night photo help!

cy246 · Jun 18, 2008

Hey I got a Panasonic Lumix Fz7 and i am having troubles taking Night photos of cars. They either turn out blury or have all sorts of lines from lights around the area, is there a trick to night photos?

Ps. I heard something about shutter speed and iso?

Big Mike · Jun 18, 2008

Get a tripod.

Lyncca · Jun 18, 2008

LOL, pretty much! You may not be able to avoid the lines from lights if the vehicle is moving with the slow shutter speed required for night shots (which is why you need a tripod).

cy246 · Jun 18, 2008

i got a tripod and the pictures still turn out to be dark/ blury even under good light.

Big Mike · Jun 18, 2008

Are you touching the camera when it fires...or are you using a remote or the self timer? Any movement by the camera can cause blur with the longer shutter speeds that are required for night photography.

Also, make sure to use a low ISO. Your camera may be automatically using a higher ISO, which can make for a lot of digital noise, especially in a camera like that.

Another thing...it may help if you can adjust your exposure. In a night scene, you may want to dial in some negative exposure compensation (EC or EV).

cy246 · Jun 18, 2008

whats a iso and how do you change it?

Big Mike · Jun 18, 2008

It's the sensitivity/gain setting on the camera. I can almost guaranty that the camera's manual will explain how to change it, if you can.

conradtan · Jun 18, 2008

cy246 said:
whats a iso and how do you change it?

ISO is how sensitive a camera is to light. Check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_speed

Mary-Beth · Jun 18, 2008

ISO is a unit of film/sensor sensitivity. Low ISO – say, 100 – gives fine grain, requires longer shutter speeds. High ISO – say, 800 – gives coarse grain and 'noise', shortens required shutter speeds.

For how to change it see page 77 in your manual.