Canon A85 settings for night fire photos?

[parsec]

Hi, I just joined this forum and am in the middle of searching around for some help with taking night time photos of fire with a Canon A85.

I work as a National Parks firefighter in South Australia and try to take quick pics when the opportunity arises. However my results are inconsistant and sometimes disapointing. I am happy to post some pics, or links to them for advice, or whatever helps anyone to point out what I am doing wrong.

thanks

shaun

[e r y k]

as a firefighter, im sure you wont have time to set up a tripod and get a good picture.
ive used an a95 for a good 3 years now. to get a decent night shot without a tripod you're going to have to up the ISO a lot, but it will result in noise.

[parsec]

Thanks, yep I can't stop to use a tripod and the vehicle is always running, so even that is a little shaky to rest on. Here are a few example shots:
http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/CoxScrub/IMG_1906.JPG.html -notice the purple

http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/CoxScrub/IMG_1909.JPG.html -even more purple in this one

http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/CoxScrub/IMG_1913.JPG.html -I sometimes get these dots when using the flash. I suspect that they are either particles in the air or more likely spray on the lens. I rarely clean the lens when away and find the non-flash shots are better.

http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/CoxScrub/IMG_1919.JPG.html -blured due to 1/19 sec shutter speed

http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/bookmark/IMG_1838.JPG.html -happy with the sharpness look of the fire, but it lost the intensity.

http://pcuse.com/gallery/v/firefighting/bookmark/IMG_1853.JPG.html - an example of a pic I am reasonably happy with.

This is only my second post, so let me know if I should post in another area, post actual pics instead of links, etc.

thanks

shaun

[Jon]

I'll suggest a couple of things - first, you're probably using automatic white balance. Try setting WB to tungsten; that's close to what a fire's colour temperature is, so may help the "purple" problem. Or find a custom WB that works for you (which may not be easy).

You're probably going to need to use M and/or spot metering to get control over your shutter speed (and shake) and still get the areas you want best exposed.