(17 Apr 2014, 7:16 pm)Tom wrote Thanks for the advice. Is a tripod essential, though?

Unless you're a master at those run a hoop through an electric wire things (steady, steady hand) then yeah! My personal opinion though.

That is unless you have a mini-tripod or somewhere decent where the camera will sit untouched. For a good still night-time shot, you're talking 10 second shutters potentially; that means the camera HAS to stay exactly where it is for 10 seconds otherwise the pic will be blurry.

It is that, or, depending on your camera, shoot up the ISO to something high and get the ISO graining as a result.