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best DSLR for night photo (long expo.) and architecture ?


d_g

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I'd go with either of the canon 6.3 cameras, the noise and blooming is kept very very low unlike the kodak dcs and nikon's cameras. Plus, canon noise reduction for long exposures is done on the fly, so you don't have to take a second 'dark' frame and subtract noise. So a 15 second exposure is actually 15 seconds instead of 30 like on some cameras.
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Dude: You are barking at two trees. Kodak 14N is the ruler of architecture and Fuji S2 is the king of the night. If it were me, wait 3 months and see what Fuji will release (ie. S3). Canon is okay, but unless you drop 8k the 14N is equal or better for architecture (but a mess at night). Best night time shooter is the S2.

 

If you have the investment in film base, buy better film and wait 3 months and see what new is released. Some high buck scans will save you from having last years greatest.

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I've been quite happy with night exposures with my Canon 10D

(although my 1D is a dog for this).

 

About a week ago on the last full moon I did a test (it was cold...

about 20ºF) to check for noise in cold weather. I did a 30 second

exposure at f/2.8 of a lake scene lit only by the full moon and

there was no noise or stuck pixels.

 

Summer exposures with higher temperatures results in stuck

pixels and some elevated noise levels. That is my experience

with Canon (D30 & 10D) cameras.

 

So based on this I'm more likely to try long exposures during the

winter months.<div>0074J5-16134884.jpg.27f51c4501de560ee524c067518e2081.jpg</div>

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Dan's answer of stacking 4 or more images (in a post-processing program

such as Photoshop) to yield the very best architectural results is called

"persistence" in the electronic imaging field and it works much better than

simple dark field subtraction although it takes a bit more effort. It is used

extensively in medical real time ultrasound and lately in amateur astronomy

(using inexpensive webcams aimed through telescope eyepieces to average

many images into one).

 

If one doesn't mind blurred moving objects (trees, car headlights, people etc)

this method is the best way to almost eliminate shot noise but only for

non-moving subjects exposed from a sturdy tripod.

 

BTY stacking negatives to smooth silver halide grain has been used since the

turn of the last century. Percival Lowell, et al used it to perfection in his group's

planetary imaging at Mars Hill Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ.

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Canon's 6MP CMOS sensors found in their 300D and 10D handle long night exposures extremely well. Noise is very low to non-existent. For the ultimate in quality and resolution, go for the 1Ds, but obviously it costs a lot more. As for architecture, I prefer to use Canon's excellent 24mm and 45mm TS-E (tilt-shift) lenses to control perspective over doing it in post-processing. Generally, I do most of my perspective control with these lenses, followed by minimal perspective adjustment in post-processing if necessary. Doing perspective control with tilt-shift lenses just gives you more control than just doing it on the computer, with less image degradation. As an architectural kit, a 10D with 24mm and 45mm tilt-shift lenses with mirror lock up and cable release is a great set-up.
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