what's the best nighttime camera for ~<$230

[Crazlaser]

Hey guys, can someone help me find a camera. I'm looking for a camera under $230 or so, that can take pictures of stars and the moon, lasers and nighttime shots and has manual long time exposure settings. I know that's a tight budget, but I already have a good tripod.
I know that little a mount of money can't get a great camera for this use but if someone could help me find the best camera it can buy, please do.

Thanks

 

[ElectricPlasma]

Actually I'm interested in this too. I use my Note 5's camera and it's one of the best cameras I've ever used on a cell phone, but it absolutely will not do night shots. I don't know what it is but every night shot I take just comes out with poor quality.

 

[Euphonious Nonsense]

i really enjoy my sony hdr-az1 but unfortunately it doesnt capture the 430-470nm very well. They always look way too purple.

I used it as my dashcam for a long time because of its great night capability.

 

[steve001]

Hey guys, can someone help me find a camera. I'm looking for a camera under $230 or so, that can take pictures of stars and the moon, lasers and nighttime shots and has manual long time exposure settings. I know that's a tight budget, but I already have a good tripod.
I know that little a mount of money can't get a great camera for this use but if someone could help me find the best camera it can buy, please do.

Thanks

While waiting for a reply web search "low light cameras"

 

[Benm]

It's not easy to get something in that price range indeed. I bought a canon S120 camera last year that has pretty good performance under low light (f/1.8, large sensor for a compact, only 12 mpix, full manual control), but i'm not sure this model is sold any longer nor that a follow up was ever made. I don't remember the exact price but it was somewhere 200-250 dollars then.

At this price level the best things to look for are a large aperture (f/2.2 or less) and full manual control. This is already difficult for $230. If you find any check on dpreview for any comments about low light and noise in user reviews.