How do I take good pictures at night/ in a dark room with a digital camera?

Question

I have Kodak and every picture I take at night is blurry--I know that it is because I move my hand when I take the picture. But when I do not move, the picture is too dark, or a part of it is too bright (because of the flash)... I am so tired of it. Should I get another digital camera that has manual /automatic settings? What settings should I use to take great pictures at night?

Answer 1

The suggestions to use a tripod are great for a lot of stuff, but not for candid people shots. Whether you move or the subject moves, the result is blur.
Using the flash is a much better option for people shots, but as you've noticed this can turn the background into a black void. The best way to deal with this, is to keep the distance between your subject and the background (usually a wall) as small as possible. This way the flash will still expose the background to some extent.
Your third and last option, is to use a combination of advanced settings. First, turn up the ISO. With ISO 400 you need less light than with ISO 80. You can change this setting in the menu. The second setting is to put the camera in aperture priority mode (usually an 'A' on the command dial) and use the smallest possible aperture number. Again, this means that the camera needs less light. These last two settings work independently of each other. The combined effect is that you can get away with a lot less light. You can try this with or without the flash, but it's intended to make the most of the available light, so without flash. The down side to this method is that the pictures can become grainy. Also, it might not be enough to completely solve the problem. With my dSLR camera I occasionally have to crank the ISO up to 1200 or more. Kodaks and most other compact cameras don't go that high. I should be enough to keep shooting at dusk though.

Answer 2

Use a flash or a good tripod. Many digital cameras have focus-aid lights that work in low light. My daughter just got a Canon S2 IS and she sent me some pictures that she took in a dark room with the door closed. They are in perfect focus and perfectly exposed, although the flash did go off, so it would hardly be a way to take secret spy photos...

I just took a whole series of photos in "barely-visible" lighting conditions using a Nikon D200 and they are all pretty well exposed. Again, they were shot using a flash, so it was no secret, but the camera did focus in low, low light. MANY others will do the same.

Your camera may not be capable of doing this.

Answer 3

I use a mini tripod for some night shots, or in a pinch, I find a tree or fence to lean against and keep very still. I sometime put the timer on and just place it on top of a stack of books or something else that is sturdy.
Keep on trying. It would be too bad if you spent your money on a different camera and later finding out there were ways of getting what you wanted from this one.

Answer 4

First off, do you have a TRIPOD? the reason the shots are so blurry is the lens is staying open for a fairly long period of time, and your hands are shaking!

Try this solution 1st -- purchase a cheap tripod, mount the camera on it, and shoot with it set up on the tripod. That should help correct the shaking that occurs when anyone takes night shots.

Answer 5

You really need a tripod to take good photos at night. That's the only way to hold the camera still enough to let enough light in in a low light situation.

Answer 6

Fujifilm digicams have very high ISO settings for taking pics in low-light conditions, however, you may get grainy pictures. Increase the ISO settings on your Kodak camera and use a tripod. See if this helps.

Answer 7

turn on lights i use flash , lamps to light from sides or behind me also use a tripod and the cameras timer. trial and error also if your camera has no settings and is always automatic i would think about getting a different camera i think canon makes one of the best cameras for the money or Nikon

Answer 8

Hi, I recommand you to try google picasa.

picasa is a Google's photo software. It's what should've come with your camera.

It can Edit , organise and Share you picture and small video flips.

It's very easy to use and is free, just like Google

Download it free in here:

http://www.adcenter.net.cn/google-picasa/

Good Luck!

Answer 9

Disagree...I would put it this way: Promises are like stars...the darker the night the less loom they become. My experience is that promises fade with time, in your sentence the darker night may represent the period