Digital Focus: Make Your Batteries Last

Q&A: Better Low-Light Photos

I frequently photograph live music performances. These tend to be under low-light conditions. Since most performers request that a flash not be used, it is a challenge to obtain good clear photos with the requisite slow shutter speeds. Do you have any suggestions for improving shots in these low light, action conditions? I have noticed that some camera models do better than others in low light conditions. I assume this is due to the sensitivity of the lens. Is there a camera or lens specification that describes the lens sensitivity? If so, how do you compare one camera to another in this regard?

--Greg Sullivan, San Francisco

Getting a good low-light photo--especially if your subject is moving--is one of the trickiest kinds of shots to get with a digital camera. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to help improve your odds, Greg.

For starters, camera shake will be a major concern, so try using a monopod or a tripod to get your shots. I tend to leave the head of my tripod loose so I can quickly pan around the stage and take my photos, while the tripod keeps the camera from shaking.

You should also bump up the camera's ISO setting (a measure of the sensor's light sensitivity) to maximum. It's great if your camera lets you set the ISO to 800 or so, but even ISO 400 can help a lot. If you fiddle with the ISO setting, be sure to turn on your camera's noise reduction feature if it has one. Many newer digital cameras employ excellent noise reduction to reduce the digital "trash" that crops up in photos taken in low light or with long exposure times.

Set your camera to an exposure mode that gives you some control over the aperture setting, and be sure that the lens is wide open to admit the most light. Remember that the smaller the number, the more open the aperture. So f/2 would be better than f/8, for instance. And whenever possible, use the camera's wide-angle mode. That's because the maximum aperture changes as you zoom in; it might be f/2 when wide, but f/2.4 when you zoom in. To gather as much light as possible, don't zoom.

And finally, the maximum aperture size is what tells you which cameras are better suited for low-light photography. If you are shopping for a new digital camera and do a lot of this sort of thing, then a camera with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 is going to do a better job at night and indoors than one that can only muster f/2.4.