Blurry when trying to get close up shots

[Tim Plow]

I have borrowed my friend's Panasonic DMC-FZ15 and have taken some pretty good shots from far away, but every time I try to zoom in really close, the shots go really blurry. My tank glass is thick (200 gallon aquarium) and I was wondering if maybe it was trying to focus in on the glass? Is there anything I can do to zoom in on close-ups without the pic going blurry? To get good shots I have to move the corals to the front of the tank. Any help would be really appreciated.

Here are a few pics that I have taken that are semi close ups.

 

[Blazer88]

Make sure you aren't shooting through the glass at an angle. You may also be closer than the minimum focusing distance of the camera.

 

[Tim Plow]

OK thanks...I will try not to shoot at an angle. I did try moving the camera back and then zooming in, but it did not work. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thx

 

[mgregg99]

The first photo looks to be camera shake instead of a focus issue.

 

[edwing206]

Are you using a tripod?

 

[Phyllia131]

If your tank is curved glass, then you have to move around for like 10 mins to get the distortion down. Your camera will focus on the glass, can you take the autofocus off?

 

[Tim Plow]

Yes...I have been using a tripod most of the time. I tried to use the MF mode but had the same trouble as AF. In MF, no matter how much I try to the pic in focus, it stays very blurry. Thanks again for all your suggestions.

 

[kuramura]

Can you turn off pumps for shooting sesion ? Works for me.

 

[Tim Plow]

Will turning off my pumps allow me to zoom in on coral at the back of my tank without it going blurry? Does the current of the water have an affect on the focus?

 

[Phyllia131]

It can have an effect. It will cause motion blure if your shutter speed is below 1/125(depending on the speed of movment and focal lenght). However, if the flow is at all visible to the naked eye, a faster shutter speed will stop the current in its place, and appear as an obstruction on the image. It's about finding the right combo of Light, apeture, shutter speed, and ISO. See if you can bring the ISO up to about 600. The photos may appear a bit grainy or noisy, but you can fix it in post production.

 

[Tim Plow]

I will take some more shots using all you guy's advice and repost to show the difference. Thx again