camera and software help please

[JCR's Reef]

We bought a sony 8.1 for my sons sports and it does a pretty good job. When it comes to taking macro shots of corals, it does an okay job. Wife says Im not allow to buy the Nikon camera I want.
I was wanting to know if they make some good macro lenses for the sony camera's that are really worth it.
And what type of programs are you running to really enhance or make the pictures more true to their colors?

[BlueCorn]

What model is the camera?

[xtm]

Just tell your wife "That's okay.. my new Nikon is not allowed to take a picture of you anyways" :D kidding aside, they DO make snap-on macro diopters for Sony point-and-shoots. Does the camera have the ability to shoot in RAW?

[TitusvileSurfer]

Those snap on adapters are all but worthless IMO. It is like taking a picture of a magnifying glass.

[JCR's Reef]

Its a Sony cybershot 8.1 with 15x zoom. DSC-H9 I think.All in all its a pretty good camera for the whole family functions. But all I take pictures of is coral and fish.LOL.
It has the aperature (sp?) settings but I cant get the lighting to adjust right. Okay I cant get it to adjust close to anything it should be. My pictures turn out better in auto mode than anyother mode no matter what the settings are at. But I'm also comparing to SLR models
I had a feeling the adapters for macro lenses where crap which is why I asked. I dont see many people using them. I shoot through a magnifying glass in macro and it does help pic up the patterns a bit more, but the coral needs to be pretty close to the glass for it to turn out. It wont zoom into the middle of the tank and take a good close up shot which is what I'm wanting.
I might just give my wife the camera and buy the one I originally wanted in the first place if I cant find a solution. I can hear it now!
So what programs is most people using to adjust their pictures?

[TitusvileSurfer]

Adobe Photoshop CS4 (but Elements would work) and Adobe Lightroom 2

There are a few other imitators out there as well which can be had for a fraction of the price (or in the case of "Gimp" or "Picasso" free).

[nickb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14622958#post14622958 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JCR's Reef
It wont zoom into the middle of the tank and take a good close up shot which is what I'm wanting.
It's unlikely you would be able to take 1:1 macros of corals in the middle of the tank, even with a DSLR and dedicated macro lens. The Nikon 105mm micro focuses to 12" at 1:1. However, that is measured from the focal plane of the camera. Allowing for the front/back depth of the camera and the length of the lens, you would have to be within about 6" of the coral to get a photo, even if the lens were touching the glass of the aquarium. The 200mm Micro would let you be about 13" from the coral but that lens costs around $1,800. The Sigma 180mm Macro is about $900 and would give a similar working distance.

If you don't want 1:1 magnification, you would be able to have a bigger working distance.