Canon Powershot A95 tips?

[Salamander]

I have a horrible time taking pics of my tank with my Canon Powershot A 95. Especially macro shots.

Anyone have any good tips with this camera?

Thanks!

[nickb]

What sort of problems are you having? Focus? Exposure? Composition? Blurring? Etc. How would you feel about posting a sample photo for suggestions?

[Salamander]

I pretty much know nothing about photography so its hard for me to nail down my weakness.

I'm figuring out the white balance but I guess my main problem is focus.

It seems when I try to focus, the autofocus adjusts, going past what appears to be proper focus and then sets on an out of focus picture.

I'm really having most problems when I try macro shots. I've been reading on here etc but can't figure it out. I use a tripod and the timer but can't get close ups of my corals.

[nickb]

Have you tried manual focus? FOr macro shots, especially through glass or acrylic, the autofocus can get quite confused.

[TitusvileSurfer]

Oops double

[TitusvileSurfer]

{[{{[[{{[{Examples}]}}]]}}]} ? I don't see a problem with your pictures they look fine to me...

[Salamander]

I think that would help. Problem is I can't find my users manual and I can't figure out how to manually focus. Got an A 95 and know how?

I'd post some pics for an example if it'd help but my wife dumped all our pics to jump drives and I don't know where they are. When she's back I'll find them and post. But basically they're just blurry.

[TitusvileSurfer]

That is probably focus...what about non tank pictures? Can you take a good picture of a salt shaker on your counter?

[Salamander]

Never tried to take a picture of a salt shaker. :p But I've never had the problem photographing things out of the tank. I'll try some more close ups of things out of the tank to compare.

But I found a few pics that kinda get to my issue. And these are the best ones of dozens and dozens of the same shot. These were before I kinda figured out white balance.

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u131/1Salamander/Blurry.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u131/1Salamander/coral017.jpg

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u131/1Salamander/coral011.jpg

[Salamander]

Wow...those got pixilated during the resize.

[nickb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13639496#post13639496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Salamander
I think that would help. Problem is I can't find my users manual and I can't figure out how to manually focus. Got an A 95 and know how?
If you go to this URL (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=320&modelid=10468) you will find a PDF version of the A95 manual which you can download. Blur is most likely focus but, it could be camera shake (if you are using a slow shutter speed), problems with depth of field, dirty glass, etc.

[TitusvileSurfer]

Shutter speed is my bet. Your tank...ironic as it sounds...just doesn't make enough light to get a solid picture. Your shutter speeds on the top and bottom are 1/8 of a second. Without a tripod, I don't think any of us could do too much better. See if you can turn your "ISO" up.

[Salamander]

Thanks Nick!

[Salamander]

Titusville- What ISO speed would you recommend? I'm charging batteries now and should be able to test a few things out soon.

[TitusvileSurfer]

The higher the better, higher ISO speeds will put dots all over your image but...anythings better than what you have so far!

[nickb]

I agree with Titus - 1/8 sec is really tough to use hand-held. But, the middle picture was at 1/60 which should be OK in most cases. You might have more than onre issue going on: camera shake and focus/depth of field issues.

The A95 is over 4 years old now and, while a highly rated camera in 2004, has limitations compared to more modern cameras. You could try ISO 400 but, according to the reviews, this leads to a lot of noise so you might need to step down to 200. You could also try using a tripod and setting the self timer to take the picture - that removes any camera shake which would occur when you depress and release the shutter.