night shots low light - Saxperience

stendog · 21st June 2012, 18:53

need some help on what to be looking for. need to be able to take decent photos at night with low light levels to none. it is going to be used for taking photos of fish i catch when at the lake. any suggestions on cameras? secondhand models would be good

Ryan^p · 21st June 2012, 19:15

Use flash.

Else it's expensive bodies with good high iso performance and fast glass.

stendog · 21st June 2012, 20:49

Using flash on a compact gives very poor pictures so thinking a dslr is the best option

Ashleyp · 21st June 2012, 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by stendog

Using flash on a compact gives very poor pictures so thinking a dslr is the best option

DSLR flashes are wank

saladdodger · 21st June 2012, 20:55

Buy a canon 450d and a tripod, use an exposure of about 20-30seconds if you can stay still that long. You'll get a good shot. Or use the same 450d with a bolt on flash, that will light up the street lol

saladdodger · 21st June 2012, 21:00

Few night shots i took, granted there was light but even when its dark, leave the exposure longer, trouble with that is you need to stay still for a minute or so, could be a nightmare

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7727042&type=3

This is helpful

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/miscella...aphy-tips.html

Ashleyp · 21st June 2012, 21:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by saladdodger

Buy a canon 450d and a tripod, use an exposure of about 20-30seconds if you can stay still that long. You'll get a good shot. Or use the same 450d with a bolt on flash, that will light up the street lol

Why so specific?

saladdodger · 21st June 2012, 22:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashleyp

Why so specific?

Its been about a while, you can get some very good deals, its tried and tested, does more than you need, lots of lense options.

I picked my second hand one up in mint condition for £200 with a standard lense. Not many compacts for that price will do what a DSLR can at night.

In my opinion any way.

Ashleyp · 21st June 2012, 23:19

Standard DSLR flashes aren't great.

but it'd be far better than to try and piss about with a several second exposure... keeping a big fish still if it's alive won't be easy.

Ryan^p · 21st June 2012, 23:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by saladdodger

Buy a canon 450d and a tripod, use an exposure of about 20-30seconds if you can stay still that long. You'll get a good shot. Or use the same 450d with a bolt on flash, that will light up the street lol

Even a 580mkii wouldnt light up the street.

a 20-30 Second exposure also is no good if the OP wants a shot of something that isnt dead.

Ryan^p · 21st June 2012, 23:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashleyp

Standard DSLR flashes aren't great.

Actually theyre alot better than people give them credit for. They have a better flash duration than quite alot of studio bulbs which is very helpful for some things, plus theyre light and portable.

Mochachino · 22nd June 2012, 08:23

Suppose you could kill the fish or make sure its dead for the picture lol

saladdodger · 23rd June 2012, 00:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Even a 580mkii wouldnt light up the street.

a 20-30 Second exposure also is no good if the OP wants a shot of something that isnt dead.

My mate spent 300 notes on a flash that slides on to the top of his canon, its f**king magic, really does light up well, we use it in nightclubs to get a good light across the floor and also in dark streets/car parks to light up the cars.

Each to their own i guess

Ashleyp · 23rd June 2012, 00:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by saladdodger

My mate spent 300 notes on a flash that slides on to the top of his canon, its f**king magic, really does light up well, we use it in nightclubs to get a good light across the floor and also in dark streets/car parks to light up the cars.

Each to their own i guess

I have a few canon speedlites myself, they're decent but it's a fair amount of dollar for the OP...

As for Ryan's lighting set up, that's a little more advanced shall we say lol...

Ryan^p · 23rd June 2012, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by saladdodger

My mate spent 300 notes on a flash that slides on to the top of his canon, its f**king magic, really does light up well, we use it in nightclubs to get a good light across the floor and also in dark streets/car parks to light up the cars.

Each to their own i guess

I use 580mkiis about 5-6 times a week. They're good bits of kit but really not that powerful. The spill from them also isn't great jadajadaja....

Use a high power studio light that you can shoot at f15-22 and still light something properly and you will see.

DAMSK11 · 25th June 2012, 00:04

I took a load of pictures last night in the dark without a flash, just used 20-30 seconds exposure and they came out pretty nice, only problem is you need to have the camera held still.