Night-time photos with entry-level camera?

[ndh]

Hi all,

Last weekend I tried taking night-time photos at a camp. (Completely naïve technique :? -- just biggest aperture, longest exposure time.) They look so-so at first glance, but there's extreme graininess in the sky and in flat areas.

I've looked at some tutorials but I wonder if anyone has tips on doing low-light photos specifically with entry-level digital cameras? I have a PowerShot A60 -- 2 megapixel, maximum 15 sec exposure.

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/shore_sm.jpg
the shore

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/hall_sm.jpg
the hall

http://hebb.cis.uoguelph.ca/~nharvey/chair_sm.jpg
the beach

Also, what kind of processing do you favour for presentation? I read a tip that said make it look good on a Mac and/or an LCD screen, then apply gamma correction somewhere between 1.9 and 2.5 to make it look good on a Windows PC with an ordinary monitor (i.e., most people on the web).

Thanks!
Neil

[stopbath]

The video noise is more prevailant on little CCDs, and the more you will see it as you take longer exposures or raise the ISO (which merely multiplies the noise along with the image...)

To eliminate the noise, you must de-noise the image through blurring of select areas, use of a clean up program, or stacking the images.

To stack images, take more than one shot. The layer them all in a graphics program (they must all be exactly the same view so use a tripod, and don't jiggle the camera between shots.) Then set each image to be transparent enough so that all images together make up 100% (like 4 images at 25% each)

Night time shots are always so cool, including yours. Have fun and good luck.

[pradeep1]

Are all of you guys from around Toronto? :D

It is difficult to get noise-free pictures using your A60. Consider using a software solution, such as Noise Ninja or NeatImage.

[ndh]

Thanks for the tips! I was pondering whether I could use multiple shots and "average" them somehow. Combining them as transparent layers is a nice simple answer. And I will check out those noise-reduction programs.

PS. Are all of you guys from around Toronto?
I grew up in a small Manitoba town, so I don't think of myself as a Toronto guy yet. :wink:

[vfilby]

Hey Neil,

I was thinking if you are stacking multiple images why can't you just stack the same image? Begin as you are trying to get the other images to look just like the first.

Vince

[DocFrankenstein]

Are all of you guys from around Toronto? :D

*Raises hand*