Basic questions about shooting in dim lit conditions

[nigs]

I have recently bought my first DSLR Canon 1000D and currently experimenting only with the kit lens of 18-55 mm.

I am just not able to click any photograph in a reasonable manner in dim light. Either it is too shaky or it is too dark or both. Do you think I should first upgrade to a prime lens before expecting to take decent shots at night?

I mean I have done fair bit of reading and I understand how I can achieve various effects using the 3 exposure related variables, viz., ISO, Shutter speed and Aperture (as also mentioned on a post here), but somehow I am never able to get a good picture.

Earlier when it is too shaky, I realized that the min. shutter speed I can manually handle without a tripod is 1/f where 'f' is the focal length. That fixed the shakiness issue but not the darkness. I was already at 1600 ISO so there was no question of tinkering with that variable, and aperture variations did not seem to have any effect on the darkness.

What do you suggest?

Secondly, which mode do you think is better for dim light shooting, Manual or Aperture?

[MrJones]

best bet.. buy an external flash.
wedding photographers invest in special equipment worth thousands of dollars just to be able to take photos in bad lightning situations like churches.
you can't expect to achieve this kind of performance with an entry level DSLR and a kit lens.
what you CAN do is either get yourself a prime lens or invest in a flash unit like the canon 430EX or 580EX II which will solve those lightning situations.
you need to understand that even with a tripod you won't be able to take pictures of people since they will be moving and you'll get a blurry photo.

[Aegea]

Originally Posted by nigs

,... aperture variations did not seem to have any effect on the darkness.

I'm curious about this comment. It seems to imply that you shot at different apertures with a fixed shutter speed and ISO, and all the photos looked the same. Unless they were all pitch black that shouldn't happen. Can you give us more details, and perhaps some examples with EXIF data?

[SwissJon]

I think you're trying to run before you can walk..

First, before you go buying a prime lens, (which won't make any difference at this point) flashes, etc. you should get to know your camera better. Your camera is perfectly capable of taking reasonable night shots as it is, it's the photographer that lacks the experience I think.

Night shooting requires a tripod minimum, and a remote shutter release as well. Cheap tripods aren't going to help much, but they're better than nothing, cheap radio remote releases are available on fleabay.

Next, learn a lot more about the exposure triangle before you start to buy gear other than a tripod. There's lots and lots of night photos on here, quite a few are mine. Take a look at the settings used, then consider copying, you should be able to get good night shots at 100iso and a bit of patience. At your experience level, I suggest you use Aperture priority mode. Get the hang of what kind of settings your camera uses to achieve the shots. Understand the feedback your camera gives you. Shoot in aperture priority until you start to consistently achieve the kind of results you want before you consider going manual.

Finally, post shots in the critique sections to get some more personalised feedback. Make sure you post EXIF data and follow the rest of the section rules.

[RichardTaylor]

If shooting at maximum ISO and with the lens wide open (maximum aperture) your pictures are dark at the shutter speed you want to use then reducing the aperture will only make them darker which may not be visible.

Two solutions.
(1) As MrJones says add more light.
and/or
(2) Shoot with a faster lens - for example F2 or F1.4

For dim light shooting you can go 3 ways.
(1) Aperture priority with the lens set wide open and take what ever shutter speed you can get. You may need to dial in some exposure compensation depending on the subject and lighting.

(2) If the lighting is constant manual exposure allowing for the lighting and subject. You may find if you are getting the shutter speed you need you may be able to reduce the ISO and reduce noise.

(3) Or shutter priority and take what ever aperture you can achieve.

It all depend on what is important for the shot.
----------------------
One other thing you may be able to do is to shoot RAW and push your exposure during post processing. You may also need to apply noise reduction, possibly selectively.

As SwissJon says if you are shooting static subjects a tripod, and remote release may be the answer.

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by Aegea

I'm curious about this comment. It seems to imply that you shot at different apertures with a fixed shutter speed and ISO, and all the photos looked the same. Unless they were all pitch black that shouldn't happen. Can you give us more details, and perhaps some examples with EXIF data?

I think OP was probably shooting P mode.. They changed the aperture, the camera compensated by changing the speed.. I don't know why the camera would be creating dark photos, unless the exposure compensation was sett to under expose, but that's what it sounds like.