Evaluate Please - Night Shot

[Familyonthemove]

Taken with a Lumix FT2 waterproof point and shoot using the night scene setting and a lamp post as a tripod. Interested in night street photography and looking for a new camera with full manual control but can't decide which one. I would like to avoid the blur from the movement of the people - would a wider stop lens have made this possible?

f-

Edited November 24, 2010 by Familyonthemove

[danh]

Nice exposure for a P&S camera!

I like getting out on the streets at night with the camera as well, i find my best lens for such situations is my 50mm f/1.4 canon prime.

Primes are sharper on the whole, f/1.4 is a wide aperture (they make a nice f/1.2 for silly money as well) so if you manage your focus well and use a higher iso you can keep the shutter speed under control. I always shoot on manual settings at night as the light meter never gets it right and sometimes i want motion blur, sometimes i want to freeze the action.

I would recommend a DSLR, get something that has good high ISO performance. I like the 50mm lens as it approximates the perspective of the human eye and is perfect for street photography. Note that a 50mm lens is only 50mm on a full frame camera, if you get a camera with a cropped sensor then you will need to rethink your lens choice.

Money is always a factor when choosing a camera of course but the dpreview.com site has reviews of almost all modern cameras and has a list of the best here - DP reviews awards

The other thing you will want is a decent tripod - i use a big heavy manfrotto to minimise vibrations and movement in wind, and a little gorillapod slr for attaching to railings, lamposts etc - this is essential for long exposures or fast moving subjects at night.

Regards

Dan

[cdnvic]

Really nice perspective. Unfortunate about what appears to be some sort of reflection in the middle. The exposure as Dan mentioned is pretty good, especially on the temple.

For entry level dSLRs you can pick up a Canon Rebel with a couple lenses for just over $600 now.

[canuckamuck]

It's a good shot, really says Thailand at night.

I think the reflection Cdnvic is talking about is actually smoke from the vendor booth that has a different look to it because of the long exposure.

The blurred person is also fine for me, it gives a little action to the scene.

I am very impressed at how well it turned out without a tripod.

Good work

[Familyonthemove]

Thanks for the comments! Yes - the light streak in the middle if the smoke from the cooking - like in many street cafe's she's using a car radiator fan to 'extract' the smoke from above the cooker.

I'm looking at either the Lumix G2 with an f1.7 30 mm (60mm equivalent at 35mm) or the Samsung NX10 with a 30mm F2. I want something smaller than a DSLR but with the same level of control and decent lenses. I think I've pushed the little Lumix FT2 point and shoot as far as it can go .... great little camera, but it's time for something even better.

[The Vulcan]

I think the "reflections" (aka billowing smoke trails) were the potential essence of the image but unfortunately have been overshadowed by the dominance of the static truck

The rule of thirds (Kan Win!) has worked against you here by placing too much emphasise on an insignificant area

Good potential though that may have been improved by freezing the vendor and "releasing' the background.

Edited November 26, 2010 by The Vulcan