Most cities are beautiful at night. The shimmering lights from towering buildings, winding streets and snaking traffic make the city come alive in the dark. Taking photos at night might be a challenge because of the lack of natural light, but not with EOS R. The following photos are shot straight out of the camera and unretouched to exemplify the quality of the camera and its lens in low light conditions.

EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.0, 63mm, 1/40 sec, ISO1600

A Symphony of Light and Water

It was about eight in the evening and just as the sky slid from deep purple to a gentle black, a dazzling display of light came alive near the waters. Accompanied by fountain jets and visual projectors, the sky lit up in various colours. Maintaining an aperture of f/2.0 to allow sufficient light into the camera sensor, coupled with lens great for low-light, we only needed to turn up the ISO to 1600 to capture a shot of the light show.

A City’s Reflections

Along the waterfront, lights from buildings across the river swept towards our side, carried by rippling currents caused by the wind and passing ferries. Focusing on the water at night could be a mission due to the lack of light, but with EOS R’s EV-6 capability, the AF system allowed us to focus better and quicker under the low-light condition and capture a shot of the psychedelic reflections on the water.

Get more information on EV-6 and the other camera features in EOS R Specs and What They Really Mean.

EOS R, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.8, 28mm, 1/13 sec, ISO1600

EOS R, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.8, 28mm, 1/15 sec, ISO4000

Night Faces

There was something enigmatic and melancholic about shooting portraits at night. Whatever the style and feel you may be going for, shooting night portraits is a breeze with the camera’s low light performance. The option to capture the shots using the electronic viewfinder or the LCD touch screen gave us the flexibility and a better control of the angles we desired. A tip on shooting portraits (at night): Turn on face detection in the camera and enable eye detection to capture a more accurate and focused shot of your model’s face, and hold your camera close to your body or lean against the wall when taking the shot to prevent blurry visuals.

Read up on How to Shoot Creative Night Portraits with the EOS R to get yourself ready for your next night shoot.

EOS R, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f2.8, 28mm, 1/25 sec, ISO3200

Fast Cars, Light Trails

As we approached a road, we could hear the roaring of the cars as they sped by. We mounted our camera onto a tripod and positioned the set-up in a diagonal angle facing the incoming traffic. Using a long exposure of about 13 seconds coupled with a low ISO of just 100, we captured streaks of light from the passing vehicles. The result was almost an emulation from a scene in a sci-fi movie.

EOS RP, RF28-70mm f/2L USM lens, f16, 39mm, 13 secs, ISO100

The camera’s ease of use and capability to produce high quality images even in low-light conditions allow one to shoot effortlessly in the nighttime. In addition, the original output shots require little or no editing, which means it is ready for social media just as it is!

Explore other types of night photography such as light painting in Tips to Create Light Painting Photos with Torch and Glow Sticks, or 3 Ways to Light Your Portraits When Shooting at Night with the EOS R.

 

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