Canon Powershot 260sh night shoot with tripod - how to?

Hi there!

I need to take a night shoot of a cityscape with a tripod. Never did this before.
Can someone explain to me how to do this?
I have Canon Powershot 260sh

Thank you

To shoot a night cityscape on a tripod with the sx260 sh? I would use manual mode f/6.8 aperture, 100 iso and change shutter speed for exposure.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=OEl_cFQP8aY

claytonjohnson wrote in post #16432148
To shoot a night cityscape on a tripod with the sx260 sh? I would use manual mode f/6.8 aperture, 100 iso and change shutter speed for exposure.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=OEl_cFQP8aY

Thank you!
I am quite new to manual mode. How do I do this "change shutter speed for exposure"?

michaelrt wrote in post #16432765
Thank you!
I am quite new to manual mode. How do I do this "change shutter speed for exposure"?

A rule of thumb is that the camera meter wants all your pictures to be bright as day. If you use the auto exposure settings (P, Av and Tv), your images will be too bright and washed out. So you need to tell the camera to "underexpose" night scenes, especially if they include street lights and other point source illumination.

To put the camera in manual mode, set the top wheel to M. A -+ scale will appear on the right side of your viewing screen. Click on the FuncSet button. As you rotate the bottom (FuncSet) wheel, you will see the scale move, changing the fStop and Shutter speed settings. Turning it clockwise will move the pointer down on the scale, reducing exposure. For night scenes, you should reduce the exposure 2 stops to start. If your image is too dark, move the pointer higher up on the scale and try again.

A simpler way is to use P mode. Click on the top of the bottom wheel. There will be a scale across your screen. Rotate the bottom wheel so the pointer on the scale moves to the left. That increases the shutter speed and reduces the aperture. Try different settings until you get the result you want.

I don't own the SX260 HS, but whenever I try to figure out a new camera I read the manual it came with ("old school"). In this case it is a PDF file, so it's easy to download from the Canon website and search for answers, or in your case copy from the CD that came with the camera. Page 93 of the user manual describes the Handheld Night Scene. It has a note for using a tripod, and refers you back to page 54. Page 54 describe Smart Auto...in other words the camera is supposed to figure it out for you. Try this first, then try the Manual mode method on page 142. Compare results, and see which one you like. Have fun while you're at it. I would also recommend setting a delay timer for your shot of 2 seconds or more after you press the shutter release. I don't know whether you can do this in Smart Auto, but it should be available in Manual mode.

A lot of work went in to creating the "smart" features of today's cameras, so don't overlook using them. It can save you some grief, and make your photography more enjoyable. Learning to use the many other features is also valuable, and will enhance your creative side as you gain experience and confidence.

Dennis