kind of pontless..not offroad pictures..still trying to figure my camera out..guys that take those really nice hi res photos on this sight..what camera are you using? how can i make these photos less blurry? I am using a canon powershot a540..or is that just the limitations of this camera at night?

If you're not using a tripod, that will help. The darker the setting, more time (a longer exposure) will be necessary for the camera to capture the shot. What typically happens is that the amount of time required to capture the shot is longer than the amount of time that a person can hold the camera still enough for the shot to be blurry.

For example, say you take a quick shot of your X on a bright sunny day. That scenario will require very little time, say an average of 1/250th of a second (the range here is broad, but I won't get into that part of it here).

But as it gets darker, the shots become "slower" to get the same image, 1/125, 1/60, etc. Slower that 1/60th, and you start getting camera shake. Hence, a blurry shot.

There are many reasons why a shot can be blurry, but the most common is that you shake the camera, however imperceptibly, causing a blurry result.

A tripod holds things in place. Try starting there.

Hope this helps.

The Canon A Series Powershots should have Shutter Priority. For some reason, Canon calls this "Tv" mode. (I forget why)

Crank the command dial to the Tv mode, and set to some long shutter speed. anything slower than 1/60th will have alot blurry handshaking if you are not using a tripod.

Try replicating the same shot - but using a slow shutter speed of like 2 to 6 seconds. Then see if you get the results you are looking for.

Also set the timer. That way the camera doesn't shake when your finger presses the button. Set the timer to like 5 seconds. Aim the camera, press the button (it probably will shake when your finger releases) but since you have it on timer, its got 5 seconds (or whatever your timer is set to) to settle down.

Use a Tripod.

I believe it was a standard term for "Time Value" (as opposed to Av for "Aperture Value").

I agree with the rest of your post. We have a couple A-series cameras around the house and they're pretty darn good cameras for the price.

Well put Bobby. Another thing is the ISO or ASA controls. The Fine Grain, or whats known as noise on digital cameras, is caused by a high ISO which on a lot of consumer cameras, you can't alter. Take a look through your owners manual and see if it says anything about that. If you can set it to something around 200 and then do as Bobby said and put it on a tripod. Hope this helps.

yeah even SLR's get noise in then

Are you sure about that?

nice pic man..thast what i gotta figure out how to do...so longgg shutter speed and i can get a picture like that? I was reading the manual and saw this "iso" stuff then i saw it mentioned on here, what exactly is that?

nice pic Dude

The Iso is the rate or sensitivity your sensor has towards light. The higher the Iso (1600) the more sensitive it is, giving you faster shutter speeds in low light. The draw back is that it creates noise on the image. So if you have a tripod the shutter speed doesn't matter there for setting your ISO to something around 100-200 will give you very low grain images.

You are asking tech. stuff and even though many answers are true. here you will find all you need:
www.dpreview.com is a GREAT well known site for info. on cameras and how to questions.

I am a Canon 20D user and dSLR is the way to go if you want to get into photography at a deeper level-where you will have control of exposures throughout the whole spectrum..

I know the Canon power shot series are very good and can do a lot.
Try using teh M mode (I think they have one)..
(Manual for greater control..a tripod is most definite for anything under 1/15. Someone posted 1/60 that's quick enough for a steady shot.....but then again..it depends on experience and skill.
The best thing to do is to experiment with all the different settings and you will soon find out what
works... Here's a shot I took last night in the heavy fog I was in..I wanted a better stting but time didn't allow for me to scope out a good place for a shot...

heres the file info:
Exposure time: 4/1
Shutter speed: 4.00
F-stop: 4.0
ISO speed: 200
Focal length: 32.0000

i think im learning from being totaly ignorant in taking photos to a tiny bit of understanding..
sry for the lameo picks..
tell me what you think

If I can make one suggestion that's a great first step to practice, costs nothing and works with any camera.

One thing that can make a big difference in one's shots is to make sure the horizon is level. All too often, people get their pics back and see that things are off to one side or another. In some cases, such as landscapes featuring irregular elements, they can trick the eye. As a result, you learn to trust your levels, or little bubble levels that are often integrated into the head unit of the tripod. There's also an accessory level that slides into the hot shoe for the flash.

By getting practiced in this, it makes moving on to working on your composition that much easier.

Awesome improvement in your night shots dude