well... no matter wat, a compact camera always has more limitation and nv beats DSLR. Unless the compact camera has got at least a 4/3 sensor size (waiting for Olympus M43)
LX3 cost $689 from AP... u might as well get E420 1st or 2nd hand.

For night shot... I've read the <Digital Photography Book> by Scott Kelby. He said to differentiate a pro and not, the pro will use tripod in any situation. It makes sense and I think even a full-frame cam user will use tripod for nite shot too.

[microcosm]

Originally Posted by bruno84sg Well... no matter wat, a compact camera always has more limitation and nv beats DSLR. Unless the compact camera has got at least a 4/3 sensor size (waiting for Olympus M43) LX3 cost $689 from AP... u might as well get E420 1st or 2nd hand. For night shot... I've read the <Digital Photography Book> by Scott Kelby. He said to differentiate a pro and not, the pro will use tripod in any situation. It makes sense and I think even a full-frame cam user will use tripod for nite shot too.

Kinda funny... I would love to see him covering war, events, wedding AD, photojournalism with a tripod... I think he will be podded to death...

It depends on what you are shooting, really... if you are shooting products, landscape, stills... yes, it makes a lot of sense and it is rewarding to use a tripod. Even my last outing at the zoo, I was using a monopod for a lot of shots... it eliminates a lot of shake which will compromise the sharpness.

[night86mare]

Originally Posted by bruno84sg For night shot... I've read the <Digital Photography Book> by Scott Kelby. He said to differentiate a pro and not, the pro will use tripod in any situation. It makes sense and I think even a full-frame cam user will use tripod for nite shot too.

i'm quite sure he meant that for landscape photography..

[drakon09]

Originally Posted by bruno84sg For night shot... I've read the <Digital Photography Book> by Scott Kelby. He said to differentiate a pro and not, the pro will use tripod in any situation. It makes sense and I think even a full-frame cam user will use tripod for nite shot too.

If you take a quote like this out of context, you may paint Mr Scott Kelby as totally inept photographer.

[Mikefellh]

Originally Posted by bruno84sg For night shot... I've read the <Digital Photography Book> by Scott Kelby. He said to differentiate a pro and not, the pro will use tripod in any situation.

If he really said that I wouldn't trust anything he says...one of the silliest things I've ever heard. Then again you should always question a pundit who's getting paid for their advice (i.e. buying their book)...they will only say what's guaranteed to work.

The only REAL difference between a pro and not is the pro gets paid for their work.

I was at the fair last year and myself and another photographer were taking pictures of a ride at night...the other photographer had an expensive tripod and used a $500 light meter, while I shot handheld and used my experience to set the shutter speed and aperture. My shots were as steady as the streetfest image I posted above...do you think the other photographer's images would be better because they used a tripod and a light meter?

When it comes to advice I prefer someone giving it freely rather than being paid (the "free advice is worth what you pay for it" saying notwithstanding). While Ken Rockwell does get some money from advertisers and donations, he has advice that's at least sensible:

from http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/tripods.htm
"It's a common misconception among photo teachers and amateurs that tripods are good, although no one really knows why. I guess some people just associate tripods with serious photography."

from http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digi...-my-tripod.htm
"Most people associate tripods with professional photography because they were required for the first two centuries of photography. High school photo teachers have been scaring students with "use a tripod or your photos will be fuzzy" stories for decades. This was the case before digital."

I admit there is a time that I DO use a tripod, in the studio or when I'm doing tabletop photography...but those are times when I want to repeat the same shot over and over again. And of course I'll use it if I need to be in front of the camera. And except for the times I need to put a flash or light on a tripod, my tripods collect dust.

[bruno84sg]

wow... u guys r so responsive!

I took this phrase out is to agree is to tell the owner of the thread to use tripod for nite scenery shot. Haa.

[b-a-k]

for me the use of tripod is to guarantee some shots... like light trails...long exposures etc
or if i have enough time and space.
otherwise i'm too lazy to set up a tripod, a monopod maybe.
time wasting la...

tried going travelling lugging a tripod around... look pro la all the equipment and all... but
suffer like mad..macham going route march so many barang barang...

so i cannot associate the use of tripod with being pro... its just a tool...used to achieve certain effects or overcome certain constraints...

[Kit]

Originally Posted by Mikefellh Well, with practice you can even leave the tripod at home...here's a handheld shot with the E-330 with 14-42mm @14 for 2.5 seconds: One of the earliest things I was taught was how to breathe when taking pictures. I've also taken night shots with the E-300, but they are buried in CDs.

This is a textbook example showing why tripods are still a necessacity. Thank you.