Steve'sDigicams

Jack35950 · Jun 6, 2006, 7:46 AM

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a camera suitable for taking good quality low light pictures without using the flash. My main venue if indoor concerts and night time outdoor music festivals.

Can anyone make suggestions? Non-SLR please.

slipe · Jun 6, 2006, 11:28 AM

There isn't really a good one.

The Fuji F30 is about to be released. It has great high ISO capability with relatively low noise, but it has only a 3X optical zoom. I would suggest waiting for it rather than going with the current F10/11. They have no viewfinder and the LCD is a lot nicer on the F30.

The Fuji S9000 has decent in-camera noise reduction but it is nowhere near the F30. What it does have is a good zoom range.

The other option is stabilization. Most companies are advertising 3 f-stops for stabilization and that seems pretty close. So the shot you can handhold without stabilization at ISO1600 you can get at ISO200 with stabilization. The stabilized shot will have less noise. The downside of stabilization is that it allows you to handhold at a slower shutter speed and you get blur with any subject movement. You can often hit a moment of null subject motion with a good burst mode and stabilization, but it isn't always ideal.

The best stabilized camera for your purpose would be the Panasonic FZ20. It maintains f2.8 at full zoom and the extra half stop can be significant in limited light. It has a strong internal flash and a hot shoe. It also has a good burst mode. One downside is that the small movies are next to useless. It is also quite bulky like the S9000.

Jack35950 · Jun 12, 2006, 8:20 AM

Thanks. I'll give the Fuji F30 a close look when it comes out.

Jack35950 · Aug 12, 2006, 10:14 AM

We just got a Fuji F30 here at work. I took it out last night and it does take really good low light pictures.

The only down side is the 6.3 MP rating. If it where 8 MP or higher I'd run out and buy one for myself today. I'll probably wait unit Fuji come out with a higher MP model before buying on for myself.

al1012 · Aug 12, 2006, 8:56 PM

Most prints are made using 300 dpi printers ergo you only need a 7.2 MP camera if you print 8" x 10" pics Jack35950 wrote:

Quote:

The only down side is the 6.3 MP rating. If it where 8 MP or higher I'd run out and buy one for myself today.

Sintares · Aug 12, 2006, 9:06 PM

Exactly !

Why are people so hung up onmegapixels ?

I mean a 3mp camera is fine for 8x10s, so people wanting 8+mps must all be wanting to print 20x30s ..

I laugh when I see people saying they are only going to print 4x6s and then demanding the best 8 or 10 mp camera.

Those kind of people make the salepeople drool..

flippedgazelle · Aug 12, 2006, 9:08 PM

Unless you plan on doing some serious cropping, there is virtually no difference between 8mp and 6mp, except the 8mp camera will generate a bit more noise than the 6mp camera, if all else is equal. MP is advertised because it is a great marketing tool.

Jack35950 wrote:

Quote:

We just got a Fuji F30 here at work. I took it out last night and it does take really good low light pictures.

The only down side is the 6.3 MP rating. If it where 8 MP or higher I'd run out and buy one for myself today. I'll probably wait unit Fuji come out with a higher MP model before buying on for myself.

Jack35950 · Aug 14, 2006, 7:03 AM

I haven't really thought much about printing pictures.A friend of mine has a EOS 30D and it seems like you can really zoom deep into the pictures on the computer screen taken with her camera before they get grainy. Maybe not the best benchmark of a camera but I always seem to end up doing that with any photos I take.

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Jun 6, 2006, 7:46 AM	#1
Jack35950 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6	Hi everyone, I'm looking for a camera suitable for taking good quality low light pictures without using the flash. My main venue if indoor concerts and night time outdoor music festivals. Can anyone make suggestions? Non-SLR please.

Jun 6, 2006, 11:28 AM	#2
slipe Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Indian Rocks Beach, FL Posts: 4,036	There isn't really a good one. The Fuji F30 is about to be released. It has great high ISO capability with relatively low noise, but it has only a 3X optical zoom. I would suggest waiting for it rather than going with the current F10/11. They have no viewfinder and the LCD is a lot nicer on the F30. The Fuji S9000 has decent in-camera noise reduction but it is nowhere near the F30. What it does have is a good zoom range. The other option is stabilization. Most companies are advertising 3 f-stops for stabilization and that seems pretty close. So the shot you can handhold without stabilization at ISO1600 you can get at ISO200 with stabilization. The stabilized shot will have less noise. The downside of stabilization is that it allows you to handhold at a slower shutter speed and you get blur with any subject movement. You can often hit a moment of null subject motion with a good burst mode and stabilization, but it isn't always ideal. The best stabilized camera for your purpose would be the Panasonic FZ20. It maintains f2.8 at full zoom and the extra half stop can be significant in limited light. It has a strong internal flash and a hot shoe. It also has a good burst mode. One downside is that the small movies are next to useless. It is also quite bulky like the S9000.

Jun 12, 2006, 8:20 AM	#3
Jack35950 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6	Thanks. I'll give the Fuji F30 a close look when it comes out.

Aug 12, 2006, 10:14 AM	#4
Jack35950 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6	We just got a Fuji F30 here at work. I took it out last night and it does take really good low light pictures. The only down side is the 6.3 MP rating. If it where 8 MP or higher I'd run out and buy one for myself today. I'll probably wait unit Fuji come out with a higher MP model before buying on for myself.

Aug 12, 2006, 9:06 PM	#6
Sintares Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 647	Exactly ! Why are people so hung up onmegapixels ? I mean a 3mp camera is fine for 8x10s, so people wanting 8+mps must all be wanting to print 20x30s .. I laugh when I see people saying they are only going to print 4x6s and then demanding the best 8 or 10 mp camera. Those kind of people make the salepeople drool..

Aug 14, 2006, 7:03 AM	#8
Jack35950 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 6	I haven't really thought much about printing pictures.A friend of mine has a EOS 30D and it seems like you can really zoom deep into the pictures on the computer screen taken with her camera before they get grainy. Maybe not the best benchmark of a camera but I always seem to end up doing that with any photos I take.