Trouble Taking Photo`s

[DaCiChLiDMaStEr]

Is there a secret to taking pictures of fish in an aquarium? Each time i get mine developed I am all excited until the pictures come back and I see that none of them turned out. They always comeback blurry, or u cant see the fish at all. I am using 800 kodak film, a fuji 125X zoom camera and I get my pics developed at wal~mart.

[tom]

Hi dcm

I'm moving your topic to the Lounge, which will effectively give it double exposure.

Seems to me that your question's been addressed before, but let's give it another shot anyway.

[finz]

It's hard to say without seeing the pictures but the blurry ones could be caused by being closer than the minimum focusing distance of the lens. The camera's auto focus could be focusing on the background instead of the fish too. By not being able to see the fish in the picture do you mean the photo was too dark?

[DaCiChLiDMaStEr]

Hi finz, I am just using a regular zoom camera. Each time I take my pictures in to get developed they come back they same way. They are all just a blurr....I asked a few film developers at the local wal~mart and they told me to get right up on the tank. (same result) I even read the instructions that came with the camera, it said to use Landscaping mode(where there is no flash) Nothing seems to work, do I need a digital camera ?

[SGypsyMermaid]

i took some pics with disposable cameras(before i bought my new cheapo digital cam)--the first group, i tried taking pics with no flash and got nothing at all. the second time around, i used the flash--the best pics were the ones where i stood 3 ft away from the tanks. when i got closer, the pics were blurred. with all of the money that you are spending developing film, you probably should go ahead and get a digital camera.

[finz]

Digital is the best way to go for aquarium photography. Even when everything is done right, I reject many more photos than I keep. The person who said to set your camera on landscape mode was incorrect. That mode usually forces the camera to use its smallest aperture for greater depth of field and sometimes it sets the focus on infinity. Pictures of aquariums in that case will be dark and way out of focus. If your camera has a closeup mode, use that. If you cant turn the flash off, Tape a piece of paper towel over it to diffuse it a bit. Most point & shoot cameras have a minimum focus distance of 2-3 feet. If you get closer, you will be out of focus unless the camera has a macro mode.

[DaCiChLiDMaStEr]

well....the good thing is that when all the pictures are blurred wal mart doesnt make u pay for them, but I have spent around $20 in the film alone. Thanks for the tips guys, I will try one more roll with this camera at approximately 3 feet away using the zoom.

[HazeGirl]

800 speed film... Hmm That's way too fast I think.
The higher speed is useful for the fast fish, but aquariums don't have that much light, despite what you see, it's bouncing off the glass. And the fast exposure time doesn't allow enough light in. I would try a different speed of film, and maybe a tripod or some sort of base so that the camera doesn't move to combat the blurieness.

[finz]

[quote:2ace80f14c="HazeGirl"]800 speed film... Hmm That's way too fast I think.
The higher speed is useful for the fast fish, but aquariums don't have that much light, despite what you see, it's bouncing off the glass. And the fast exposure time doesn't allow enough light in. I would try a different speed of film, and maybe a tripod or some sort of base so that the camera doesn't move to combat the blurieness.[/quote:2ace80f14c]

Huh :?: Fast film is always the best coice in low light unless you are using flash. Higher ISO = more sensitivity to light