Night shots with Canon Ixus 330

[daphz]

I own a simple, rather old, Canon Ixus 330. Will be going overseas for travellign soon, so I think I will take many photos. Day shots are ok, but I always seem to have problems with night shots. The photos are usually blur, or grainy.

Should I shoot in manual mode? Or auto mode? And if in manual mode, what should I set the ISO to? How about this setting that ranges from -2 to +2. What should I do? any advice for me? thanks.

[megaweb]

Originally Posted by daphz I own a simple, rather old, Canon Ixus 330. Will be going overseas for travellign soon, so I think I will take many photos. Day shots are ok, but I always seem to have problems with night shots. The photos are usually blur, or grainy. Should I shoot in manual mode? Or auto mode? And if in manual mode, what should I set the ISO to? How about this setting that ranges from -2 to +2. What should I do? any advice for me? thanks.

blur ? could be due to instability
grainy ? could be AUTO mode

for nite scenery, u have to use manual mode , lowest ISO , small aperture if possible, mount camera to tripod , ensure the settings is at +0 or min. -1/3 to +1/3 and use timer mode.

[daphz]

I'll be travelling, and I think tripod will just add to my load. What's the alternative to tripod?

[imaginary_number]

Originally Posted by daphz I'll be travelling, and I think tripod will just add to my load. What's the alternative to tripod?

A mini tripod, or place your camera on some level surface, set the self-timer and snap. The idea is eliminate any possibility of shakes, which will caused the picture to be blurred.

[mr_jason]

Originally Posted by daphz I own a simple, rather old, Canon Ixus 330. Will be going overseas for travellign soon, so I think I will take many photos. Day shots are ok, but I always seem to have problems with night shots. The photos are usually blur, or grainy. Should I shoot in manual mode? Or auto mode? And if in manual mode, what should I set the ISO to? How about this setting that ranges from -2 to +2. What should I do? any advice for me? thanks.

I also own an Ixus 330, and for one year it was the only camera I used. One thing I learned with night shots is that.... You definately NEED a tripod.

Why do I say this. The shots will end up blur, because the required shutter speed needed to expose the picture correctly will be too slow for you to be able to handhold. This could be anywhere from 1/30s to 5s. At night, there is little/no avilable light, so even wide open at f/2.8, the camera will still need longer shutter time to 'absorb' more light on to the sensor, for exposure. For the grain problem, set the camera's ISO setting to 50, or at most 100. I found that ISO 200 and 400 on the Ixus are unusable. As mega said, your ISO settings could be Auto, instead of a predefined ISO 50 value (for least grain). Flash will only help with brighten and freeze subjects nearby the camera, and behind that range, the background will be dark and unexposed.

With a small and light tripod, you don't have to worry about slow shutter speed anymore, and all your night shots will end up being correctly well exposed. Many shops sell small foldable tripods which can be used when travelling. Though they may not be the most stable, they do serve their purpose while travelling.

Manual more in the Ixus just offers a few more settings to be changed than on full auto. Settings such as white balence, exposure compensation and ISO setting IF I remember correctly. You can usually leave the +2 / -2 (exposure compensation) alone, unless you find your shots are all turning out too over or under exposed, then adjust accordingly. As mentioned peviously, keep ISO at 50.

Why don't you post some shots of what you deem bad pictures, and maybe we'll advise you how to avoid them?

[daphz]

Wow you guys in this forum are really helpful.
Thanks to all!