Help in taing the best night shots

apcaw · 12th May 2009

Good day to all.

I still haven't perfected the art/ skill of taking the best night shot. I often get the lights of buildings too glary or over-exposed. I want them crisp and sharp like the great night shots have. Like the ones we see of the HK habour.

I have a Canon Powershot IS S5 and not a SLR. I don't believe one needs to get an SLR to get great shots, right?

The settings I have are the following:

Apeture range of F2.8 to 8.0
Longest shutter speed of 15 sec. Can't go longer than that.
Lowest ISO of 80.
I have AV, TV, M, and night mode (but this pre-set)
I don't have any gray or black card.

What would be the perfect/ suggested settings for the perfect night shot. Like picture the whole city landscape of bulidings.

What ISO, F number, Shutter, with flash or none, etc.

Hope anyone can help me out. Thanks.

catchlights · 12th May 2009

it sound like you are asking us how bright is your room at now. who knows?

each scene has different exposures, we can't tell the exact exposure unless we are there, the most we can give you a range.

15mins after sunset, f8, ISO200, 8 sec, bracket left and right two stops.

btw, not sure is there any flash powerful enough to light up HK habour.

Rashkae · 12th May 2009

Originally Posted by apcaw

I have a Canon Powershot IS S5 and not a SLR. I don't believe one needs to get an SLR to get great shots, right?

Absolutely not true.

Originally Posted by apcaw

The settings I have are the following:
Apeture range of F2.8 to 8.0

Longest shutter speed of 15 sec. Can't go longer than that.

Lowest ISO of 80.

I have AV, TV, M, and night mode (but this pre-set)

I don't have any gray or black card.

What would be the perfect/ suggested settings for the perfect night shot. Like picture the whole city landscape of bulidings.

What ISO, F number, Shutter, with flash or none, etc.

Hope anyone can help me out. Thanks.

You're looking for a magic formula for a setting where we have no idea exactly how many lumens the illumination is.

Have you even bothered to read the guides in the night photography section?

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=85

With your camera, as a starting point, I'd make sure you're on a tripod, use the 10sec shutter delay, and then try f/5.6, ISO 80 or 100, 15 secs. Play with ISO and aperture if it turns out to be too dark/too bright

ortega · 12th May 2009

lowest ISO speed
tripod
aperture of around f8 for a P&S (test and see)
set to aperture priority (if your camera has it)
shoot with self timer

if still too bright then if your camera allows, adjust the exposure compensation to darker
then shoot again and see

apcaw · 12th May 2009

Thanks to all. Will try playing wih the settings more. This is a great forum to be in. Very informative.

12th May 2009	#1
apcaw New Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 8	Help in taing the best night shots Good day to all. I still haven't perfected the art/ skill of taking the best night shot. I often get the lights of buildings too glary or over-exposed. I want them crisp and sharp like the great night shots have. Like the ones we see of the HK habour. I have a Canon Powershot IS S5 and not a SLR. I don't believe one needs to get an SLR to get great shots, right? The settings I have are the following: Apeture range of F2.8 to 8.0 Longest shutter speed of 15 sec. Can't go longer than that. Lowest ISO of 80. I have AV, TV, M, and night mode (but this pre-set) I don't have any gray or black card. What would be the perfect/ suggested settings for the perfect night shot. Like picture the whole city landscape of bulidings. What ISO, F number, Shutter, with flash or none, etc. Hope anyone can help me out. Thanks.

12th May 2009	#2
catchlights Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Punggol Posts: 10,761	Re: Help in taing the best night shots it sound like you are asking us how bright is your room at now. who knows? each scene has different exposures, we can't tell the exact exposure unless we are there, the most we can give you a range. 15mins after sunset, f8, ISO200, 8 sec, bracket left and right two stops. btw, not sure is there any flash powerful enough to light up HK habour. __________________ Shoot to Live, Live to Shoot www.foto-u.com \| www.benjaminloo.com \| email

12th May 2009	#4
ortega Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: NorthEast Posts: 16,505	Re: Help in taing the best night shots lowest ISO speed tripod aperture of around f8 for a P&S (test and see) set to aperture priority (if your camera has it) shoot with self timer if still too bright then if your camera allows, adjust the exposure compensation to darker then shoot again and see __________________ The Law

12th May 2009	#5
apcaw New Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 8	Re: Help in taing the best night shots Thanks to all. Will try playing wih the settings more. This is a great forum to be in. Very informative.