I have a Minolta Dimage XT point and click Digital camera.
I am wanting tips on getting the best out of it. I like to take snaps of horizons etc and i also take pictures at night.

As with any camera, take lots of pictures - and make notes (if only mental) at the time so you can see which shots work and which don't. This is cheaper with a digital camera as you don't need to keep buying film.

Here’s some stuff I was taught.
Never put the horizon dead centre, put it top third of image or bottom third so you have more sky or more foreground depending on which is most interesting. Same goes left to right. When taking landscapes point the camera towards mid tones like the foreground, half press the shutter then move it to the final take position. This stops bright backgrounds silhouetting the foreground {assuming your camera can do this). Night pictures need more exposure so if your camera has slow shutter speed setting then use it.
Final rule - all rules can be broken so experiment, you can always delete naf images. Hope some of this helps. Lgx

The part about the landscapes etc is a great help.
The problem with having a slow shutter speed on the XT is that it has one of the smallest lenses in the world and it is all built in to the camera body, resulting in pictures that are very sensitive to any movement. I thought about buying a tripod but that sort of goes against having one of the smallest cameras you can buy.

You definitely need a tripod for long exposures, or if possible you can set your camera on a wall or something immovable. Also always use the delay setting when using a tripod.
Try dpreview an excellent site with lots of tutorials and camera specific forums.
Go shoot !!
PS rather than carry a tripod a lot of people use a small bean bag.

I'll check dpreview out as soon as i find it.
Thanks matsalleh :thumbsup:

Here`s the link :-
http://www.dpreview.com/
Enjoy

Here is something to aim for :-
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2003_reviews/dimagext_samples.html

Thanks for the links matsalleh!
I'll probably find the answer in the links above but can anyone tell me the best settings to take a picture of an animal at night from a distance of approx 25 meters, being slightly illuminated by street lights?.

The settings that i appear to get the best pictures from are:
Image size: 1280x 960
Quality:Standard (i can choose from economy,standard,fine and tiff)
White balance: Been using cloudy but i am going to try Tungsten tonight.
Sensitivity: ISO 50 (i can choose 50,100,200,400)
Metering mode: Multisegment (i can also choose spot)
Exp. comp.: I have left this set to 0 as i do not know what it does?
Noise reduction: On

Any advice will be appreciated! :thumbsup:

My advice for this is
Shoot the animal,
stuff it,
buy a tripod,
experiment.

I would be interested to see some results, you say "the settings that you get the best results from are"
ISO 50 shove it up as far as possible,you will get noise but a faster shutter speed.
If the exposure comp is what I think it is go to the + side, this should lighten the subject.
What sort of animal is this?

The main one that i want pictures of is a badger family. I wanted to get a few pictures of them to add to a thread i have on this forum. I would also like to get a few shots of the many fox's around here.
I took some pictures of one of the badgers last night but i needed the camera at full zoom and there was hardly any light at all, hence they look awful. It looks as though i have the DT's with all the camera shake and they are grainy as hell. I had a quick go at one of them using Photoshop7 but i'm not the best person in the world at using it yet.
I will be going out shortly with my dog so i will try your suggestions and hopefully get to rest against a wall or something before they make a run for it.