# photography question *now with some pics*



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i have a less than desirable camera for taking aquarium pictures. it is a canon powershot sd800 w/ image stabilization
the problem i'm having is getting it to focus on the fish instead of the overall scape of the aquarium, ie right now i want to zoom in and take a pic of some demasoni fry that are only <1cm long and it doesnt know what the heck to focus on.

is there any way to get around this?


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## gwcana (Apr 22, 2010)

not really good with photography but I usually don't use autofocus...Cause it tends to focus on what it want's to so I just choose every single type of focusing and take a picture with each then decide which one I like best...not the most productive way =P


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0900001458/01/PSSD800ISIXUS850ISCUGad-EN.pdf

around page 47 might help


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

neven said:


> http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0900001458/01/PSSD800ISIXUS850ISCUGad-EN.pdf
> 
> around page 47 might help


haha awesome my long-lost instruction manual

thanks i'll give that a shot


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

turning off the face detection definately helped shoot the larger fish, but the fry are still really fuzzy and apparently too small to focus in on
i tried focusing on something the same distance as them too and then moving over to them, still a bit fuzzy
the more i zoom in the worse it gets, this is the closest i seem to be able to get:


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## gwcana (Apr 22, 2010)

did you try focusing on a single fry? 

I also like to shoot from over head but find that you have to have the right angle for it to get the focusing to clear up when I'm using my sis's camera....found I'd get one good shot out of 15 or more. Problem is when I click down my camera tends to move and unfocus


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

gwcana said:


> did you try focusing on a single fry?
> 
> I also like to shoot from over head but find that you have to have the right angle for it to get the focusing to clear up when I'm using my sis's camera....found I'd get one good shot out of 15 or more. Problem is when I click down my camera tends to move and unfocus


yeah, i tried zooming in enough so that the fry took up the focusing box in the center, no luck tho, tried out a bit further too so the fry were just centered in the box, still didnt turn out.
i tried a few from the side too but this one came out a bit clearer, maybe cuz its through glass as well as the plastic floating breeder box

its kinda frustrating because as its focusing it briefly gets clear and then ends up fuzzy at the end when its done


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## gwcana (Apr 22, 2010)

was told by someone not to zoom in all the way...pass the focusing zoom mechanism of the camera is digital zoom? and apparently it's not very good because it's kind of "filled in". Was told to zoom until I see changes in numbers or letters on the screen...that's when Digital zoom kicks in...seriously I don't really know what I'm saying...just relating what was told to me

I did find that focusing was better when I made sure not to over zooom

(talking about lower tech cameras and not those super high tech ones...sis have a canon powershot from years and years ago)


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

i spent over an hour with my point and shoot trying to get my cherry shrimp up close, i can only imagine how much a pain fry are....


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## t-bore (Apr 21, 2010)

Turn off the multi focus option this should make it focus on only the center point of the lens, hope this helps you out.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

t-bore said:


> Turn off the multi focus option this should make it focus on only the center point of the lens, hope this helps you out.


thanks i'll check that out when i get home
the manual kinda made it sound like thats what it was going to do when i turn autofocus to off instead of on the face detect mode, il have to see if i can find that option


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## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

Blurry photos are often a result of a few items - 

You're too close to the subject: some cameras (especially point-and-shoots) and lenses have weak focal distances where if you're too close to the subject, it will be out of focus.

Low shutter speed: Depending on your lighting situation, you will need to increase your light so that you can increase your shutter speed to get a clearer image.

Camera shake: Point-and-shoots don't weight very much and often are the result of camera shake. Try using a tripod.

Fry are very small and the more you zoom in, the more movement you are going to have on your camera. It's like looking through a telescope. The more your lens is extended, the more movement you will have even with a small nudge.

Good luck. Let's see some of the pictures 

-Aaron

Does the camera have a macro feature? (Usually a flower symbol). This will help.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

Sharkbait said:


> Blurry photos are often a result of a few items -
> 
> You're too close to the subject: some cameras (especially point-and-shoots) and lenses have weak focal distances where if you're too close to the subject, it will be out of focus.
> 
> ...


yes it does, i'll turn that on too. thx for the tips, i'll try holding the camera back farther and zooming in as far as the optical zoom will go.


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## ECooper (Jul 1, 2010)

Can you turn off the auto focus and manually focus the lens? I shoot all my photos manually.


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## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

ECooper said:


> Can you turn off the auto focus and manually focus the lens? I shoot all my photos manually.


I'm assuming it's a point and shoot camera. This feature is not available on these types of cameras.


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

Have you tried manual focusing? Even with SLR's you need an awesome macro lens and your camera should be able to produce a hi-res picture thats about 4000x2000 (something) resolution. If your shooting a 1cm long fry, even if you have a pro's camera, it's gonna be a challenge.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

unfortunately there is no manual focus option  i'm going to try to take some pictures later when the sun isnt creating insane glare


gmachine19 said:


> Have you tried manual focusing? Even with SLRS you need an awesome macro lens and your camera should be able to produce a hi-res picture thats about 4000x2000 (something) resolution. If your shooting a 1cm long fry, even if you have a pro's camera, it's gonna be a challenge.


challenging indeed 
i'll keep trying tho


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## Sharkbait (Jun 15, 2010)

And glare??...wow. Yeah. Patience my friend


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

Sharkbait said:


> And glare??...wow. Yeah. Patience my friend


lol no kidding. i just took these, theyre far better than anything ive been able to get so far so much thanks to everyone that helped.
i set it to macro, autofocus off, and the last key seemed to be holding it farther back and using more zoom. rested the camera on the fan that was in the room for a makeshitf/welfare tripod... enjoy them, even tho theyre not the greatest im a photography noob and these things are TINY lol,


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

they just finished absorbing their yolks a week ago and are now eating crushed NLS pellets. much different than the aceii im used to breeding because those took much much longer to get color, these things have stripes ~3weeks after conception while still absorbing their yolk (last picture, there are 2 different clutches of fry)

i also threw in a pic of the resident BN pleco


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice! You can now see a little detail on the fry. Keep improving.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

gmachine19 said:


> Nice! You can now see a little detail on the fry. Keep improving.


will try  thanks!


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## clintgv (May 6, 2010)

Wow congrats man. There so colourful already haha . Maybe I can get some off you when they grow


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

clintgv said:


> Wow congrats man. There so colourful already haha . Maybe I can get some off you when they grow


yeah for sures


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

they're growing like stink i plan to try and take some more pics this wknd


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

only had enough batteries for one pic, ANOTHER HOLDING DEMASONI
i stripped 3 already of their eggs this month, heres #4 and her big mouthful.

not happy with the quality, charge battery charge!


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

That pic looks like a painting to me. It's so nice to look at.


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## clintgv (May 6, 2010)

Mferko said:


> only had enough batteries for one pic, ANOTHER HOLDING DEMASONI
> i stripped 3 already of their eggs this month, heres #4 and her big mouthful.
> 
> not happy with the quality, charge battery charge!


Omg another one? haha nice. Soon your place will be packed with tanks haha


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

took some better pics of her this morning



fry have been moved to the 10g growout, more pics here- http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank...ellow-lab-fry-growout-*-pics*-5348/#post48389

thanks again everyone with helpful suggestions


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