HELP! Need a digital camera that takes great pics at night & at indoor concerts!

clare1angel

Hi all

I'm looking for a new digital camera which will take really good quality photo's when at indoor concerts with low lights and also one that takes good pics at night.
At the moment I have a Samsung S1030 which has 10.1 MP and 3x optical zoom. This is a very good camera for daytime shots and is ok at night if your close to the object but last year on holiday I tried to take some night pictures across the village we were staying in and the pics were rubbish.
Me and my hubby go to quite afew concerts and when on holiday like to take lots of photo's night and day.
As far as budget goes we don't mind paying for a good quality camera that is going to do what we want but obviously within reason.
Thanks in advance for any info/advice.

isofa

Put the camera in manual or semi-auto mode, up the sensitivity (ISO) to at least 400 or 800 (or even 1600 if available) at night, and open up the aperture, then try again... however high ISO on compacts = noise.

Try this before buying a new camera.

Then, if you still aren't happy, and you still want to stick with a non-SLR (i.e. compact/bridge camera), the Canon G9 or G10 are excellent but not cheap, else make the jump to SLR where low light excels with the right photographer, ISO 800 is usually usable on a good SLR, or a pro you can use ISO 1600 , but normally 3200 and higher is usually too noisy despite what the manufacturers tell you.

For a super compact the Ixus cameras are very good. Some of the Panasonic's are pretty fine too.

Read the reviews at www.dpreview.com and prices at www.camerapricebuster.co.uk

gone4gold62

hi i have a fujifilm s1000 and this seems to do the job require just fine ,hope this helps .

buglawton

Panasonic Lumix series - the mechanical stabiliser allows it to expose the image for a bit longer and less sharpness loss. Pics of a floodlit stage would always be sharp, ones of say night street scenes - take 4 pics holding hands steady as poss, one should turn out sharp. I even use the tele at say 10x zoom and get a few sharp ones, leaning camera on street furniture.

hendersonb

Just a quick point if your using a camera at concerts - most don't allow the use of professional cameras i.e DSLR cameras and may throw you out if caught using one.

Brian

Marty_J

Fuji compacts often have very good high-ISO performance, which should enable you to get better photos in low light conditions.

They're still not nearly as good as even the cheapest DSLR, but they're better than many other compacts.

clare1angel

Thank you for all your replies and will try to up the ISO although I'm sure I tried this a while ago and not much difference?
Also to hendersonb thanks for the advice and I know your right but we've always managed to take in and use our camera although saying that I went to a concert on Sunday and a lady had her camcorder taken off her as she was caught filming! This is something I would never do but it is nice to have a few photo's especially as you pay so much to see these concerts!
Thanks again

isofa

Personally I'd not recommend the Fuji-film, they are pretty poor when compared with Canon and Panasonics, read some comparative reviews, plenty in the newsagents in quality mags... (What Digital Camera, PC Pro [have a set of good comparative reviews in the current issue], Camera buyers etc)

Many concerts have a policy of "no photography" at all, so if you are caught with any camera willfully recording, you'll get into trouble, DSLR or compact.