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best digital cameras that take night photos?

I would like to find a digital camera that is relatively inexpensive under $150, that can take good night photos. I am going on vacation to Toronto and would like to take city shots at night. Any suggestions would be helpful!! Thanks

Public Comments

1. No camera under 150 will take good night photos. Sorry to say even 1000 dollar cameras have a hard time. It's not until the 3k range you get pro cameras that are good at low light. if anything maybe a old or used model of the Fujifilm Finepix
2. You will have a hard time finding a camera in that price range. The reason is because point and shoot's use extremely small sensors and pick up a lot of noise at even the slightest bump in ISO. The other issue is the lack of manual control. Taking good night time photos require longer shutter speeds (sometimes minutes at a time depending on available light). While $150 may not be enough, you don't need to spend $1,000 either. I took lots of good night shots with my Canon XTi which you can buy for $500 or so if you look hard enough. If that's not an option, some things to look out for are the longest shutter speed the camera will allow. The longer the better. The lowest ISO possible. A lot of P&S will go as low as 50. You'll need a camera with a self-timer since any movement at longer shutter speeds will cause major blur. Finally, an inexpensive but sturdy tripod. You aren't supporting 10 lbs of camera gear, so no need to spend a lot. Set your camera on the tripod, set your ISO to 50, if you can, switch to shutter priority mode, or whatever mode will allow the longest shutter speeds, set the timer, stand back and wait. Good luck.
3. The camera you want doesn't exist. Only a dSLR can do it well, and even then you need some skills. There are some campacts that are better than others, but the 150 dollar budget keeps them out of reach. But just for the heck of it, let's say you had the dough. Panasonic LX3, Sigma's forthcoming DP2, or mayber a Fuji F31d. But for night stuff, you'll need a dSLR with a prime lens or fast zoom if you plan on doing anything at night hand held (no tripod). If you use a tripod, force the ISO to the lowest setting, you can do night stuff. But the shutter will be open for a long time, that rules out any people pics, as people tend to move during a long shutter open shot. Sorry. http://www.StrangerSoundLabs.com you can see some night shots here made with a dSLR and a prime lens and a fast zoom hand held.