Digital Camera Advice

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:20 pm

OK all you shrimp shooters, what is the least damage to my wallet for a camera that will shoot good (not spectacular) pics of shrimp, fry and larva? I'd apprecial advice on digital cameras and lenses to take good pic of my projects.

Opopanax · Post by **Opopanax** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 11:39 am

From my personal experience I will stay away from the Cybershot from Sony. The newest version might be better than the one I have, but I have found the aperture and focus options are more limited than what the product information implied.

I would look for some of the newer olympus models. They tend to have the best range for focus and aperture that I've seen on the market. Prices have been between 300-550. This was my 2nd camera of choice and I still wish I had purchased it.

Also take a look at: http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com and definately take a look at http://www.dpreview.com the 2nd one was a great use in looking up newer cameras and getting user and official reviews.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:10 am

I am a camera novice. I need someone to say "buy this camera with this lense". I can't even fill out the form because I don't know what features I need. I don't see anything that says "macro"

Caridina sp. · Post by **Caridina sp.** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:14 am

Olympus SP-500UZ for $274 WOW! Thanks for the link Opopanax I was wanting to upgrade cameras aswell.. screw ebay.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:45 pm

Does Olympus SP-500UZ come with a lense that will shoot small shrimp? If not, what lense will work & not break the bank?

Caridina sp. · Post by **Caridina sp.** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:15 pm

Yes, that camera has extended zoom... it features 10x/5x optical/digital zoom, helpful for shrimp pictures I'm sure. Most of the latest compact cameras only zoom around 3-5x/4-5x so you can zoom in around 7x closer with that model. There are much better cameras out there but for the price it looks great. I'm trying to talk my wife into it.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:51 pm

Thanks. I just ordered one from BuyDig.com with the 256M memory card from BuyDig.com. I've done buisness with them before with my daughter's camera and had no issues. Free shipping too. Look like a really good camera. I have a Sony Cybershot now, but the lack of manual controls makes it impossible to shoot through the side of the aquarium. Been tempted to drop it in a few times... I paid twice as much for it too in 2 year old dollars.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:02 pm

Man, these guys don't even let the ink dry. I've got my camera! Now I just need to figure out how to use it. The manual is on CD so I'll need to have a litle time to figure it out.

How the heck do they deliver ovenight with free shipping?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:08 pm

I think this may not be a poor camera for shrimp. The damn thing DOES NOT have manual focus and the auto focus can't figure out what to do through the glass. You can set the aperature or the exposure, but not the focus This is a problem...

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:04 pm

badflash wrote:I think this may not be a poor camera for shrimp. The damn thing DOES NOT have manual focus and the auto focus can't figure out what to do through the glass. You can set the aperature or the exposure, but not the focus This is a problem...

Did you turn on the "macro" mode? Without that mode on the camera won't focus on objects that are very close to the lens.

Lotus · Post by **Lotus** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:45 pm

I've never gotten good shots of tanks or any small things in them without a tripod. You can get mini ones in "big box" stores for less than $10. It takes a lot of practice and reading to work out how to best get shots of "small stuff" in tanks. At least with digital you can try, try, try and try again.

Unfortunately, most of the more inexpensive cameras don't have great macro abilities.

I know there's a fish photography forum out there somewhere that might be able to help you out, as well as lots of sites on photography tips.

fishgeek · Post by **fishgeek** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 12:38 am

if you have macro then place the camera lens against clean tank glass and it should have an easier time focusing through the glass

if you leave some space it will tend to focus on reflections from the glass, spots on the glass, i find it best to take shots in a dark room with oly tank lights on

andrew

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 5:55 am

Yes, it was on Macro mode, and while a tripod would help, it is the auto focus that is the problem. It just does not get a good sharp focus in macro mode. I'll see if the clean glass, dark room trick will help.

maciek · Post by **maciek** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:37 am

Hi!

Maybe check in your digital camera specification the minimal distance, which should be between lens and object (macro focus range)?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Feb 25, 2006 1:36 pm

Thanks. It has 2 macro settings. One gets down to 7.5 cm with zoom and the other 2 cms with the zoom locked. That isn't it. The problem is the auto-focus. It keeps locking onto the wrong stuff and I can't seem to turn it off. I got a half decent shot by letting it focus on what ever it decided to focus on, then pulled back to bring the shot in focus. That just won't work for any serious photos.