S3 night shot... need help badly.

[julia017]

hi. i just went home from the macy's inflating of balloons for tomorrows parade and i got frustrated with my shots. while i was taking them the photos looks very nice on my lcd but when i got home and uploaded the pictures they were so noisy. :(

my question is... how can i take good pictures during the night? on such event? thank you so much for your inputs. :)

[Wesan]

The noise could be because it was too dark when you took the pictures. Did you use the flash? If you didn't, it could help using the flash.

Another thing that gives you noisy pictures, is too high an ISO setting. The S3 can use up to ISO 800, but then you also get a lot of noise. To get good pictures (little or no noise), maybe you should not use ISO higher than 200. The lower ISO value you use, the less noise you get. On compact cameras, the pictures can quickly get more noisy when you increase the ISO. Personally, I keep the ISO on my S3 set to 80 and use the flash (in combination with a slave flash).

So, the first thing you could do, is check your ISO setting.

Hope this helps. :)

[XaiLo]

When shooting in auto mode the camera is going to select the ISO along with everything else. There is no quick way to explain exposure... May I suggest "Understanding Exposure" Revised Edition by Bryan Peterson. Try shooting using P, Av, or Tv mode. While shooting during the daytime in auto mode should not result in a high ISO being used unless there's dark clould coverage. Try to read as much of the manual as you can and become familiar with what settings control certain functions. Such as aperature, shutter speed, and ISO.

[julia017]

thank you guys for the replies. i think i did set my ISO to 800 thinking that it would not be a hassle to pop out the flash on and off. now i've learn my lesson now. But one thing that i am concerned off is what appeture and shutter speed do i use to take pictures at night? can you give me atleast a range. Xialo is "understanding exposure" a book?

thanks again. :)

[nap]

Maybe you can post some of the pictures which you think are not good so that the people can comment better or give more specific advice. :-)

[Wesan]

...what appeture and shutter speed do i use to take pictures at night? can you give me atleast a range...

thanks again. :)

I think the easiest thing to start with, is to set your camera to P-mode. In P-mode the camera sets everything automatically, but you can change more settings yourself, than you can in Auto-mode. And start using the flash... ;)

Then, when you look at the pictures on the display of the camera, you can press the "DISP" button a few times and get different information to show about the picture. There is one display setting that gives you a small view of the picture and a lot of information about the camera settings used for that picture. Among that information is the shutter speed and aperture. This can be helpful to start learning what shutter speed and aperture value is appropriate to use. You can also zoom in on the pictures on the display, which also helps to check the image quality.

Also, if you haven't already, take a look through the manuals/user guides (as XaiLo also suggested), both the basic and advanced camera user guide. You can learn a lot about your camera and what settings to use and what they do, in those. If you got the manuals on CD, install them on your computer - that makes it easier to search the manuals for specific information (the advanced user guide I think is only on CD). You will need Adobe Reader to be able to read the manuals, though. If you don't have Adobe Reader already, you can get it here:

http://www.adobe.com/

Hope this helps. Good luck! If you get stuck again, of course you're welcome to ask us here again. :)

[downtrodden]

Hello... next to everything said already, don't delete your photos just yet- bieng that we haven't seen the pictures, so can't fully comment on them specifically, they may be salvegable through some sort of noise program. Noiseware or Noise Ninja are both excellent programs. These programs reduce noise and are free community downloads. You shouldn't rely on this though, because removing noise removes details and noise itself is lost detail. Just a helpful tool though!

~Cory

[AMDnut]

julia017 -

I am not a good night photographer, but I have been practicing a lot lately. Take a look in the "PCT Challenge thread... Buildings" here as I have posted a few night shots along with the EXIF data. The EXIF will help you learn what works best for night. Depending on the amount of light, it will vary greatly. I used ISO200 for most shots, and still had to run Noiseware on them to clean up a bit.

Another thing I do is use the viewfinder while changing the settings. You can focus after a change and see if the result is what you want. I am learning to "read" my viewfinder as it changes with the settings change to see if what I am doing is helping the shot any. Here is one from earlier tonight...

[AMDnut]

And here is the EXIF from that shot...

[AMDnut]

Hah! I just noticed my time is off in the EXIF data!!! I need to check that...:D

[truflip]

for night shots:
if your doing stills (no moving people, objects etc..)
you can use a combination of:
-low aperture value (lower F#) + a few seconds shutter speed
-high aperture (high F#) + 10-15 seconds shutter speed.
-adjust to get the best pic
-use tripod

I like to use about F5-F6 and maybe 10 seconds shutter because the picture stays sharper than lower F#'s .. Also I like the stars the become of light sources when using F8 =)

for people shots I use ISO200 and simply tell them "HOLD STILL :mad: " and usually get a good shot.

hope this helps!

[GaryS]

I'm reading "Understanding Exposure" right now, and its a great book.... Some of it is going straight over my head, but enough is sticking in that it is helping. I figure I'll be re-reading it in a month or two.

[truflip]

so what kinda things does the book teach or show you (assuming you were new to photog) ?
checkin to see if i should get it or not =\

[julia017]

thanks for the replies. i really need some suggestions with these pictures. thanks so much.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/julia017/IMG_0492.jpg

File size: 176519 bytes
File date: 2006:11:24 22:26:08
Camera make: Canon
Camera model: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Date/Time: 2006:11:22 09:20:33
Resolution: 800 x 600
Flash used: No
Focal length: 6.0mm (35mm equivalent: 38mm)
CCD width: 5.72mm
Exposure time: 0.500 s (1/2)
Aperture: f/3.5
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing



http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/julia017/IMG_0427.jpg

File size: 120727 bytes
File date: 2006:11:24 22:30:14
Camera make: Canon
Camera model: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Date/Time: 2006:11:22 08:51:20
Resolution: 600 x 800
Orientation: rotate 270
Flash used: No
Focal length: 11.6mm (35mm equivalent: 73mm)
CCD width: 5.72mm
Exposure time: 0.100 s (1/10)
Aperture: f/4.5
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

one taken from the subway

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/julia017/IMG_0517.jpg

File size: 159390 bytes
File date: 2006:11:24 22:23:47
Camera make: Canon
Camera model: Canon PowerShot S3 IS
Date/Time: 2006:11:22 10:02:47
Resolution: 600 x 800
Flash used: No
Focal length: 71.7mm (35mm equivalent: 451mm)
CCD width: 5.72mm
Exposure time: 0.033 s (1/30)
Aperture: f/3.5
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

[truflip]

the first and second pictures are what i would refer to as a 'still' image. meaning the subject is stationary. for shots like that I would suggest using a tripod and long shutter speeds (maybe 5 seconds) and F5

as for the third pic, I would shoot it at ISO200-400 depending on the lighting and use maybe 1/30sec (which is what u have) .. the shot looks like an ISO400 shot and I think you could have gotten away with ISO200. anyway heres what ive done to 'fix' or make the shot look more interesting and lively.

[julia017]

thanks for the tips. now i am learning. if you dont mind me asking how did you fix the picture?

[truflip]

the one on the left, i fixed the levels and contrast.. (i found the original a little bright) and i also added a bit of saturation to add a bit of life to it..

the one on the right was the exact same thing except i removed the noise from the pics..

[julia017]

okay thanks. you edited those using photoshop? sorry i ask alot of questions. i am really trying to learn more about photography. thanks so much!

[BowerR64]

Thats one thing you need to learn, alot of people dont mention what they do to their shots but you can usualy correct a shot using photo editing programs. You can darken, lighten, bump colors and clean them. Once you figure out how your camera works, then learn a good editing program. Put those 2 together and you will be posting good shots like everyone else.

The onlything i ever seem to use is "Image>adjust>auto levels> save". Or if auto levels dont fix what i need i do it manualy. Image>adjust>brightness/contrast>save. There maybe other tweaks people do but thats about all i know.

[truflip]

sorry.. I used paint shop pro x (psp 10)

[AMDnut]

For the money, Paintshop Pro is the best bang for the buck. It is hard to beat, but Photoshop isn't a slouch, just harder to use/learn IMHO. I use both, mainly PSPro XI but depends on what I need to do.

Usually, run the pics through Noiseware, then One Step Photo Fix in PSPro (seems to be basically "Auto Levels"). Sometimes I tweak as needed.

[AMDnut]

Let's see what Photoshop can do....

[AMDnut]

I ran it through Noiseware at Full Suppresion, tweaked the Brightness and Contrast in PhotoShop CS2, then tweaked the Saturation and Hue with PS CS2 as well. Saved and reduced size to fit here.

I am on my laptop and do not have PSPro XI available, but you can accomplish the same thing with it.

[AMDnut]

This one is out of focus, and it doesn't look as good after tweaking...

[saturndude]

Julia017,

I'm sorry I am in such a hurry to post. I saw your shots before the parade, and read the posts in this thread.

About 10 days ago, I shot some pictures of my car's dashboard. Viewing them on the PC later, the noise was far higher than daylight pictures at the same ISO.

Somebody on another forum suggested under-exposure was the cause. I thought "if it looks good in the LCD, it will be good." I was wrong.

I used a one second exposure (no flash, ISO was either 80 or 200). IIRC, the posters in this thread suggested exposures much longer than the one second I chose.

Now I have a theory that says "not enough light can hurt an image just as bad or or even more badly than a high ISO can" (this should only happen at night, when there simply isn't enough light).

I'll shoot the dashboard again soon, and try longer exposure times.

Great pictures BTW, I did enjoy them.


Saturndude's 2005 stats:
Miles on 2001 Saturn SL2: 4,500
Miles on 1981 Honda CM400T: 5,197
Bone marrow transplants: one
Beating Hodgkins Lymphoma: PRICELESS

[BowerR64]

What if you tried to set the custom white balance in low light? Has anyone messed with this any? i think it will help low light conditions.

[julia017]

gee thanks for all the replies. this is really informative. i am still here learning and reading my manual. keep those replies coming. ill try to shoot some pics with low light and ill try to share it to you guys.

[kilasting]

I found a tutorial about Aperture that might help explain somethings...

http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial_aperture.html

Enjoy!