# New Camera. Newibe here



## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Fuji Finepix s700. Very nice camera more then I can handle that's for sure

I couldn't wait to try it out. I pickup the camera yesterday. I never knew that there was so much involved in shooting pictures. I need some tips from the pro's so please feel free to leave any comments that will help.

Thanks,

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/filipem1/newcamerafish1015.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/filipem1/newcamerafish1096.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/filipem1/newcamerafish1030.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/filipem1/newcamerafish1049.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/filipem1/newcamerafish1086.jpg


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## mamadoo (Aug 27, 2008)

Links don't work


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

ooops should work now


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

Good start - and keep on shooting. Photography in the digital era is about volume _AND_ patience so shoot lots but be willing to wait for the right shots to happen.

My father has an older version of the same camera, you'll probably find you get better results if you play around with white balance and force it to the right one for your tank (ie: cold, warm or daylight fluorescent colours). You'll almost certainly find one that makes your fish look in photos like the do in person, with the gold on the belly and red in the fins, without looking juiced like the first pic. I've got M. altispinosa too I, know how pretty thay can look ;-)
*
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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

I don't know enough about camera's to get into the manual setting with you. Hopefully someone else can do that. I typically just use the "Action" or "Sports" setting on the camera and get decent shots. Here is what I do. 

1st, take pics at night and turn off all lights in the room except your tank lights. If your tank lights aren't bright enough, get a lamp but make sure it is shining in the side or top of the tank and not behind you. Don't use your flash if you can help it. It really washes the true colour out. 

2nd, sit backwards on a chair and rest the camera on the chairs back. This will help steady the camera so it isn't shaking so much. I also find if I hold my breath when I am about to take a shot it also keeps the camera from moving and the pics are more clear. 

3rd, use Macro mode. If your camera has one, there will likely be a button that looks like a flower. 

4th, Don't zoom too much. Zoom a little and then adjust the distance between the tank and your chair until you can get the fish in focus. 

5th, BE PATIENT! It may take a long time for your fish to become comfortable and come to check you out.

As Mr. Fishies said, take lots of pics! I typically take 50 shots at a time. Of those, I usually get 3 - 5 keepers.


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## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

Using a tripod helps. waiting until night is best.

I would try to change your exposure should look something like this


-2 . . -1 . . 0 . . +1 . . +2
0 is normal setting -2 is fast shutter speed and usually bright light. +2 is slow shutter speed, best for less light. 
if you have a tripod, and this is usually the best way, the positive side will tend to be much brighter, and in somecases a heck of a lot more washed out. I usually take a couple shots, from either side of the line to pick the best one. 

Being that it's a digital camera, there is no shame in taking LOTS of pics. I am not really good at taking pics of fish, I prefer plants and things to be honest. That and toys.


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## Mr Fishies (Sep 21, 2007)

Sunstar's right about the tripod (a chair helps too if you haven't already been using one) - even a cheap tripod will hold your camera more steady than you will by hand alone. If your camera's moving the pics will usually suffer, even with VR/IS/anti-shake cameras. The chair makes it more bearable than standing!


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Thanks for the tips.


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## lili (Dec 15, 2007)

I have a Fuji Finepix 3000. It's old but ok.
I couldn't make it work with -2-1 0 +1 +2 like above so ... I have my own way of dealing with lights .... meaning the right lamp and a little nose down pointing (and dark in the room).
I don't have a stand .... but this pic (as bad as it is) is not very shaked.










My bad : cleaning glass ..... as always.

This pic was supposed to be a loach but all I've got is the ram .... point and shot ..... lol.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

Sunstar said:


> I would try to change your exposure should look something like this
> 
> -2 . . -1 . . 0 . . +1 . . +2
> 
> 0 is normal setting -2 is fast shutter speed and usually bright light. +2 is slow shutter speed, best for less light.


Um, actually you are only partially right. This does change the exposure but not necessarily does it change the shutter speed. I may also or instead change the aperture; the lense opening. It all depends on the priority mode of your camera.

If the camera is in shutter priority the it will adjust the aperture and visa versa. In full automatic it will depend on if you're in sport mode (it will keep the highest shutter speed it can then adjust the aperture). In portrait mode id will adjust the shutter speed.

What the + and - indicate is the amount of the exposure to adjust by with 0 indicating 'don't adjust the exposure just do what you think is best' and - indicating 'you figure out the best exposure then decrease the exposure (let in less light)' and + indicating 'you figure out the best exposure then increase the exposure (let in more light)'.

Why would you want this. Well, most cameras will treat the scene as a neutral gray and set the exposure for that. But what if you are taking a picture of white snow? Well it will set the exposure so that the snow will come out grayish. To compensate you would set the exposure compensation to +1 or +1 1/2 stops to let more light in. Taking a picture of a black cat is the opposite. The cat will turn out gray so set the exposure compensation to -1 or -1 1/2 stops to decrease the amount of light.

People without automatic exposure compensation can use a couple of tricks. They can use a neutral gray card and point the camera lense at to get the correct exposure or you can use the palm of your hand which is close to neutral gray (assuming balck and white photography).

Hope this helps.


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## Cory_Dad (Apr 18, 2008)

planter said:


> Fuji Finepix s700. Very nice camera more then I can handle that's for sure
> 
> I couldn't wait to try it out. I pickup the camera yesterday. I never knew that there was so much involved in shooting pictures. I need some tips from the pro's so please feel free to leave any comments that will help.
> 
> ...


Very nice. You seem to have grasped this quite quickly.

Couple of things. In low light situations there are 3 ways to let more light in through the lense, a) slow down the shutter speed b) open up the lense (smaller f-stop) c) direct more light on the subject

A slow shutter speed works only if your camera is rock steady (that's why you need a tripod) AND the subject is still.

A large lense aperture works if your subject is within the focus of your lense (depth of field). The wider open the lense, the shallower the depth of field (less in focus) the more closed the lense is the greater the depth of field. You can see this effect in you first picture, the tail is barely in focus but the head s out of focus.

To get more light in you can use a flash but that can be very harsh plus you can get hot spots (bright flare in areas). Covering the flash head with a white handkerchief and aiming it at a white wall or ceiling works well. Extra lamps are good but they may not be the proper colour temperature. You can also try covering sheets of cardboard with crumpled aluminum foil (shinny side out) and use it to reflect the light back at you subject.

Keep practicing, and concentrate of keeping the camera steady and in focus.

Cheers.


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