Pam Hewstone

Suggestions please, like this camera, as I have trouble changing lenses, due to arthritis. Not happy about its low light capabilities.

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ricardo00

Are you shooting in auto mode? Do you know what the settings are? (ie. shutter speed, etc)
I know with my RX100 (which has the same size sensor as your camera) I put it in manual and then do longer exposures (ie. slower shutter speed) when light is low.

Pam Hewstone

Hi, yes I am in manual, I had to bump up ISO, to get a faster shutter speed. Yes I will try a longer exposure and lower ISO

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Before anyone can make a determination of the problem more info must be known. You were posting the same time as me. Are the images underexposed when you shoot in auto? Underexposure in manual mode would more than likely be caused by improper settings for correct exposure.

ricardo00

It is amazing how slow a shutter speed one can use. For the evening foliage scene below I hand held and shot at 1/8 of a second and for the early morning bison I used 1/125 with the Sony RX100 (though this lens has a much larger aperture than your RX10):

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early morning bison (1/125 second shutter)

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bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

My wife has an RX10 IV. She understands that she paid a lot of money for a lens and extraordinary Sony software. In other words, you paid for it, so try the automatic settings. Her results are exceptional.

ricardo00

I am too much of a control freak! Besides, why ask directions when I can just as easily get lost.
PS. The OP said they were in manual and had bumped up the ISO to increase the shutter speed. They might have been better off letting Sony's extraordinary software choose the settings as your wife does.

Pam Hewstone

I much prefer to shoot in Manual mode, but I think I will have to do some experimenting with auto in low light.

Pam Hewstone

I am not a fan of letting the camera make all the decisions, however I need to get better results in low light, so I guess I will have to try a few different things. Thanks

R.G. Loc: Scotland

You took the shot at full zoom, and under normal circumstances your shutter speed of 1/800 sec would be justified. However, in low light you need a slower shutter speed. The subject movement doesn't require a fast shutter speed but if the shot was hand-held you would need to find some way of stabilising the camera to reduce camera shake as much as possible.

A monopod or a tripod would have worked, but if you're not interested in carrying either of those around with you, you need to develop better camera-holding skills. Finding something steady to sit the camera on or finding something steady to lean against are the most popular answers, but with a bit of training and focused concentration you can get away with hand-held shots at lower shutter speeds. Just be advised that if you overdo it, camera shake has the potential to render a shot unusable.

The more zoom you're using, the higher the required shutter speed. The usual rule of thumb is to use the reciprocal of the focal length (full frame equivalent) as a minimum requirement. For example, a focal length of 100mm requires a shutter speed of 1/100 sec (or faster). Your 600mm (equiv.) focal length indicates a shutter speed of 1/600 sec or faster, but with the right camera-holding skills you can get away with less. A monopod greatly reduces the shutter speed requirements and a tripod allows you to choose the shutter speed purely on the basis of subject movement (or whatever other movement you may have within the frame).

Pam Hewstone

[quote=R.G.]You took the shot at full zoom, and under normal circumstances your shutter speed of 1/800 sec would be justified. However, in low light you need a slower shutter speed. The subject movement doesn't require a fast shutter speed but if the shot was hand-held you would need to find some way of stabilising the camera to reduce camera shake as much as possible.

A monopod or a tripod would have worked, but if you're not interested in carrying either of those around with you, you need to develop better camera-holding skills. Finding something steady to sit the camera on or finding something steady to lean against are the most popular answers, but with a bit of training and focused concentration you can get away with hand-held shots at lower shutter speeds. Just be advised that if you overdo it, camera shake has the potential to render a shot unusable.

The more zoom you're using, the higher the required shutter speed. The usual rule of thumb is to use the reciprocal of the focal length (full frame equivalent) as a minimum requirement. For example, a focal length of 100mm requires a shutter speed of 1/100 sec (or faster). Your 600mm (equiv.) focal length indicates a shutter speed of 1/600 sec or faster, but with the right camera-holding skills you can get away with less. A monopod greatly reduces the shutter speed requirements and a tripod allows you to choose the shutter speed purely on the basis of subject movement (or whatever other movement you may have within the frame).[

Pam Hewstone

[quote=Pam Hewstone][quote=R.G.]You took the shot at full zoom, and under normal circumstances your shutter speed of 1/800 sec would be justified. However, in low light you need a slower shutter speed. The subject movement doesn't require a fast shutter speed but if the shot was hand-held you would need to find some way of stabilising the camera to reduce camera shake as much as possible.

A monopod or a tripod would have worked, but if you're not interested in carrying either of those around with you, you need to develop better camera-holding skills. Finding something steady to sit the camera on or finding something steady to lean against are the most popular answers, but with a bit of training and focused concentration you can get away with hand-held shots at lower shutter speeds. Just be advised that if you overdo it, camera shake has the potential to render a shot unusable.
I will consider less zoom where possible, monopod or tripod. Thanks

The more zoom you're using, the higher the required shutter speed. The usual rule of thumb is to use the reciprocal of the focal length (full frame equivalent) as a minimum requirement. For example, a focal length of 100mm requires a shutter speed of 1/100 sec (or faster). Your 600mm (equiv.) focal length indicates a shutter speed of 1/600 sec or faster, but with the right camera-holding skills you can get away with less. A monopod greatly reduces the shutter speed requirements and a tripod allows you to choose the shutter speed purely on the basis of subject movement (or whatever other movement you may have within the frame).[[/quote]

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Less zoom will probably mean more cropping - which comes with its own set of problems. When you zoom in by cropping, softness and noise become more noticeable, as will any camera shake or motion blur. If you're having trouble with your hands, a monopod would help without becoming too much of an encumbrance.

Pam Hewstone

Thank you

Dickbas Loc: Southern New Jersey

Pam,
From reading your EXIF data in your photo, you were in Manual Mode and had set Shutter Speed to 1/800 sec, F Stop was f6.3, and ISO was 2000. The photo shows an excessive amount of "Color Noise" which is a function of "Underexposure".
I have the RX10 Mk4, and have taught 4 other photographers in our Over 55 Photo Club how to use their RX10 Mk4's, and here are my recommendations:
1.) Your subject was obviously the Pigeon, therefore use Spot Focus Mode, 2.) Widen up your f-stop to F4.0, 3.) Lower your Shutter Speed to 1/125 sec, 4.) adjust ISO downward to around ISO 800, Or, Set your ISO to "Auto".