A70...Night Shots

[bulletbrain56]

I am trying to take night shots of xmas lights. Can anyone give any hints on what modes I should use with the A70. I have tried the Night Mode but they came out dark and not very well focused.
I would welcome any hints or tips.

[Ajay213]

I have an A85, and I found the best results by going into Manual mode, and if your target is far away than you should use manual focus as well. Here's a pic taken at night, through a screened patio, the main clubhouse is probably 100ft or so away. I can't for the life of me remember the settings, but I believe it's ISO 50 with a 10-15 second shutter time with the aperture sitting in the f5-f8 range.

For an untouched full sized photo click here (1.2MB) - http://www.theajays.com/photos/forum/IMG_0156.JPG

Andrew

[megaweb]

Use Manual mode. Adjust aperture to f8 and then shutter speed to have EV +0. Mount your camera on tripod, turn off flash, set lowest ISO and use 2 sec timer mode to trigger the shutter.

Cheer !

[jrobert]

I can't for the life of me remember the settings, but I believe it's ISO 50 with a 10-15 second shutter time with the aperture sitting in the f5-f8 range.

For an untouched full sized photo click here (1.2MB) - http://www.theajays.com/photos/forum/IMG_0156.JPG
From the EXIF data in the image


Make - Canon
Model - Canon PowerShot A85
Orientation - Top left
XResolution - 180
YResolution - 180
ResolutionUnit - Inch
DateTime - 2004:12:06 23:12:24
YCbCrPositioning - Centered
ExifOffset - 196
ExposureTime - 15 seconds
FNumber - 4.00
ExifVersion - 0220
DateTimeOriginal - 2004:12:06 23:12:24
DateTimeDigitized - 2004:12:06 23:12:24
ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr
CompressedBitsPerPixel - 5 (bits/pixel)
ShutterSpeedValue - 15 seconds
ApertureValue - F 4.00
ExposureBiasValue - 0.00
MaxApertureValue - F 4.00
MeteringMode - Multi-segment
Flash - Not fired, compulsory flash mode
FocalLength - 11.31 mm
UserComment -
FlashPixVersion - 0100
ColorSpace - sRGB
ExifImageWidth - 2272
ExifImageHeight - 1704
InteroperabilityOffset - 1872
FocalPlaneXResolution - 10819.05
FocalPlaneYResolution - 10784.81
FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - Inch
SensingMethod - One-chip color area sensor
FileSource - DSC - Digital still camera
CustomRendered - Normal process
ExposureMode - Auto
WhiteBalance - Manual
DigitalZoomRatio - 1.00 x
SceneCaptureType - Standard

Maker Note (Vendor): -
Macro mode - Normal
Self timer - Off
Quality - Superfine
Flash mode - Not fired
Sequence mode - Single or Timer
Focus mode - MF
Image size - Large
Easy shooting mode - Manual
Digital zoom - None
Contrast - Normal
Saturation - Normal
Sharpness - Normal
ISO Value - 50
Metering mode - Evaluative
Focus type - Manual
AF point selected -
Exposure mode - Tv-priority
Focal length - 173 - 519 mm (32 mm)
Flash activity -
Flash details -
Focus mode 2 - 8
White Balance - Custom
Sequence number - 0
Flash bias - 0.00 EV
Subject Distance - 6553 mm
Image Type - IMG:PowerShot A85 JPEG
Firmware Version - Firmware Version 1.00
Image Number - 1010156
Owner Name - O

[Ajay213]

From the EXIF data in the image

I just noticed that the EXIF data was also in the properties "tab" of the image as well as in the Canon software (which I rarely use but has the extended information). But thanks for posting that, I did miss on the aperture (shooting Shutter priority mode), and with the zoom I was using that may have been the fastest itI could have gone (I was trying to get the photo using ISO 50 as ISO 400 and 15 second exposure doesn't look very good, especially with the screen in the way).

Another hint about shooting night scenes on the A-series (and probably just about every other digi-cam out there), do not trust what you see on the LCD screen as a "review" after you take the shot, especially when you are shooting in the dark. I'll snap a photo that looks absolutely perfect on the camera LCD and it will be so under-exposed that it can't be salvaged in PS. The above picture looked VERY over-exposed on the LCD.