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For you photography experts out there. I need a digital camera that will take good night pictures with no flash. I want to be able to take a picture of a boat lit up at night and have the picture come out looking like you are there. With my current camera every night picture I take is blurry, out of fucus and looks like I was doing jumping jacks when I took it. When I use the flash they come out good but then the lights I am trying to photograph is drowned out.
Sounds like you need a tripod, more than a camera.
What camera are you using? What settings are you shooting at? Open the aperture and cut down on the shuttle time if you can.
__________________ "Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll pee on em
Thats what the statue of bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, lets club em to death
And get it over with and just dump em on the boulevard"
-L.Reed
"If you don't like it, go to Russia" -Homer Simpson.
Canon SD, they might not have enough manual controls though for this typ of thing but Im not sure (and I own one). Most point-and-shoot cameras are pretty automated. I think when you take off the flash the shutter simply stays open for however long it thinks it needs to, which will be longer than you can hold still, esp. at night.
Tripod and steady shutter finger or use a mechanical shutter release. Yes , the Canon SD 750 can also do it in manual mode, but again use a tripod and you will get professional results. I saw the SD1000 during X-mas for $149 at Office Depot. The SD750 for $249 .......basically same camera only bigger viewing screen on 750.
Most point-and-shoot cameras are pretty automated. I think when you take off the flash the shutter simply stays open for however long it thinks it needs to, which will be longer than you can hold still, esp. at night.
I think this is my main problem. The other problem is that the brightness of the light I am shooting comes out nowhere near what it looks like in reality, infact it shows only a fraction of what is actually there.
Another problem is that I have no idea what settings to set the camera at. I have gone through the set up and have adjusted different things but I still can't get the result I want.
The camera I have is the Casio Exilim model EX-Z60 with 6.0 mega pixels.
This is a picture I took the other night, I took the same pic about 10 times with the camera at differnt settings. The light in the picture is nowhere near what it looked like in real life. In real life the light can be seen iluminating a 20' diameter area around the boat, this pic makes it look like a few feet.
Help.....I don't care if I need to buy a high dollar camera, I just need to have pictures that come out looking like it did in real life.
edit.....Hmmm.....lookign at this picture I see another problem. I'm to close to the target, I can't back the photo up which means I need to be farther away from the target. I couldn't get a 20' area of water behind the boat in the picture unless I was on another boat 20' away.
Those little SD /PowerShot / Elph / Ixy cameras are kick butt!!! They have a ‘night’ photo mode for taking pix of lighted things at night. Just know that they use a lower end sensor so any image created without bright light does not have consistent pixel values in dark areas...usually not a problem if you don't zoom in on the image on your computer. Obviously a sub-$300 point n shoot camera is not going to create an image similar to what you would get with a $7000 digital SLR. Nonetheless, those Canon SD cameras are overall some of the best point n shooters out there. Be aware that point n shoot cameras usually don't have as large of an aperture so their images have longer DOF than you would get with an SLR. To some degree you can adjust/compensate for this by choosing the 'mode' that best exploits lens/shutter combinations.
As was already mentioned, a tripod is going to be necessary regardless of the camera you have. There are no digital cameras for consumers that are sensitive enough to do hand held photography at night without significant artificial lighting. Film cameras can because there are films up to ISO 6400 and beyond.
Chris, try aiming your cam at something darker than the lights in the water, than shoot the water. Breath in and hold it as you press the shutter and exhale when it finishes shooting. You can also try steading you hands with a stick.
Not sure of SD, but SLR stands for Single lens reflex, is what the old35mm cameras use. If you got the $$$, a good D(digital)SLR camera is the way to go.
Nikon and Cannon both make excellent DSLR cameras. The usedNikon D70 package for sale in the "tradingdock"would be agreat starter package as it has some nicelenses int he deal.
ISO is the film speed. Higher the ISO the better it isgonna be for you. Some point and shoot has ISO settings others don't.
__________________ "Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll pee on em
Thats what the statue of bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, lets club em to death
And get it over with and just dump em on the boulevard"
-L.Reed
"If you don't like it, go to Russia" -Homer Simpson.
I you purchase a DSLR as mention above like a Canon Rebel XTi or Nikon D70 and also purchase a wide angle lenses like 24-28mm F1.2 or so it would help. The wide angle lenses will allow you "get" alot more area in the picture but will also make the objects that are close to you like the motors in this picture seem bigger. This is one of the reasons that people taking portraits use 80 - 100mm lenses so that noses don't look huge. A f/1.0 - f/2.0 will allow a lot of light in so that you can still have relatively short shutter times but also shorten your DOF or depth of field. This means that using f/64 everything should be in focus in the picture assuming no movement but with f/1.0 you have a very short field of focus or DOF, you have seen many pics like this were the intended subject is clear but everything else if blurry.
Even with the point and shot cameras that have manual controls you can experiment with this. Use a tripod and set the camera to manual and change one setting at a time and write down the picture number and parameters. You may find that your current camera is satisfactory or if not then you will understand what you need when you start shopping for the new one.
__________________
"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive." ~ C.S.Lewis
LOL My wife just bought that very camera and said she looked and tested all of them at best buy. I like it as well. Great easy to use camera. And its a Canon.
Try an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW, it's a great camera for the boat. It can take a 6' drop, waterproof to 33', works down to -14 degrees(not that you need that feature). They retail for $399.
The camera that you are looking for is the Fuji Film Finepix F30. You want a camera with the highest possible ISO rating while retaining clarity, and this is the one. It is well known for its ability to take low light pictures. Do not be fooled by its 6.3 megapixels, it is a great camera. I believe you are talking $250-300 range, but well worth it IMO. Look up the reviews on it. Just be sure to turn that ISO mode up during low light conditions. Mess around with it, and you will get the shots you want.
Here are some sample shots in fairly dark conditions as well as some positive feedback. Note that he only used 1600 ISO. It goes up to 3200.
I think your casio should have taken better shots than the ones you posted. I could be wrong though. Try turning off the flash, which you already have done, then mess with the ISO feature in the menu. Crank it up as high as it goes and give it another shot. If you are still unhappy, then by all means, check out that fuji Film F30!!!
A camera that has MANUAL settings will give you the pictures you are looking for, along with a steady platform, tripod perhaps.
Most automatic cameras do not allow for long exposures. In photography anything over 1/4 of second could be considered long exposure. Most of us couldn't hold a camera stead enough for anything over 1/60th. of second.
A flash at night could be your friend and your enemy. Most built in flashes have a limited range. Anything over 10 feet is a hit and miss. Either get a more powerful flash that can illuminate the scene at a distance, or don't use a flash all.
You need an SLR with manual settings and you have to use trial and error to get the correct exposure time. A remote shutter switch and a tripod are needed to at that darkness level. A point and shoot just won't do it. I have the Nikon D-70 It will work but for real low light you need the tripod, remote, and quite frankly you probably will be better off with a film SLR. My best comet and star pictures were all with the Nikon 6006.
The Casio EXLIMS are great for what they are designed for. That is my main camera I use most of the time.
__________________ 1st Cav Div Air Assault Infantry RVN
-Can Do........ and .......Carry On -
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Need help with choosing a new camera. 
at night and have the picture come out looking like you are there. With my current camera every night picture I take is blurry, out of fucus and looks like I was doing jumping jacks when I took it. When I use the flash they come out good but then the lights I am trying to photograph is drowned out. 
1st Cav Div Air Assault Infantry RVN
