I took lots of picture in HongKong at night, but when i developed photographs the pics are really blurry and unclear, i used night mode and manual focus for taking the pics. I still remember when i took the pics on night mode, i was unable to see through view window for very few second, when i clicked the camera. I did not increase or decrease shutter speed as i did not have idea to use all these advanced functions. I need guidance from all of your expertise, How i should take the photographs. Which mode is better, P mode or Auto mode or basic mode ? Do i need to buy extra flash or any other things i have to consider before taking pics ? When should i use Manual Focus ? Please guide me Thanks in Advance

-- Parwinder (psadana@advancedacard.com), January 24, 2002

Answers

I would recommend getting a good book on basic photography. Those "advanced functions" really aren't advanced at all. They are the basic modes. Without learning the basics, you would be better off with a point & shoot type camera and sticking to daylight pictures.

But what you need for night scenes is a tripod to steady your camera with. Use manual focus when your camera won't auto focus on the place you want it to.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), January 24, 2002.

Night mode is mainly intended for shooting people with a night scene background,probably using a flash-and-slow-shutter combination.The instruction book stated clearly that landscape mode should be used for night scene.The pics may look dark because flash is useless for in this case(the flash light could not reach the subjects and even it reached them,the power is insufficient for correct exposure.I had once shot night scene in hong kong using Tv and M and the results are good.When shooting night scene,you have to set a reasonbly small aperture for large DOF.It is the best to focus at 1/3 of the distance between the nearest and the farthest subject.You should also meter at the brightest parts for correct exposure.The exposure time usually takes several seconds to minutes and the viewfinder will be blacked out accordingly.A good way to shoot night scene,esp.the buildings,is to use double exposure:one at dusk when the sky is still bright and colourful and the other taken when the buildings are well-lit. Basic and Auto modes are actually useless and u will learn nothing about photography from them.They are designed for point & shoot convenience. P mode offers u different choices of shutter and aperture combinations,using at the middle setting eg.f/8,1/125.When flash is used in P mode it meters the flash as the main source of night and the highest possible shutter speed is set. Manual mode meters the scene with weights at the centre.I do not recommend this mode when u shoot people because it takes time to shift both the shutter and aperture setting. External flash is needed when u are going to shoot people in low light.

-- legnum (legnum212@email.com), January 24, 2002.

Autofocus cameras are notoriously difficult to focus manually since they aren't really set up to do so. Since the electronics and sensors are so refined you would be hard pressed to match their accuracy with your eyes.

If you were unable to see through the viewfinder for a few moments, it means that you were using a very slow shutter speed. Slow speeds mean that the slightest amount of camera movement while the shutter is open will blur the photo. As a general rule, you should use a shutter speed that equals (the inverse) of the length of your lens.

So if you have a 50 mm lens, you should try not to use a shutter speed slower than 1/60. If you have a 28-105 zoom, when it's at 28 shoot at no slower than 1/30 (hold very still and have your subject hold still); when it's at 105, shoot at 1/90 or faster. You'll avoid blurry pictures due to camera shake.

This is oversimplifying things, but if you have to shoot at night without flash, set the TV to 1/60 (if that matches your lens); if the aperture isn't wide enough (if the indicator blinks), you won't be able to take that picture. Otherwise, you'll have to use a slower shutter speed and a tripod.

The Night Mode chooses the widest aperture of the lens and the corresponding shutter speed--in your instance it chose one too slow for you to effectively hand-hold. The solution is a tripod.

Like the previous poster noted, a basic guide will help you understand all this. There's one called The Magic Lantern Guide to the Rebel 2000 that might be good for you.

Good luck.

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), January 25, 2002.

Hi Parwinder

My suggestion is to get a basic book on Photography. You need to learn a lot before using those advanced modes. If your intention was to shoot only using the Basic Auto modes then you would have bought a point and shoot camera instead of SLR. Ok you have it now, study the basics like Shutter speed, Aperture, Depth of field etc. Also study your manual thouroughly. Some where at the end of your camera manual you can find out the simple definition of all these terms. But that is not enough to go ahead, you need a good book. Go to any of the local book stores and search for some good books. Or use the following link to buy it from Amazone.com. This is a very good book and it is worth for its price. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0792274989/qid=1011988150/sr =2-2/ref=sr_2_79_2/002-6023485-8788038

All the best!

-- George (george.mathew2k@yahoo.com), January 25, 2002.

The name of the book that I have mentioned is "National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Secrets to Making Great Pictures by Peter K. Burian, Robert Caputo, National Geographic Society". If you are not able to get there using that link then go to Amazone.com and give a search in Books section using the key word "National Geographic".

-- George (george_mathew2k@yahoo.com), January 25, 2002.