Nikon Coolpix 2200

[Sandi Candy]

I have a friend who uses this camera and has taken some AMAZING pics of his fish with it. It's pretty cheap compared to my Olympus, but the pics are much better than mine can take. :( Anyone else use this camera??? Thanks.

[paradise]

Sandy, first I would love to see those pics , if they are great your friend should be here (hint hint).

Second, the camera is not the only part of the photo taking process, lighting has a HUGe part in the success. Excellent lighting lets you use higher shutter speeds to achieve the sharpness and better coverage of the whole fish. Ask your friend what they do and try to copy. Does your friend's camera have manual features, and do they use them? how about yours?

[meriadoc]

ed - the coolpix 2200 is pretty much all auto ;) 2mp point and shoot kinda thing.

great macro feature though.

[Sandi Candy]

I just asked him to send me some of the pics he has taken. Or maybe he will just join

but anyway, I know lighting is a big part is taking great pics, but no matter how much light I use my shots without flash are horrible! Really blurry and you can always see my reflection in the glass. my camera is great for photographing people and landscapes etc, but I don't think it's the best for taking pics of fish.

I still dont understand exactly what "shutter speed" means or is, lol

Edit: the friend with the good fish pics... he doesn't even try hard to get decent shots, where as I'm sitting in front of the tank for an hour to get one that is postable lol

[paradise]

Sandi, shutter speed is the amount of time the shutter speed window is open. The higher the shutter (smaller amount of time) the more of a "moment in time" your photo will be, thus producing a sharper image. Pretty simple. Usually it is refered to as a fraction of a sec, like 1/120.

Unfortunately your camera does not allow you to set shutter speed, and on all-auto settings, it's fooled by the glass and water in front of your subject into using a smaller shutter speed, thus giving you blur and improper exposure. Not much you can do there. Maybe your friend's camera has manual features. I can not tell unless he stops by and shows some pics and explains his setup.

THere are a few things you can do to try to get the best out of your camera. Use strong lighting on the tank. Clean the glass and water completely. Shoot at a straight 90 degree angle to the glass to minimize its effect. Make sure that the subject is well exposed in the light. Use the "macro" setting, which according to our "hardware" expert, Lisa, is very good on this camera, when you are doing close ups. It's usually a "flower" symbol on a camera.

Post some pics, and we'll try to help you with them. One step at a time.

Do look in the future into getting a camera that uses Manual features, we can help you with the selection. There are many cameras in the $250-300 range that are quite decent.

[hir0]

if you are seeing reflections then perhaps you could try shooting in the dark. meaning no outside lights at all. and don't wear a white shirt, if the tank lighting is bright enough it can illuminate your clothing / etc - and cause reflections off of the glass. are you using on camera flash aimed directly at the tank? that will definitely create reflections. i shoot in complete darkness. the only light on in the room is the tank light. go to the teamAPF link and check out Finz website. it's got very helpful "how to's"
*edit - i cannot find finz' link! sorry.

[Sandi Candy]

You guys are SOOOO helpful!!! Thank you soo much. I actually just took a few pics of my flowerhorn with 110 watts of light over him and here's what I got.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/my%20pics/Dukenoflash-ehthisonesokithink.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/my%20pics/Dukenoflashhehe.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/my%20pics/Dukenoflashtestingfeb05P.jpg

I know they aren't good compared to what you guys can do, but DARN they are the best pics I've ever taken of a fish without the flash :D :D

And yes, in a couple of the pics I burned the background in photoshop a bit cuz there were some relections goin' on...

Here are some pics I have taken (before I started coming here) of the same fish WITH flash. They are alright I think, but flash takes so much away from the fish...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/My%20Fish/DukeSmaller04.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/My%20Fish/Duke84.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/My%20Fish/Dukey7infeb1st2005.jpg

[paradise]

Sandi, it's getting much better. btw on the old pics, the first two HAD to be with flash, right?

try to focus on the eye of the fish. Also try to zoom out a bit to compose a better shot, with some area around the fish. Show us some more, by the end of this thread, you will see real improvement.

[Sandi Candy]

Sandi, it's getting much better. btw on the old pics, the first two HAD to be with flash, right?

try to focus on the eye of the fish. Also try to zoom out a bit to compose a better shot, with some area around the fish. Show us some more, by the end of this thread, you will see real improvement.

lol yes the last 3 pics are all with flash i thought i mentioned that... ahh oh well.

and I just took this with no flash. its clearer! and no making fun of my googly eyes fh :P
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/SandiCandy/my%20pics/dukehaspopeye.jpg

[hir0]

hi sandy, nice progress. since you aren't using flash, try not to use such agressive angles at the tank. they will cause some weird looking distortion like on the 3rd photo with the 110 watt lighting above. also, try using different settings for white balance and you will get better corrected colors. there should be different settings depending on what type of lighting you're using. good luck, and hope to see more!

[Sandi Candy]

Hey I was just playing with the camera again and my olympus c-60 DOES allow ya to set the shutter speed... i had it on 1/400 but the pics i took like that were completely black. what should i set it too?? is that not fast enough?

[paradise]

LOL, Sandy, it's TOO fast. it's in seconds, so you are at 1/400 of a sec. What you do is this: Set it at 1/100 and take a test shot, then either go up (if too light) or down (if it's too dark). Also, if your camera lets you adjust shutter speed, then it should let you adjust aperature also. If so, set it to the lowest number (highest aperature) and try that.

[Sandi Candy]

LOL, Sandy, it's TOO fast. it's in seconds, so you are at 1/400 of a sec. What you do is this: Set it at 1/100 and take a test shot, then either go up (if too light) or down (if it's too dark). Also, if your camera lets you adjust shutter speed, then it should let you adjust aperature also. If so, set it to the lowest number (highest aperature) and try that.

lmao :D ok I'll try it at 1/100 tonight and see how that works out!!