A70: Low light, motion blur, and poor color

[Spirit]

I love my A70, but more and more I notice that the odd picture comes out just terrible. I have noticed that the quality loss is always when shooting a picture in low light.

I started taking it hiking, and pictures taken from within the trails are often kind of greyish and boring looking, whereas the pictures taken in very low light (like just before the sunsets) have a very slight motion blur.

Aside from using a tripod, what setting are best for such conditions? One thing I have started doing (or not doing), is not using landscape mode. I have decided it's evil.

Thanks for the help.

[Guillermo Freige]

First, DON'T use Lanscape mode at low light without tripod.
Landscape mode use the smallest aperture possible to increase depth of field, so it uses a longer shutter time. Use Portrait mode, or P mode. Also the camera warns you with a "shake warning" icon in the lower left corner if the shutter speed is too low. Also is a good idea to increase ISO if the shutter speed is too low.

[stopbath]

A monopod might work wonders.

Perhaps you could fashion a good walking stick to include a tripod thread!

[Spirit]

stopbath wrote:
A monopod might work wonders.

Perhaps you could fashion a good walking stick to include a tripod thread!

Funny you should say this, because for about a week now I've been trying to figure out how to make a colapsable trekking pole with a compass at the top, with a handle that unscrews to make a quick monopod!

I often rest the camera on a ledge, rock, rail, anything I can rest it on to make a more stable picture, but in landscape mode, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference... especially in really low light.

When I go hiking, I can easily take 200 pictures and I've always done the scenery pics in landscape mode. At least 30% would be poor quality (grainy and slightly blurry). When I went out yesterday, I took 300 pictures in auto (mostly) and P mode, and only 10 or so were bad!

I'm not a fan of landscape mode, and carrying a tripod while hiking just isn't a good idea.

So back to the blur... thanks GF. That's good advice about the ISO. I'll try that.

[GeorgeM]

If taking a lot of pictures while you hike is a high priority which it sounds like it is...I suggest you not mess around with a mono-pod or resting your cam on a rock
:-) I just purchased a Velbon 343E...highly rated...ball head...63" at full extension...will support a digicam with telephoto etc...only 2 lbs total weight. I suggest you consider one....best value i.e. cost/benefit light weight full size tripod IMHO.
Good Luck,
George
A40 w/Velbon 343E Maxi Tripod

[CyberDyneSystems]

I hike with the Bogen/Manfrotto 3245 automatic monopod. It has a built in handle and trigger to extend the pole to what ever height you want the camera at to achieve eye level.

http://db.manfrotto.com/fileindexednew/module2/item/file0001786.gif

AUTOMATIC MONOPOD / Cat. No: 334B => Bogen code (USA only): 3245
The automatic, 3 section, monopod provides immediate single handed final height adjustment. Squeeze the trigger handle and the top section can be raised or lowered, release, and it locks in position. The lower two sections have a twist lock action for additional height adjustment.
The top plate has a dual 1/4" - 3/8" camera fixing screw.