Nightime photos with SX20

We bought the SX20IS some time ago and have been using it mostly during daylight or indoor conditions. We took our kids to a Christmas parade last night and I tried to take some pics in the scene/night mode. All I got was blurry pics. I tried a few other settings and the same thing. I am very dumb when it comes to using anything but auto mode but I really want to maximize the use from this camera and get some optimal pics. Can someone help me out briefly on what settings I could use to get some nice nighttime shots? I even tried the fireworks mode lol. I know using a tripod will work too but I don't think that would work when there is movement, like a float going by us in the parade. Thanks in advance for any help.:thumbsup:

The lens is a variable aperture lens, so it will be fastest zoomed all the way out. Zooming in will only further limit the amount of light that passes through the lens. Try shutter priority mode at 1/30th, or 1/15th if need be, and set your ISO to either 1600 or 3200 (1600 ideal, 3200 is super grainy).

This is what Anbesol just said expressed differently.

Night mode is for doing buildings and other things that don't move. The camera sets a slow shutter speed (long exposure) to get enough light onto the sensor and uses the image stabiliser to avoid camera shake.

You are trying to shoot a moving float in low light. The camera thinks you're shooting something static and sets a slow shutter speed - which means that the subject has time to move during the exposure and the image is blurred. IS can't do anything about that. Of the available modes, Sports is the closest to what you need - tell the camera you're shooting a moving subject. Or as Anbesol says, Shuuter priority (Tv - I would try 1/60s or 1/125s)

- Set the camera to the maximum ISO possible. A grainy but sharp image is better than a clean but blurred one
- Set the lens on wide-angle and get in as close as possible to the subject. Forget zooming in on detail, it just won't work. The telephoto setting reduces the maximum amount of light that the lens can pass by more than 4 times (f2.8 vs f5.9). You need that light so you can use a faster shutter speed and freeze subject movement

I'm not familiar with the SX20, but if it's any help here's a night pic I took of my street with my Kodak Z915 in Manual mode, aperture=3.5, shutter= 1/4th, ISO=1600

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g6...5-4th-1600.gif

franglais - I've been very surprised at the stability of those tiny cameras at 1/30th and even 1/10th of a second. If 1/60th or 1/125th will suffice, that would be ideal, but getting sharp, handheld images at 1/10th to 1/30th on those little point n shoots is quite possible.

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Originally Posted by Anbesol

franglais - I've been very surprised at the stability of those tiny cameras at 1/30th and even 1/10th of a second. If 1/60th or 1/125th will suffice, that would be ideal, but getting sharp, handheld images at 1/10th to 1/30th on those little point n shoots is quite possible.

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Me too. The S95 is extraordinary as a nighttime tourism camera. The lens is extremely sharp even at f2.

The reason I suggested a faster shutter speed (1/60-1/125) is because the subject is in movement. 1/30s won't freeze it enough.