I'm doing these 30-seconds captures, and they turn out so crappy


Any ideas on how to make this better?
Sharper, that is. And the noise..

What kind of camera?

Sony DSC-P100 5.1MP

Arr... probably best if some mod could move thisone to Ask the experts thread, if possible..

The higher the ISO/ASA, the shorter the exposures you can use..maybe you should try using a tripod..if longer that 30 sec bursts. Essential! Also I use a cable release.very helpful. also..Use the "mirror lock-up" function. If your camera allows you to lock the mirror in place, do so. On some long exposures, the internal workings of the camera can actually cause enough vibration to make camera shake visible in the photo! Mirror locking reduces the chances of this source of camera shake.

Good luck.

-OCR

Thanks for the advice!

I do use a tripod, but I haven't heard of the mirror lockup stuff, but I'll check into that

Try Noise Ninja or Neat Image to minimize the noise.

being a digital camera, i guess there's no mirror or mechanical parts, the tripod should do it already.
i looked up your camera model and i suppose it wasnt designed for such a task HK

to make it sharper, you can try to focus manually: auto focus is usually not very good in the dark.
the noise comes from the long exposure. The only way to reduce moise is to have a better camera

i was thinking the same thing..... sorry im no help either

thanks all
I guess I'll just stick with the quality I've got

A remote switch for the shutter would make a world of difference-- if your depressing the shutter button by hand-that would be a problem.