Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 anyone know some tips for zooming into the fish tank my new camera works well ou of the tanks but for pictures over the 6x optical it wont focus well and even using the manual focus it wont clear up help nb its a panasonic lumix 12x optical 4mgapix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I don't have much experience with aquarium photography specifically, but you could try playing with the aperture. Reducing the aperture will increase the depth of field and bring more into focus. Unfortunately this requires either more light or a long exposure (= blurry fish) and everything in the tank comes into focus, which may result in photographs which are a bit stark. Conversely the lens system might be better set up for wide aperture close-ups since that is what people normally want with close-ups (charp face/blurry background). This is better for shooting the fish anyway, but I assume you already have the camera set for close-ups. Some other obvious options: 1) Get the camera closer and use a lower zoom ... 2) ... or lure the fish to the glass. 3) Get bigger fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 get bigger fish? haha any way the problems is not when looking at the pics that i have taken but rather with the process of taking the pic it just wont focus over 6X to actually take the pic the apature info is handy though for nice pics thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I know little about photography, I just point and shoot on automatic. You can see the results here http://img47.photobucket.com/albums/v144/carylnz/ I do know you need lots of light and preferably a tripod or something stable to sit the camera on. In case you want to know, my camera is a (she says taking it out of the case so she can read what it says) Sony DSC F828, 7x optical zoom and 8.0 mega pixies (as my mother calls them :lol: ) My husband has apparently ordered a 2nd flash unit. I gather it sits above (either the camera or the tank I am not sure) and goes off just before the camera flash or something to increase the light. See, I said I didn't know much about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 wow caryl that sony of yours is definitely big and flash fraid i don'thave the moolah to afford one but it does take really nice pics :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 heres mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Brianemone, the aperture trick, while it does alter the outcome of the photos, will also alter what the camera can focus on. For example, if the camera can only focus as close as 30cm (at a given zoom), but you reduce the aperture then it will extend the area in focus towards (and away) from you. So something closer comes into focus, even if it isn't in the center of the area that is focussed. It is quite possible that the camera is just not capable of zooming in close at short distances (the designer was assuming you wanted to zoom in on things at a distance, being what the average person taking holiday snaps wants). This is why I suggested also trying the wider aperture, because you might then get into a regime that the camera was designed for. By the way, I wasn't joking about moving closer and using a lower zoom (unlike the comment about bigger fish). In theory the zoom is the same as moving closer, but it doesn't always work as well, so you may be able to win a little bit that way. Also, at four megapixels, you may not need the zoom. If you turn the picture quality up / compression down the fish will still be small in the overall picture, but when cropped down the remaining image will still be big enough (and high enough quality) to keep you happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Another thought: Try using a tripod (or just a stable surface). High zoom doesn't just magnify the image, it magnifies the shaking of your hands which blurs the image (a large aperture/lots of light helps this since the exposure time can come down, you're still shaking, but you take the photo before things have moved too far). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fins Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 When I take picture I get the room as dark as I can and place one of my tank lights directly over the tank. I also set the camera so It doesnt flash. The camera I use Is only a quite cheap digital one and I can still get reasonable pics of my fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 You could also try using the macro setting on your camera, assuming it has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Husband (who knows a lot more about photography than I do) says if it is a 12x optical, it will probably have trouble focusing close in but only at the high end of the zoom. Try taking your pic from further back then use a photo editing programme to crop it. You are better off using the middle of the range of the zoom because lenses with a high optical zoom usually have poor chromatic aberration and distortion at either end of their zoom range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 zoom caryl that one was way over my head spooky ill play around with the apature as per your sugestion the macro setting is quite good but the glass gets in the way of getting really close (could always go in from the top oh thats right the water) cant be bothered with a tripod at the moment (maybe in a few months) but the camera does have an auto stabilizer that is quite neat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Brian, shrink wrap the camera, then you can put it right into the water. I think the get bigger fish is the best idea so far though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 all out of shrink wrap how about the glad variety? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 I suppose a ziploc bag would work...Actually, I suddenly want to try that...Too bad I don't have a camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted August 31, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 heres a pic i took on sunday with the macro setting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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