"A photography lesson"

Night shots are particularly tricky to take due to the poor lighting condition. If not careful, the images usually turn out shaky, too dark, or with color that doesn't reflect the actual scenery.

Now, I'm beginning to take notice of some settings in my camera... yeah, after so long! :P

First, lets look at the shot below.



What do you think? Nice? I quite like it. This was shot using 'P mode', ISO set to 400, on a makeshift tripod (aka, I just put it on timer, on top of my car la...). The rest are set to Auto/Default.

Actually, if you look closely, you'll notice the noisy grain on the picture. Well, I looked up why this was so. Turns out,

"ISO is the number indicating a digital camera sensors sensitivity to light. The higher the sensitivity, the less light is needed to make an exposure. Unfortunately, the higher the number, the more noise. Changing ISO also changes the aperture and shutter speed."

Low ISO settings
ISO 50-100
More light needed
Less noise
More image detail
Larger aperture +/or longer shutter speed

High ISO settings
ISO 200 and above
Less light needed
Increased noise
Less image detail
Smaller aperture +/or faster shutter speed

Headache... I just remember this:

Night shot -> got tripod? Yes -> use low ISO, No -> use high ISO

Hope this is informative!

Some references:
http://www.photographyjam.com/articles/29/camera-basics-shutter-speed-aperture-and-iso
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/iso.php