Bad Pics with Canon S40 (large pics gone))

[stavs]

Hi. I have a Canon S40 and am trying to take pics of my fish. Unfortunately, my pics turn out really bad. I have gotten only one decent shot and I don't remember the settings:

http://homepage.mac.com/stavs/Accused/Accused/FishPix/Homer.jpg

Now here are some bad ones :



The bad shots were taken using the "Fast Moving Image Mode" with Macro (little flower) and no flash.

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks in advance!

Stavs [smilie=oops2.gif]

hey Stavs

First of all, find a way to save and compress these in smaller size. 600 mpx is usually a good width to save pics. Our forum will size them to 600 anyways. IT takes a long time to load even on my cable line.

As far as pics, there is a bit of blur in most of them, which usually means you are shooting with a slow Shutter speed. Try something quicker if your camera allows it. I would start with something along the lines of 1/300 - 1/500 and then adjust your other features ( ISO, aperature) to go with the quicker shutter. Adding more lighting or an external flash positioned on top of the tank will greatly improve your pix by allowing you to have a quicker shutter.

the fish itself is a great lutino O, and we look forward to seeing more pics of it. Just make sure to size them properly.
Welcome
Edward

[stavs]

I took the pics out since they were so large. Thanks for the reply! I tried what you said, and it seemed to work, but now I dont seem to get enough light. My pix are really dark. I dont know much about cameras, so this is a learning experience for me, and I appreciate your help (as well as your stuniing pix!).

Is the problem that since my shutter speed is faster, not enough light is getting in? This camera has so many buttons I dont have a clue! I know I can control the white balance, but it didnt seem to do anything. Any more help is appreciated!

Thanks,

Stavs [smilie=bowdown.gif]

hey Stavs

Yes, once you make the shutter quicker, you will lose the light DRAMATICALLY. You need more light. A simple solution is More power strips. If you have more than 1 tank, move the strips over. If you dont, the only way is to get more light, by buying CORRECT ligthing. If you are planning to buy light, I would suggest Power Compact lighting with Daylight bulbs, they give white light that does not yellow everything and are much more powerful. My 4" fixture has 4 x 65w lighting. It's pricey but well worth it if you will photograph fish. QUick shutter is a MUSt and can ONLY be achieved with a lot of light.

In the meanwhile, try to increase your ISO, to 400 or so, that will improve the light at the same shutter speed, but you will notice a lot more background noise on the pics, depending on your camera, more or less. Also play with your aperature settings.

Good luck , and please try to take these points into consideration and try to post new pics using them.
Ed

[stavs]

hey Stavs
In the meanwhile, try to increase your ISO, to 400 or so, that will improve the light at the same shutter speed, but you will notice a lot more background noise on the pics, depending on your camera, more or less. Also play with your aperature settings.

Good luck , and please try to take these points into consideration and try to post new pics using them.
Ed

Ed,

Thanks for the tips. I've already started messing with them and I've seen imporvements. I'm going to look into a second set of strips, but I may just replace my current set with a higher quality one. As far as bulbs go, any recommendations?

Thanks again!

Stavs

Yes look into this thread here:
http://aquatic-photography.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=230