HP Store Online

What digital cameras are best using existing light wihout flash after sunset?

I have two digital cameras - panasonic tz3 and canon S2 IS - but I am not happy with the grainy picture quality I took using existing light indoor and outdoor after the sunset. I see that the camera lens are not fast lens, like 1.8 or 1.4...

Public Comments

1. Nikon D90 if you have money. If not, get some.
2. Hi, I'm assuming these are both point & shoot (P&S) cameras. Yes? While these are both top quality brands of cameras (including P&S's), it is just the nature of P&S cameras that it is tough to get high quality photos in low light. Their electronics just aren't as sophisticated as bigger DSLRs and their processor sizes are smaller - so they can't store the same density of info as the bigger cams. They also have small flashes - so you're not able to cast more light to improve the image capture process. One thing you can do to give yourself a fighting chance at improving quality in low light is to use a tripod. There's a much greater chance to enhance blur in low light. The tripod (or a monopod) would help take that issue off the table. If your cameras have a "Night" or "Night Portrait" mode, have you tried them to see if that helps? Since you're playing with digital, and therefore not wasting money on film, also experiment using the "Portrait" mode. In portrait mode cameras typically open up the aperture to achieve a shallow depth of field (e.g, they make the aperture setting bigger to let in more light). Try using that (also with camera on stabilizing device) to see if that helps at all. At some point, if you're serious about photog vs. just capturing fun memories in snapshots, think about moving up to a DSLR. It will help eliminate the problem you're experiencing with the P&S''s. Take care...
3. The S2 can take good pictures in low light, check out the indoor pictures at this http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canons2is_samples/ likewise for the TZ3 http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/panasonictz3_samples/ Recheck your settings, these cameras can take good pictures in low light.
4. If your subject isn't moving, the cheapest way to do this is to get a tripod. A decent Manfrotto tripod can be had for $70 Otherwise, the best you can get is probably a Nikon D700 and the 50mm f/1.2 lens, but then that combo costs around $3500. Probably out of your range. Otherwise, a Nikon D40 and a 35mm f/1.8 lens. That combo is $600 or so.
5. Several factors will affect picture quality. One is the ISO level...Like the stereo in your car, if your turn the volume way up, you begin to hear noise in the system even when nothing is playing. This leads to another factor, your signal to noise ratio of your camera's sensor. The lower the ratio, the more noise and "grain" you'll see at any given ISO level. Another factor that impacts the signal to noise ratio is the size of the sensor. Larger sensors have lower signal to noise ratios than smaller sensors because they have larger photo sites and gather more light with less power applied to the sensor. If you can imagine trying to catch all the water molecules in a streem using 6-million coffee cups versus 6-million large buckets, you can probably guess the larger buckets will work better and take less effort to get more water molecules. Your cameras are working with small, noisy buckets! Conversely, a typical DSLR has a sensor that is 15 times larger that of either of the cameras you mentioned. A larger sensor has higher signal to noise ratio and has less noise and more information at any given ISO than either of the cameras you've mentioned. A DSLR can also accept a f/1.8 or f/1.4 prime lens that may allow you to keep your shutter speeds higher and your ISO lower, again leading to less graininess in your photos. If you want to shoot in available light, particularly indoors, you need to seriously consider a DSLR with a fast prime such a 50mm f/1.4