reflection of light on water in night shots

[primat]

Bear with me, i'm kinda new to photography..

I've been studying the reviews for several SLR and noticed something that is really bothering me.

In the reviews, the night shots of <<1000$ SLRs, there is absolutely (or almost) no reflection of light on the water. http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/eos_30d-review/nightshot.jpg
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/e510-review/nightshot.jpg
The blackness is kind of bothering me because I was really interested in the Olympus e-510... until i saw the nightshot of the Cannon 5s http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/eos_5d-review/nightshot.jpg
which is completely astounding! So i thought maybe the better camera allows to capture the reflections. However, the Nikon d200 proved me wrong (or did it?) http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d200-review/nightshot.jpg

So I was hoping if someone can just tell me I'm crazy and that it is possible to capture a nice reflection with a lower end SLR (i.e. e-510) and that it has nothing (or little) to do with camera quality but more with the person taking the picture?

Thanks

[coldrain]

It has nothing to do with the person taking the pic, it has nothing or very little to do with the camera used.
It has to do with the weather, the surface of the river and the long exposure time.

The E-510 is not the best to choose for night time shots, because its sensor is more noisy than others. But it is a nice DSLR if you do not mind the noisy sensor (or the soft results with its noise reduction) which feels really nice in materials in your hand and the controls.
The downsides to me are the 4:3 image format, the noisier sensor, the fly by wire AF system, the 3 point AF and the struggle with trying to get the camera and the RAW software to allow you to switch off that noise reduction so you get sharper pics, I would have to shoot in RAW all the time and use a 3rd party RAW convertor that supports the E-501 for me to be happy.
Upsides are the already mentioned feel of quality in the materials/shape/controls, the live preview and some expensive but good lenses.

[Riley]

B
So I was hoping if someone can just tell me I'm crazy and that it is possible to capture a nice reflection with a lower end SLR (i.e. e-510) and that it has nothing (or little) to do with camera quality but more with the person taking the picture?
Thanks

it is more to do with the photographers skill and environment potential at the time of exposure than the camera. But the camera system you choose can increase your shooting flexibility.

There are a lot of benefits to the 510, IS is more than handy for still subjects when shutter speed gets low, sharp exposures at 1/2 second are not uncommon. The sensor shaker works well and will keep dust at bay from becoming an image quality issue. Although its only a 3 point AF system it works reliably.

Noise is no more/less an issue for 510 than other dSLRs in its range as theyre all requiring attention in post processing in low light iso1600 exposures. Certainly iso800 is very good noise performance, giving you at its performance limits from an speed base of 100iso at 1/60th second with IS you can gain in speed 3 stops to (1/60 > 1/30 > 1/15) 1/15th sec, and 4 more with higher iso (1/15 > 1/8 > 1/4 > 1/2 sec) to 1/2 second with 800iso handheld ~ less need for a tripod. IS of course will work with any 4/3rds lens. A slow shutter will tend to reveal relatively flat water with stronger reflections.

The 4x3 frame is more efficient for common 8"x10" prints, losing only 6% of the image cropped compared to 17% lost for a 3x2 frame.

Jeff Keller's review of 510 has a gallery of images that include night shots over water
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/e510-review/gallery.shtml

[primat]

Thanks for the snappy replies guys. They were very helpful and I appreciate it.

Even after spending complete days looking up on digital cameras, it's still really difficult choosing the right one without making too many sacrifices! I guess you can't have it all.... yet!

[mcenut]

Even after spending complete days looking up on digital cameras, it's still really difficult choosing the right one without making too many sacrifices! I guess you can't have it all.... yet!

Define having it all?

The Canon 5D is a great camera with a full size sensor and great image quality. However it can only shoot three frames per second and doesn't have a built in flash.

The Canon 30D is a great camera with a cropped sensor, so your wide angle lenses aren't all that wide. But the 30D can shoot five frames per second and does have a built in flash for those times you don't want to carry around an external flash.

(there are other differences, but I have settled on two to make a point.)

Don't get hung up on one picture when deciding on a camera. They were not taken on the same night and not with the same lens. All these factors combine to make them appear different.

Here are a few 30D night shots over water that do show reflections:

http://www.pbase.com/rachelita/image/81910877
http://www.pbase.com/image/69302638

More can be found at this link (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/eos_30d) if you have the time to look through 596565 of them. Some photos are good, others bad. The difference is the person behind the camera. No camera is going to make up for lack of talent, proper lighting and exposure.

My advice is the same for all looking for a new camera. What brand do you like? And what does your budget like? Figure that out and buy the most you can.

Lenses are going to be a huge investment once you move into the DSLR world. Some people buy a cheaper camera, like the Canon XTi vs the 30D, to save more money for the all important lenses. Others, like myself, buy the more expensive camera and then wait a long time to have enough for the lenses. I bought my 20D three years ago. It was only this year I had enough saved to buy another $1500 in lenses.