Nikon CP8700 and low light

I have a Nikon CP8700, and for the most part I very much like this
camera. However, I was mortified to realize that it was shown up this
weekend by my husband's tiny Sony something-U point-and-shoot!

We were in Paris over the weekend (Valentines weekend), and took the
Seine boat trip at night... very beautiful, but I was completely unable
to take useable photos! This is probably pilot error, but the photos
with a fast enough shutter to cancel the motion of the boat were too
dark to save even with post-processing, and with a slower shutter of
course there was motion-blur. On the other hand, my hubby's tiny Sony
(it's smaller than a cigarette pack) captured quite useable nighttime
photos. Incidentally, so did my Sony camcorder, even without nightshot.

I often find that I have problems with low-light conditions and camera
movement - if I set it to a shutter speed I can work with (1/30 if it's
only a little windy), it complains that the photo will be too dark
(sometimes is, sometimes isn't, at least after post processing)

Am I doing something wrong, or can someone explain why my expensive ZLR
is being show up by a sub-$200 point-and-shoot? I'm mostly a landscape
photographer, and mountains tend to not move much (usually!)

jmc

jmc wrote:
I have a Nikon CP8700, and for the most part I very much like this
camera. However, I was mortified to realize that it was shown up this
weekend by my husband's tiny Sony something-U point-and-shoot!
[]
Am I doing something wrong, or can someone explain why my expensive
ZLR is being show up by a sub-$200 point-and-shoot? I'm mostly a
landscape photographer, and mountains tend to not move much (usually!)

jmc

Two reasons we bought a Panasonic FZ20 instead of the Nikon 8700 we

- it has image stabilisation

- it has an f/2.8 lens rather than an f/4.2 lens at the long end

The image stabilisation buys you about three stops, the lens another stop,
so your blurred half-second exposure becomes my sharp 1/30s.

OK, so Nikon offer the 8800, but its lens is just f/5.2 at the long end!

In practice, I've found that for nighttime shots you really do need some
support, such as a bean-bag or tripod. You may also find that using the
EVF with your camera braced against the head rather than being at arm's
length helps, although this seems to differ for different people.

Cheers,
David

David J Taylor wrote:
jmc wrote:

I have a Nikon CP8700, and for the most part I very much like this
camera. However, I was mortified to realize that it was shown up this
weekend by my husband's tiny Sony something-U point-and-shoot!

[]

Am I doing something wrong, or can someone explain why my expensive
ZLR is being show up by a sub-$200 point-and-shoot? I'm mostly a
landscape photographer, and mountains tend to not move much (usually!)

jmc


Two reasons we bought a Panasonic FZ20 instead of the Nikon 8700 we

- it has image stabilisation

Yea, I'd probably had purchased the 8800 for this alone, if I hadn't
purchased the 8700 just a few months before
- it has an f/2.8 lens rather than an f/4.2 lens at the long end

The image stabilisation buys you about three stops, the lens another stop,
so your blurred half-second exposure becomes my sharp 1/30s.

Next camera purchase, I'll definitely remember to consider this when
deciding!
OK, so Nikon offer the 8800, but its lens is just f/5.2 at the long end!

So, that'd make it even worse than the 8700? Or about the same, with IS
factored in?

In practice, I've found that for nighttime shots you really do need some
support, such as a bean-bag or tripod. You may also find that using the
EVF with your camera braced against the head rather than being at arm's
length helps, although this seems to differ for different people.

Yea, I do when I can (and using the EVF does work for me), but when the
surface you want to stabilize on is moving, tripods don't help much
Fortunately, I don't photograph from boats much...

Cheers,
David



Thanks!

jmc wrote:
[]
OK, so Nikon offer the 8800, but its lens is just f/5.2 at the long
end!
So, that'd make it even worse than the 8700? Or about the same, with
IS factored in?

Oh, no, The IS should more than compensate, but without IS, yes, the 8800
would be marginally worse than the 8700. For wide-angle shots, as I
recall, they are both f/2.8.

[]
Yea, I do when I can (and using the EVF does work for me), but when
the surface you want to stabilize on is moving, tripods don't help
much Fortunately, I don't photograph from boats much...

Nighttime and from boats is a definite issue! One suggestion /might/ be
to use the BSS mode where you take several pictures at once and the camera
selects the sharpest. Or just take several pictures yourself and review
them critically. Some other tricks include holding your breath while
taking the shot, trying to take when there is a minimum of movement,
panning etc.

Cheers,
David