I am not doing well at this.....

[jread]

I have a Sony DSC-P10 digital camera and have been trying to get better at using it. The ONLY way I can get decent photos is to set the camera in "burst mode", take 3 shots at a time, then go back and pick the best one. The first one is always blurry but they usually get better by the 2nd and 3rd pics.

The camera has no manual-focus that I know of, so I have to put it in auto-focus, take the "burst" shots, and hope that one of them came out. I can never make it focus on the exact fish I want a pic of. My tank is heavily planted so it will focus on the leaves/stems half the time and I've missed out on some great shots because of this.

Does anyone know what to do? It's so frustrating because I'll watch it autofocus on the screen when I'm preparing for the shot, and the fish will come into perfect focus, then right back out of focus. I get so mad because I wish I had control over the focusing of the camera :(

Here's an example of a shot I took:
http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/images/prissy.jpg

Here's and example of the kind of shots I'd like to take:
http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/images/dpfeed.jpg


More of my pictures can be found here: http://www.jeremyread.net/aqua.htm

Do any of you have any suggestions? I have not found anyone online yet who has this exact camera.

[Gordeez]

I cant help you out on the Camera issue, But I went your Website,
Man, Your Planted Tanks are AWESOME!!!

[CDM]

Those small fishes are not easy to get accurate autofocus. What you saw on the LCD was what the camera was trying to detect the rite focus, but, it failed eventually. The prob is the smaller fishes reflect less light due its small reflecting area. And, since you got plants all around, those plants sure reflect some light and affect the camera to decide a wrong final focus. If you happened to notice some spots where the small fishes like to stay. You can pre-focus on near by plants and move to the exact spot to take shot while half pressing the shutter knob (to keep the focus). This might help you a bit. Anyway, "burst" mode is not a bad idea, though there could be many trash come out.

[jread]

Thanks for the replies so far :)

I will try that focusing trick, CDM Thanks!

[Tony7683]

Yeah, i had a DSC-P52 for a while, and I had to do the same. Find a spot where you want to take the picture and let them come to you, it's much easier to get a quality shot that way, but be forewarned it takes longer. Your camera might have a center or multi-point AF option, and if it does, choose the center AF so that the obect in the crosshair in the center will the be point of focus. I dont know how your lighting is, but more could always help if you're not at 4wpg or higher yet :)

thats all I can say, good luck and enjoy!!
Tony

[jread]

Thanks tony!

I'm running 3.6 watts per gallon at the moment :)