Best Compact Cameras for Shooting at Night w/o flash

[TelaMoon]

Been researching this for a while... I want a compact camera that I can take when I go to concerts or am running or going to a party where I don't want to lug around an SLR. I want the best camera I can get for night shooting of concerts, evening lit fixtures, neon lights, etc... to capture the mood rather than brighten it with a flash. And also offers great pictures for daytime shooting. What compact camera offers the least amount of noise for shooting at night? I have looked into the Fuji f30 (they are hard to come by), the Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3 (one site http://www.squidoo.com/best_compact_camera
claims it to be the best going, but I also read elsewhere that it takes a while to focus). I have also looked into Canon Powershot 790 because of its f2.8, the Leica D-Lux, etc... I've read about them all, but would really like to know what users of the cameras think. If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts... least amount of blur, iso settings, image stabilization, excellent pic quality, has f2.8 etc... please let me know. I really want to get one already.

 

[wheelhot]

Thats a good review, honestly, I don't know if PnS can took good night photographs without flash cause I always get very poor photos when night time, flash ruins the photo, no flash the photo quality look extremely poor.

 

[M@lew]

In "effect" the best camera should be the Sigma DP1, just because it has a DSLR sized sensor inside giving it better noise performance over standard P&S. But the limitations of this camera definitely shine if you want to take concert photos etc.

 

[dubhe]

I have the LX3 and rarely use the flash. Here's a pic I took when camping, it was pretty dark.

 

[Dave00]

I have looked into the Fuji f30 (they are hard to come by), the Panasonic Lumix DMC LX3 (one site http://www.squidoo.com/best_compact_camera
claims it to be the best going, but I also read elsewhere that it takes a while to focus). I have also looked into Canon Powershot 790 because of its f2.8, the Leica D-Lux, etc...

I have several compact digital cams, and none comes close to the F30 in terms of low-light photography. Not night shots, per se, but just those indoor shots that tend to look all yellow or grainy on other cameras. It does sacrifice some in terms of sharpness (if you let it go to ISO 1600 it can get a little watercolor-ish). They've since developed the F31, and I think there is a successor to that, the F60 or something. Supposedly they're coming out with a new one that's even better. For daylight pictures the color is better on Canons. But even those with image stabilization (I have one) cannot get the non-flash indoor shots that the fuji can.

Dave

 

[carlgo]

Leica M8.2 with .95 lens! Take photos by moonlight and get unmatched boka and depths of field effects. When asked about the price, just casually pretend you don't actually remember something so unimportant, but that you paid around $14,000 for the two. As they gasp, start talking about your watch.

 

[ChrisA]

Leica M8.2 with .95 lens! Take photos by moonlight and get unmatched boka and depths of field effects. When asked about the price, just casually pretend you don't actually remember something so unimportant, but that you paid around $14,000 for the two. As they gasp, start talking about your watch.

Yes the M8 would do it. But if you don't have $14K do what I did as a middle school student in the 70's Back then $5 was "a lot of money" and I wanted pictures in low light.

Get a 25 year old film camera with an f/1.4 lens. These sell for $100 or so used and are easy to find. Many of them don't need batteries. Load it up with ISO 1,600 (or higher) film and shoot away. Later scan the film Look at cameras like these
Olympus OM1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_OM-1
Minolta srt101 http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Minolta_SR-T_101
Nikon FTN http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Nikomat/Nikkormat_FTN
Don't spend more than $100

 

[Over Achiever]

In "effect" the best camera should be the Sigma DP1, just because it has a DSLR sized sensor inside giving it better noise performance over standard P&S. But the limitations of this camera definitely shine if you want to take concert photos etc.

My DP1 is limited to ISO 800, which looks decent, but ISO 400 is much cleaner. I think due to the different Sigma sensor, the noise profile is slightly worse than other SLR-sized sensor. The colors are also slightly desaturated as well.

I like the wide 28mm angle, but when shooting at night, this will limit your range of photos, the DP2 is a 41mm and also has a faster f2.8 lens (DP1 limited to f4)

 

[lasuther]

Look into an Olympus E420. It is a DSLR, but small. There is a kit pancake lens which is very small and has a F2.8 aperature. There are only three F1.4 lens available for the fourthirds system right now, which would be needed for really low light photography. The E420 will shoot up to 1600 ISO.

Also, the micro fourthirds system should be coming out soon.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Heh. When I saw this thread title I thought, that's like asking "what's the best teaspoon to use for shoveling snow?"

I second the suggestion for looking into the Olympus e-420. With the f/2.8 pancake lens, it will far outperform any PnS camera.

 

[CMD is me]

Keep in mind if you'll be using the zoom or not. While my F31 is a more than a stop cleaner than my Panasonic TZ4 (F31 800iso is cleaner than the TZ at 400iso), its also a slower camera if zoomed. The F31 at 3/4 zoom is already at f5 where the TZ is at a similar focal length is only at f4. Therefore the TZ can shoot at 400iso and have the same shutter speed as the F31 at 800... does that make sense?

 

[TheReef]

Heh. When I saw this thread title I thought, that's like asking "what's the best teaspoon to use for shoveling snow?"

I second the suggestion for looking into the Olympus e-420. With the f/2.8 pancake lens, it will far outperform any PnS camera.

Yeah, or pick up any of the older smaller dSLRs of eBay for around $200 US + the price of an f1.4 50mm.

 

[jmdeegan]

I actually have 2 of the small olympus point and shoots, the ones which are waterproof/crushproof/freezeproof etc

they have a night shooting mode, and I took a few during a night time water/lights show in aruba over the summer. ill see if i can upload them, but lets just say that for 200 bucks, I was very pleased (considering that i do have a dSLR with all the lenses intended for low light shooting).

 

[Regis27]

Canon g6

I would recommend the Canon g6. It has a f/2.0 lens (maxing out at 3.0) and the fewer number of megapixels means that each photosite is actually larger. You might have some problems finding one though; they're still popular as backup cameras to slrs.

 

[gkarris]

Heh. When I saw this thread title I thought, that's like asking "what's the best teaspoon to use for shoveling snow?"

I prefer Noritake but definitely stay away from plastic...



Try a PnS but it needs to have a full sized sensor...

 

[CrackedButter]

Look into an Olympus E420. It is a DSLR, but small. There is a kit pancake lens which is very small and has a F2.8 aperature. There are only three F1.4 lens available for the fourthirds system right now, which would be needed for really low light photography. The E420 will shoot up to 1600 ISO.

Also, the micro fourthirds system should be coming out soon.

The Olympus E420 is terrible past ISO 400 and it hunts like a blind Eagle in the dark. It is also quite big compared. I should know I have it and gone back to a Canon 5D because of it (meaning I use both cameras now).

Go for the recently released LX3. It does f2 AND ISO 3200. I would.

 

[gkarris]

The Olympus E420 is terrible past ISO 400 and it hunts like a blind Eagle in the dark. It is also quite big compared. I should know I have it.

Go for the recently released LX3. It does f2 AND ISO 3200.

Yes, dpreview.com liked the LX3...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmclx3/page17.asp

nice sample pics!

 

[vciinc]

No Flash

I use the Leica D-Lux 4. Here are some taken inside a library in low light w/o flash

http://www.pbase.com/vciinc/library

 

[netdog]

There is a Canon 50mm 0.95 lens that you can often pick up on the cheap on eBay that will fit an M rangefinder (digital or film) with a simple adaptation. Used M8 bodies are going often at remarkable prices since Leica started offering $1500 on new ones.

Short of that, the LX3/D-lux 4 is a great choice for your needs if you want a point and shoot that is capable of much more than most cameras in its class.