Help with my camera

[Chad and Belinda]

I was wanting to see if someone out there could give me some pointers on my camera. I have a Nikon D40X...thing is...I must not be doing something right , as my pictures aren't coming out as good as they could. I would really appreciate some help. I don't know much about the camera. I just use it to play around with. Thank you for your help in advance.

[+dapettit]

Can you post some pic? This would be helpful. Also what is your meaning of "as good as they could be."

Dave-

[NonSequitur]

I'd be happy to help too, can you post some pics of what you're getting now?

[Chad and Belinda]

Hey guys, the pics look like I took an old Polaroid camera or a 110 and scanned it in. I've seen point and shoots that look much better. Belinda has taken some beautiful outdoor shots of plants, butterflies, etc so I know it can take great shots. There are SO MANY different settings it's hard to know where to start. Then there's the lens. If the coral isn't right by the glass, the shot is horrible.

Here are a couple of pics. They lack the details I see in a lot of pics, nor are they as close as I would like it. I realize that photo editing software can make a difference but I would think it all starts with a good photo.

Thanks

[+dapettit]

Looks like a slow shutter speed and white balance issue. I tried to read the Exif file but the site won't let me.

If you are shooting in auto this could be the first problem. I have a D80 and I shoot my tank using the Aperture Priority setting. I also manually focus the camera since the camera may not be able to focus due to water movement.

Here are some tips that have helped me:

Set the ISO to 800

Set camera to Aperure Priority

Use a tripod

Turn off any lights in the room to eliminate reflections. Also do not wear a white shirt

Clean the glass

Turn off the pumps

Use a cable release

Take lots of shoots after all it's digital

I use Photoshop CS4 to adjust the white balance. Perhaps someone with a better understanding of how to set the camera up for white balancing will chime in.

Again these are tips that I have found helpful. I'm not an expert but I have done alot of research. I too was fustrated with how my photos were turning out.

Dave-

[Robb in Austin]

Tips for in tank shots of corals:

1) Turn off your pumps.

2) Get a tripod, even a Walmart cheapy.

3) Shoot straight through the glass. Any angle will cause diffraction.

4) Set your white balance. I used a Styrofoam plate. Check the manual on how do do it exactly.

5) Put it in manual. Set it to manual focus. Set your aperture to the low #(your depth of field will be shallow though), shutter speed low(corals don't move with the pumps off), ISO around 400-800, fire away. Use your self timer(unless you have the remote shutter release) to reduce vibration. Look at the histogram on the camera for exposure guidance.

You could also try putting it in macro mode as a start.

Any auto mode on the camera will be less than ideal.

Edit:

Looks like Dave beat me to it!

Speaking of Dave: perhaps having Jennifer(princer7) give a photo how to at one of the sponsor's, or member's house, would be a great meeting. She helped me immensely!

[Truckin]

The following discussion is on exposure [lightness or darkness of an image] and related focus/depth of field. I know that many cameras allow automatic focus, I will assume that the photographer will manually set the focus on the subject of interest. And, while many cameras will automatically set exposure, I will assume that the camera will allow manual setting of shutter speed, lense opening, or both.

For any given subject [outdoors, indoors, etc.], a light meter willgive combinations of shutter speed and aperture [lense opening] for atheoretical "ideal" photo. Of course, using a light meter - even onewithin the camera itself - can also be a complex subject. Thesimplest, practical approach is to use an "average" reading if yourmeter [or camera] permits. If you want to become an expert, Ansel Adams, the godof photography, wrote several books on the subject for filmphotography. Digital photography is not all that different, except youdon't use film.

Shutter speed and aperture are the two factors that control the amount of light entering the camera [thus, a light or dark image], and they work in combination. You can select a fast shutter speed if the subject is moving or the camera is hand held. A fast shutter speed allows less light to enter the camera; a slow shutter speed allows more light in.

The aperture is an "iris-like" device that opens wide or small behind the lense, and also affects the amount of light entering the camera. Large number, like f22, means small lense opening; small number, like f2.8 means big lense opening with more light going into the camera. The aperture also affects the depth of field [the distance things are in focus from near to far]. A small lense opening gives greater depth of field, but it usually needs a slower shutter speed to compensate for the "correct" amount of light. For better photos when using a slow shutter speed, use a tripod and cable shutter release

The aperture and shutter are both arranged to change incrementally giving a 50 percent change in the amount of light. Thus, a shutter speed of 1/50 of a second is half of 1/25 second, and so on. An aperture of f5.6 is twice as much as f8, an adjacent setting. Given the ideal setting combinations from the light meter, you can close the aperture one "f stop" [say from f8 to f11 reducing the light by one half] gaining more depth of field that things are in focus, while slowing the shutter speed one setting [say from 1/50 to 1/25 increasing the light by one half], and still have the same "ideal" amount of light entering the camera.

Since using a light meter may be difficult, and "ideal" may be a matter of taste, many people will "bracket" their shots of a given image. This means after using the "ideal" combination of aperture and shutter speed, they keep the aperture setting constant [small lense opening (big number) gives greater depth of field], while taking another shot with the speed one setting faster and another with the shutter one setting slower than "ideal." Of course, depending on the nature of the image, you could also bracket the shots holding the shutter speed constant, and changing the aperture. The idea is that one of the three combinations may "look" better than the other two.

I hope this has been helpful.

Roy

[+dapettit]

Well said!

[Chad and Belinda]

Thanks guys for all of your helpful advice. I will start playing around with my camera and post some of my pics later. I knew that I would get some great advice.

[Chad and Belinda]

Here are some pictures that I have taken with my camera in the past. I think my problem is just talking picks of our corals.

Roy...I will be seeking your help tomorrow. LOL

[Truckin]

Overall, they look pretty good.

Closeups are where more depth of field [in focus from near to far] can usually help. (An exception is when the photographer wants the background out of focus to direct attention on the main subject.)

More depth of field is gained by using a small lense opening [larger f-stop number]. A small lense opening usually needs a slow shutter speed to get enough light into the camera. Then, the slow shutter speed is helped when the camera is mounted on a tripod, with a cable shutter release - both prevent jiggle of the camera. Even a little jiggle will make the image a little unsharp.

Keep up the good work.

Roy

[Chad and Belinda]

Thanks for the advice today Roy. I hope to start practicing the tips I have received and be able to post some nice pics soon.