Night Shots Help

thebuzz

Recently bought a Panasonic FZ72 but I'm struggling to get night shots of moving objects that aren't coming out very blurry. There is some light (street lights or floodlights from a pitch etc.) but any shot I take just seems to come out blurry.

Admittedly I haven't read up too much on it yet as I haven't had the time, but can anyone advise me on what sort of settings would be best for night shots or what settings are most important for taking night shots. Thanks!

5uspect

Get a tripod.

thebuzz

5uspect wrote: »

Get a tripod.

Would that really be the issue when I'm not having a problem with daylight photos? I'm holding the camera steady, just the moving objects coming out blurry.

Zillah

What mode are you shooting in? If it's a long exposure (and it is, by the sounds of it) you need to use a tripod like 5uspect says.

Tiriel

Before buying a tripod, try placing the camera on a wall, or a flat smooth surface to take a shot at night.. you should reduce the camera shake and have a less blurry shot. A tripod will reduce it much more and you will have more control over the shot you want to take, easier to move than a wall

5uspect

thebuzz wrote: »

Would that really be the issue when I'm not having a problem with daylight photos? I'm holding the camera steady, just the moving objects coming out blurry.

A camera needs light. There is very little light available at night regardless of any artificial lights. So a tripod is usually a necessity.

Now if your static subjects are sharp but your moving objects are showing motion blur then your exposure is too long. This is a consequence of the darkness.

So you need to shorten your exposure. Either increase your gain (ISO) and take a hit to image quality, or open your aperture and take a hit to image sharpness, or a combination of the two.

MarkN

Can only really be camera shake or shutter speed. Can't think of much else myself!

bullpost

If you want to take shots of moving objects at night then you will need to increase your ISO in order to freeze the action.
Bump it up to the maximum (think its 3200 ISO on your camera) and take some test shots and if these are acceptable then lower the ISO until the shots start blurring. But you might find that you struggle to get decent shots unless there is significant articifical light - street lights will not be good enough more than likely and even under good light it will depend on how fast your subject is moving. Also shutter lag might be an issue - the delay between pressing the shutter and the camera firing.
And of course a fast shutter speed to freeze the movement.

Stavro Mueller

It's very hard to take non blurry night shots hand held so you are looking at either using a tripod or walls/street furniture. If you don't have a remote control or a shutter release, use the self-timer on your camera to avoid camera shake.