Anybody have the fuji finepix S9000 ?

[TOURKID]

My fiance bought this camera right before we got the reef tank... 7 months later and i still cant get the kind of pictures im looking for. this is a 700+ dollar camera.. I went to the camera store to try and get a micro lenz today... they dont make other lenses for this camera. it says 7x optical zoom, and super macro 1cm on the camera...

so what im asking for.. is a cheat sheet? what settings do u use to get a NICE sharp picture? I cant seem to get detail. lotz of little switches and gadgets on this thing. never got the right combination

thanks for any help
maggie

 

[gregr]

Hi-
The settings will be different depending on what kind of picture you want to take. Full tank shots (shutter speed priority works well in this situation) will generally be shot at a fairly fast shutter speed- 1/125th would be a pretty good place to start. Close-ups (which I suggest aperture priority mode for) require you to get as much depth of field as possible, so small apertures like f8 are needed-- and that means slow shutter speeds... and that means tripod It's not always necessary to use a tripod but it will certainly help in the sharpness department.
And then there's shots of fast swimming fish- I usually use a flash for those kinds of pics. You can experiment with manual exposure mode, something like f4 and a shutter speed of 1/90 or so. Try different settings and see what works best for you.
Those are some rough starting points- if you post pics we can try to fine-tune the settings for you.
Greg

 

[TOURKID]

I sat down with tripod today and took about 200 hundred pics. when i turn the lens so it comes out more..(im a pro ) the screen says f7.. when i go past f7 to f9 n such, it just wont clear up the blurriness. I have no idea where the shutterspeed control is... i have macro and super macro.. but it doesent seem to do anything. heres a few of the best pics i got today fooling around. they are ok for sure... but out of 200?? lol

 

[gregr]

Ahh- I think I see what's going on. A couple things. The first and biggest issue is the tank is a bowfront- the curved glass/acryllic distorts the images all by itself. I've taken quite a few pics of bowfront tanks and like you I have very few that are sharp. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Another issue is with shutter speeds- if you are shooting anything that is moving (fish, anemones etc.) you will need to use a relatively fast shutter speed- I'd aim for at least 1/60th and faster if possible. The apertures will probably be more like f2.8, f4 or f5.6. As the fnumber gets smaller the actual aperture gets bigger [lets in more light] but the downside is your depth of field decreases.
Normally I'd recommend you shoot squarely into the tank but with bowfronts I found that I got sharper pics shooting from the side a bit. Wish I had better news for you.
Greg

 

[melev]

Your camera is similar to mine (Fuji S602Z), so maybe I can help.

Set your camera to AP mode (Aperature Priority).
Set the f/stop to 2.8
Set it to Macro Mode.
Set the film speed to the lowest setting, and practice taking pictures of stationary objects.
For fish, I bump it up to a higher number, like 400 ISO. The higher the number, the grainier the picture.

If your camera doesn't focus in Macro mode, check to make sure it is set to AUTO and not Manual mode. There may be a LOCK button at the top of your camera (top, left of the popup flash), and you may need to unlock it to get this set correctly. Once it is set, LOCK it again.

Macro mode will work well if you press the lens against the glass, unless the item is too close.

FYI, another person in our club found that his Macro mode only worked well when he stood back from the tank 3 feet. Using a tripod and zooming in, it would focus.

My camera isn't like that, in that I can be right up against the glass and shoot a sharp image. If I need to switch to super macro mode, I can get a clear image of the foot of a snail on the glass.

You may need to run up to your local camera shop to get a little personal assistance, if we can't help you here.

 

[TOURKID]

ok. today i played with the AE-L button. this camera is kinda out of my league

cool pictures tho

 

[melev]

If you have about 20 minutes on your hands, take a look at this link. It will tell you more about your camera than you already know.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilms9000/

In addition, pick up the manual that came with it and read it again, a couple of times. The more you play with your camera while reading the manual, the better you'll understand the features.

I have an article on my site about taking pictures that may help, since I have the same brand. It is in the Photography section on the Hidden Treasures page. If you can't find it, just ask me in a PM and I'll get you the link.