What settings do I need to take night pictures??

nappyjim

New member
I wanna take some night pics of my headlights, but they always come out bad. I have kodak cx7430 4.0 Megapixel camera. Here are the settings im allowed to change. Could someone tell me what might work so that when taking pics of my angel eyes for example, I will see a clear defined ring in the picture, exactly like I see it in real life. Rather than a huge glow.



Settings Im allowed to tinker:



Exposure Compensation - -2 to +2

White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Tungesten, Flourscent

ISO Speed - Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400

Color Mode - color, black and white, sepia

Exposure Metering - multi pattern, center weight, center spot,

Focus Zone - multi zone, center zone

Long time exposure - none, .7, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0
 
ISO 400 and if you can adjust shutter speed, use the highest possible that gives you your angel eyes in clarity.
 
here are some of mine I just took 2 nights ago with my kodak dx7630 6.1 mp.. on a tripod



100_0427.jpg


iso 100,f3.4, 1 sec shutter, 0.0 exp, no flash with a tripod



100_0419.jpg


iso 100,f8.0,24 sec shutter, -1.3 exp, no flash with tripod



100_0422.jpg


iso 100,f4.8,1sec shutter,0.0 exp, no flash with tripod



ta612.jpg


iso 100,f4.8,1 sec shutter, 0.0 exp, no flash with tripod



I tried auto on the settings but the pics came out a little dark. Good luck!
 
A tripod, IMO, is the most under-utilized, important piece of photography. I don't trust my "steady hand" anymore. They make tripods compact enough now to effectively take shots in the dark.





Keep the ISO low (less "noise"), picture resolution high, superfine, auto-WB, exposure at 0, and just play with longer shutter speeds. To further insure that there are no vibrations when shooting, I put a 2-second delay on my camera, so I press, step away and wait 2 seconds, then it takes the shot...Voila, a steady picture.
 
yes tripod is definately the most important. if i take about 10-20 night pictures 95% of them come blurred no matter how steady i hold my hand.
 
NT2SHBBY said:
a tripod is absolutely necessary period (for any picture-night/day/whatever)





I can take awesome daytime pics where I dont need to mess with the shutter or manual settings. I just leave it on Auto mode and take just as good pics with hand as I would with a tripod.... but yea for night shots you HAVE to have a tripod if you want clear crisp pics!
 
yeah, i don't think it's absolutely necessary to have a tripod for day shots. i mean, the reason you need one for night shots is the shutter speed is so much slower, thereby giving your hand more opportunity to move while the shutter is open. daytime shots take a considerable amount of motion to blur by hand.
 
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