Ideally night shots are best captured by placing a camera on a tripod. But, there are times when you don't have a tripod with you, or you're in a situation where tripods are not permitted, and that's where Handheld NightScene can be very useful.
This photo I took using a tripod, but this is the type of photo that, should you not have a tripod with you, would be well suited to the Handheld NightScene mode.
Handheld NightScene can be useful in any low-light situation, so as well as night scenes, it might also be used in historic properties or museums, where light is a problem and flash is not permitted. This is a photo that I took last year at Christmas, on the day we visited Castle Drogo. It would be well suited to Handheld NightScene mode, especially as the National Trust does not allow the use of tripods in their properties.
When the camera is in this mode it will take a series of photographs in a fast burst when the shutter is pressed. The number of shots is not specified in the manual, but it is thought to be four photos. The camera then processes the series of photos by blending them back together to create just a single image.
The Handheld NightScene mode will not work very well where there is movement within the photo, because the multiple images will not accurately blend together, and there will be 'ghosting' in the photograph. For this very same reason, it is necessary to hold the camera as steady as possible whilst it takes the multiple shots in the series.
Because the camera has a lot of processing to do to blend the 4 photos back into a single image, there will be a significant delay whilst the camera does this before you will be able to see the photo that you've taken.
One type of photograph that might be tried using this method would be to take a portrait photograph of a person in a night scene situation, such as on a street. Use flash to illuminate the person whilst in Handheld NightScene mode. The flash should correctly expose the person in the foreground, the Handheld NightScene function should correctly expose the street scene in the background. It will be important for the person to remain very still for this to work successfully. This photograph was taken using flash to illuminate the foreground.
I wish my camera had a Handheld NightScene mode!
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