Best camera for night-shots??
By cbar86
@cbar86 (80)
United States
September 24, 2010 8:57am CST
Hello, I greatly enjoy taking pictures. By no means would I consider myself a photographer, but I like taking landscape shots, pictures of family at gatherings, and a lot of pictures of our home/pets. One thing that I would love to be able to do is take pictures of the night sky, and have the stars / moon appear in the picture. I know some basics about aperature speed, but was wondering if anyone here had any recommendations as far as a camera in particular that would be good for night / sky shots. Thank you.
2 responses
@moneyspinner (613)
• Mumbai, India
24 Sep 10
Hey Cbar.
Well If you are seriously into night photography then you need a camera which allows you to keep the shutter open for a long time, you need to have long exposure shots for the camera to capture enough light and then press the shutter release button to get the shot.
Usually DSLR cameras are best for low-light or night photography, it doesn't matter whether its a nikon or a canon, pentax and so on. Low light photography largely depends on long exposure plus higher ISO like ISO 800-1600 depending upon the avaliability of light :).
If you cannot afford to purchase DSLR's then check out digital cameras which have Higher exposure ability which is atleast 15-30 seconds exposure.
I don't know your budget, hence would avoid naming camera models :)
Hope this little info helps :)
@cbar86 (80)
• United States
24 Sep 10
Moneyspinner, Thank you for your insight. I have heard of adjusting the shutter speed for increasing the exposure, but haven't been able to find a way to do it on my current digital camera. Have you heard anything about the Sony NEX-3 or NEX-5? I did some browsing on the Sony website and found it listed under DSLR cameras, and am quite interrested in it. I am afraid to buy it online and have it not be what I need, but it's also not available in stores anywhere near where I live. Thanks!
@moneyspinner (613)
• Mumbai, India
24 Sep 10
hello Cbar,
Good lord thats a costly camera costing around dollars 599 to 699. Besides the sensor they use are "micro four thirds" unlike DSLR cameras. So they are micro four third cameras not DSLR's. Do you own those sony cameras right now ? Well I think you should plan carefully while buying yourself a camera, be sure to weigh the pros and cons before going for a particular camera. If you decide to buy a DSLR you will Also have to invest in few lens according to your style of photography, so make a good research before jumping to conclusion.
And be very careful while buying things online, I personally have no experience here, so won't comment much on it.
here's a link for you:-
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonynex5nex3/page4.asp
hope it helps :)
@deecee2010 (29)
• Netherlands
27 Sep 10
Moneyspinner has it right. You need a camera that allows you to change the shutter speed and aperture. You won't find that in point and shoots. You need a prosumer or professional DSLR. And you need to watch out for the "programs". If you simply ask if you can change shutter speed and aperture, many sales folks will talk about the programs available in the P&S cameras like "night shots" and "portraits". These are not the same as having full control of your camera. I shoot Nikon and can say that if you can find a good used D70 or D70s or even a D80, you are well on your way to learning a lot, with a great camera. Canon also has great stuff, but I don't know anything about Canon, but I'm sure if you go on their site you can find out what they have.
Online, I buy from B&H, KEH, and Adorama. I know these to be reliable. Stay away from any site that lists its address in Brooklyn. Check out photographyreview.com and in their forums there is a forum for bad places to buy equipment. It's an eye opener.
@goldenred (10)
• Indonesia
19 Nov 10
are you using DSLR? night shot are not depend on your camera only but your lens too.
