Looking for suggestions for a decent camera for review pics. My iPad and phone don’t do it well in low light. But not interested in a seriously expensive camera here… just something that will work for reviews. But I am open to looking at something for more money IF it is a good value.
The goal is to post decent pics here on BLF and for a few reviews to come. I’d appreciate any BLFer’s experiences here. :student:
Subscribed!
I wanna buy a camera too, not only for night beamshots, but also for it!
I haven’t decided yet what would suit my needs, but it needs to be on the budget side without doubts!
About tripods, I recently bought 2, a small one for me (along with an extension / monopod that can be attached to it), and a bigger one for my girlfriend! This last one was :o Love it! But this one will hold her iPad with a specific piece for it.
Both are quite nice, knowing that the bigger one is more robust, but the smaller one will do a good job as well!
Here are some photos!
The big one has a leg that can be disconnected to use it as monopod too 
My mom has a Canon PowerShot A590 IS.
It was considered a good entry level digital camera years ago.
I wouldn't recommend it, as my Motorola E5 Play takes better photos, and it's a cheap smart phone.
What I am trying to say is I don't care about photo quality that much, so I use my Android phone.
I think my sister uses her Nexus 7, but I'm not sure how well it does in low light.
It's a shame your phone and iPad aren't good enough because those are really convenient.
Are there any phones that take good pics in low light, or do you really want/need a digital camera?
any camera with manual settings.(shutter speed, aperture, iso, wb). you do not want auto adjustments when making comparison beamshots, you’ll never see real difference that way. usually point and shoot cameras do not have that, but many of a bit more serious ones do, i’m not talking about expensive dslr. just a little more advanced than a simple point and shoot. i can’t give specific model or brand. it is really not that important, just look for a true manual mode.
s. some cameras do have exposure lock ability, so you can take several pics with same exposure settings under different lighting conditions, but you can’t really adjust them, that may work too for comparing beamshots. but they will not let you make really good night shots with several seconds shutter speed, i have old lumix fz30, and shooting a night scene in manual mode vs night mode you get very very different results, like night and day results. and i second good tripod suggestion, it is a must for night shots, remote shutter button is a plus too, but you may get away without it, using timer feature
I am still learning to use ISO and shutter on my cellphone, and in general.
Some weeks ago I tried some night beamshots and even some “light paiting” just to try it, but a camera will be better than my phone, both due to the sensor and other specs (namely colour “rendering”).
My phone has a weird thing on its camera that prevents me from getting colour in a more real way, hence the reason why I want a camera.
Also, I want to start exploring making some videos and photography for fun and for outdoor exploration (city, field, macro, etc).
I am inclined to get a bridge or a compact camera (probably this last one). Canon, Sony and Panasonic are the brands I see more in the stores here, but I still haven’t decided, and one of the reasons is because of night photos capability. The other is, of course, budget and other specs.
And yes, manual mode is mandatory
I use version one of Camera+ . It has manual controls and has been a great backup to my mirror less Sony camera. I haven’t done extensive night shots with it, but it might be what you’re looking for without spending a lot of money ($5). At the very least, you’ll have a more powerful camera app for day to day use if it doesn’t work out for beam shots.
I’ve done light painting with a mirror less and most phones don’t have what a full fledged camera has: bulb exposure. Phones tend to have a cutoff on when the shutter closes, limiting how much pattern will be captured.
If your colors are off, you may want to look into white balance settings. On a dedicated camera, shooting in RAW allows for post processing white balance adjustment.
Cant beat a real camera on a tripod. You can get you an Olympus micro 4/3 camera as a kit for less than $700 new (on ebay they go for much cheaper) and it’ll beat any phone camera out there. Something like the OMD-EM10 with a 14-42 kit lens would be take some awesome beamshots.
I appreciate this info (and other’s chiming in so far). I used to have a Canon F1- bought used in college for a photo class. I developed B&W film, printed a few series, and wish I had a few of those photo’s today.
But digital changed it all so I got Olympus’s top camera when it came out in 1999- before the single body “digital” SLRs (able to use our OLD lenses) came out shortly thereafter. That was an AMAZING camera for it’s time and finally died just a few years ago.
AND now 21 years later… I would have though a simple handheld model could capture decent low light pics- but maybe we’re not that far along in technology after-all. 
QUESTION: IF I got a tripod for my iPad (2018 model), does anyone know IF it has the capability to capture higher-res images in low light (given additional software may be an option?). I have a hard time thinking it can due to the physics involved with the TINY iPad lens. But maybe so?
I would have thought today’s CCDs could pull in more light with a larger lens on a lesser cost handheld camera by now. I have a great (standard) tri-pod, but the “device” tri-pods I’ve seen look cheap… OR expensive! But IF the iPad can pull it off— then maybe I need to shop for another tri-pod and buy software allowing me to manually adjust things. I donno’…
But with ALL the BLF members who HAVE posted pics… I’m hoping for ideas from first-hand use/methods/cameras (posting beamshots here). 
I’m sure it would come back to me in a short time (in any case) if using any manual mode. Then, it’s just a factor of enough CCD and decent enough lens to take pictures of these silly lights! 
I switched over to a mirrorless system a few years ago and once I tried the electronic viewfinder (EV) I couldn’t go back to a dslr. With the exposure showing up in real time on the rear screen or EV you can really set up night and beam shots to show the beam well. If you go over to the scannerguy1968 YouTube channel ( scannerguy1968 - YouTube ) and see his videos you can see how he uses his Sony A7S for low light capture. Any mirrorless camera should be able to demonstrate the real time exposure control. I would assume that a mirrorless Olympus camera should be able to use your older Olympus lenses or at least you should be able to adapt them and use them with manual focus. Camera stores (in the US) like Adorama, B&H or KEH should be able to give you good advice and all have a previously owned department with good return policies. Be warned though, just like being a flashlight collector, you can get hit by the camera/lens bug too lol
Any interchangeable lens camera (mirrorless or DSLR) will be good for night photography. Consider remote and triggering methods in your purchase, as the Bluetooth apps that manufacturers are pushing are mediocre compared to radio, wired, or IR remotes.
I appreciate all these points made so far and I HAD the bug years ago, but no lenses remain today so won’t be reinvesting in the high-end gear this time around.
Looking for good enough for BLF posts… and so still searching for ideas in the “basic but good enough” price range. Been watching Vipon here too. Thanks so far folks 
Have a look at any second hand digital SLR camera with a 50mm f1.8 lens.
One of the best low light compact cameras is the Sony RX100 series. Even the oldest MK1 was a good camera.
The bigger the sensor (full frame) and the larger the the aperture (smaller F number) is what you try to look for.
Sony sensors are champion in low light conditions.
Yup, the phone isn’t able to capture what I want because of that. With shutter on 8 or 10 seconds, it is not possible to capture the whole movement, and that is why a camera will do it better for sure
About the colours, is doesn’t have to do with the WB exposure, but with an eventual “stain” that emerges on the camera when I change it to manual WB. On auto it is fine, but manual (ex: 5000K), that stain apears and changes the colour.
Thanks for the advices, though
For low light photo shooting you need big sensor and “bright” lens.
I would go for at least APS-C, mirrorless and 1.4D lens.
Mike
The prosumer camera with best low light performance is Sony A7S III, truly amazing, but it will set your off by $3500, not even counting the cost of lenses.
Phone-wise, perhaps the Google Pixel Series takes best low light pictures. I am using the Pixel 4A, retails at $350, its night mode is amazing, captures details 10x betters then my human eyes.
my friend has pixel 4, by far the best low light cam, prbly the best all around, in any phone. but it does auto exposure adjustments, no way to manually set parameters, iirc. great camera , but not gonna show you true difference between beamshots.
The general advice for pros and prosumers is to spend the money on the lens. The camera matters less. But that advice is pretty much assuming a DSLR (or mirrorless now).
And, honestly, any DSLR or mirrorless kit lens (the inexpensive ones) will let you take great beamshots from a tripod. Longer exposure makes up for a smaller aperture. Canon is a very popular line of DSLRs with good quality lenses, and due to the rapid pace of advancement, at least around here, you can get great used ones pretty cheap. I’ve taken some great beamshots with a used EOS T2i that I bought used, years ago, for $150 (body only), using a kit zoom.
After 30+ years of Canon, I recently switched to a fujifilm mirrorless. I haven’t gotten used to the fuji UI yet, but it takes great photos. If you’re willing to spend $500 on a Fufifilm X-T200 with kit zoom, it will do everything you need, and it’s an amazing amount of camera for the price. I went Fuji because they have some very nice, highly rated fast prime lenses like this one which I absolutely love. I haven’t had the X-T200 long enough to take any beamshots, but I’ve used it enough to know that it will work just fine.
I do have a few minor things that bug me about my new fuji setup, but I won’t go into that unless you’re seriously considering my suggestion.
when you buy a camera with interchangeable lenses you open pandora’s box, no different that being hooked on flashlights, you just buy more and more. but lenses are more expensive, for flashlight reviews there is no need to buy an expensive camera, modern cell phones have excellent cams for normal daylight pics including close ups, for beamshots, any camera with manual settings should do, for that particular task lenses do not matter much.
Open Camera is free, open source, and allows full manual (plus raw, focus stacking, and other fun stuff). It will probably work on a Pixel 4. I’ve played with it, and it’s pretty cool.