How do you take a picture at night?

[Bob]

Like a picture of the moon.

With a standard consumer level point-and-shoot camera.  I doubt it will do it, but I'm curious if it's possible.

I'm not going out and buying a special camera.

And a picture that's more than a white blurry blob with a background.  "That's the moon.  That white splotchy thing."

[quantum]

Well, you can take a picture of the moon with a point and shoot, but it won't be very big.  From what i understand most people presume that the moon is a dark object because it is seen at night, thus set their camera to take pictures of dark objects.  On the contrary the moon is a bright object!  In order to capture detail of the moon you need to set your camera for bright subjects.  

If your point and shoot has manual mode it might be easier.  Google moon photography and read some settings for DSLR cameras.  It will give you some idea of what to dial into your point and shoot.  Obviously you need a tripod, unless you want a big blurred blob.  Try to avoid camera shake by using a remote shutter release, or the 2 second timer function of your camera.  

I've seen point and shoots advertised with superzoom capability.  Perhaps these may have more reach.  

Then again you allude to night photography in your title.  Moon photography is rather specific.  Do you just want to take terrestrial night shots?  Many point and shoots come with a night preset.  Again, you want a tripod.  You can also go manual mode to get more control over the exposure.  You still need a tripod.  

Taking night shots handheld without flash or artificial light is possible, but you need equipment that is capable of doing that.  A camera that has low noise at high ISO, a large aperture, and stabilization wouldn't hurt.  

[Bob]

I'd like to be able to take a picture at night.  But with the ease of the point and shot.  See it.  Click it.  I haven't had a camera that could do that, but I was wondering how close they could get. 

I would take a tripod and remote clicker or timer setting of some kind.  I did try that once -- Pic of the moon outside -- And when it's that zoomed in, it just blurs the heck out the pic.  Ending up with a blury white blob. 

Pics at a concert was another one.  It's tought to get good shots when the stage is lit up and the audience is dark.  (Disregarding all the "not supposed to take pics" things.  This would be a group of students onstage.)

[quantum]

I'd like to be able to take a picture at night.  But with the ease of the point and shot.  See it.  Click it.  I haven't had a camera that could do that, but I was wondering how close they could get. 

If your digital camera is several years old, there have been many advances and improvements in the past few years with regard to sensor quality and low noise at high ISO.  Have you tried using a recent model?  Borrow one from a friend to see if there is a difference. 

As I said earlier, some point and shoots have "night" presets.  It picks the settings for you, you just have to take it out of full auto and put it on one of the night presets. 

Realize there is a trade off for the convenience of point and click vs. optimal settings for the individual scenario.  While point and shoot is easy, it may not give the best results if the scene diverts too much from what the camera has interpreted as exposure for a "typical" scene.  You have already experienced this.  Learning a bit of photographic techniques will take you a long way.  There are many sites and blogs online that give you suggestions for optimal night photography, you just have to learn a bit of photo lingo and venture to take your camera out of automatic. 

I would take a tripod and remote clicker or timer setting of some kind.  I did try that once -- Pic of the moon outside -- And when it's that zoomed in, it just blurs the heck out the pic.  Ending up with a blury white blob. 

Blurry white blob could mean camera shake.  It could also mean out of focus.  In a moon shot infinity focus should do the trick.  However, if your camera is set to autofocus it may not have enough light to grab onto something in order to set the focus correctly.  Try putting it in manual focus and set focus to infinity. 

Optimal time to shoot the moon is when it is low in the horizon - this is when it is the largest.  The moon, like the sun, has its own golden hour.  Check forecasts and plan your shoot ahead of time. 

Pics at a concert was another one.  It's tought to get good shots when the stage is lit up and the audience is dark.  (Disregarding all the "not supposed to take pics" things.  This would be a group of students onstage.)

Presuming you wish to take concert pics without distracting flash - you would need a camera with good wide aperture lens and low noise at high ISOs. 


Perhaps you could post the camera model you are working with so we have a better idea where you are coming from.

[oxy60]

Ah yes, the frustrations with simple (to use) cameras. When the box "brownie" was introduced it was great for certain applications, mostly outside with subjects in bright sunlight.

Complicated shots require complex equipment. And complex gear requires educated users.

Bob, the two situations you describe require more capability than you will find in today's box Brownie.

Good luck!