Pictures terrible

[DonW]

Could some one give me some ideas to improve my pics. I have a Fuji S5000

Thanks
Don

 

[Witfull]

one trick it to place a PVC pipe into the tank,,set the white balance while focused on it, this will give you proper setting to the tank lighting.

 

[DonW]

Thanks I found WB in the menu I guess I should find the manual.

Don

 

[Wink]

I don't know about that camera, but with mine I take a lot of tank shots with stop action and manual focus. The auto focus never seems to know what it is I want to focus on. Also I take the largest resolution photos then resize them.
Best advice is read the manual and try everything.. I've taken close to 6000 pictures in the 16 months I've had my camera... I'm finally gettin pretty good at it!
Vicky

 

[Katchupoy]

Don, Also look for Fill in light for flash....or "slow flash".

Set your setting to manual... speed priority.... set it to around 15 of a second... if its blurry then set it higher like 30 or 60 of a second.... (my hand can do 10 without tri-pod)

Set to manual -> set speed to desired setting -> set it to slow flash. Then shoot.

There is nothing wrong with the pic ...just a little bit dim.

needs more light to come in so we slow down the speed.

 

[DonW]

I checked the manual. It really didnt help much and does not take into account your shooting at acrylic and water. I'll give the flash thing a try tonight. That sounds like it should help. I didnt use the flash because it just made a bright spot on the glass. The WB helped alot. Not sure I did it correct. I aimed at the white, held the button half way down then moved to the subject. Side by side there is a big difference.

Thanks
Don

 

[Witfull]

look in the manual for custom setting/WB. that way you can have it saved and use it when taking tank pics,,,use cam for other stuff,,then come back and not have to reset it.

 

[Katchupoy]

I forgot to mention that when shooting with flash... dont do it perpendicular to the acrylic surface... make it at an angle.... maybe looking down or looking to left or right. but not dead center...

 

[Katchupoy]

Ok lets try it again...
Put your dial to "S"
Then select speed around "1/15"
If its too bright... select a higher speed maybe 1/20 or higher. Depends on you taste.

Also try playing with exposure compensation. If its too dark. Bump it up a little bit.


Dont pop up your flash, so you wont have flash.
On your "WB" menu. You can try several shots and document it so when you review it next time you know which works well...

sample all settings.

Automatic
Sunny
Cloudy
Fluorescent1
Fluorescent2
Fluorescent3
Incandescent


On my camera (olympus) the WB-cloudy works best.
Check it on your computer and not on the lcd screen of the camera. Sometimes those are deceiving.

You mentioned that you aimed it on a white spot then re-target. I dont know if this works, maybe in WB-auto setting. But for sure it will also re-calibrate the focus. Sometimes we dont want to do this.

I must admit, you have a very good camera. 6MP interpolated with 10x optical. That one will serve you well.



Good luck.

 

[Nashon]

I use the auto-white balance by calibrating it to my sand. It tends to keep the colors nice and bright but without the blue hue. I've also found that for just about every picture of the tank I need the macro mode on. I never use a flash but I do use a tripod to make up for the slower shutter speed. I try to keep the room as dark as possible when taking pictures, no reflections or different lighting temperatures to worry about. Hope this all works for you.



-Nashon

 

[David Winther]

LOL, why didn't I ever think about putting a white PVC in the tank for white balance! That is a great idea!