Is this just a waste of my money or can i improve my point-N-shoot

[five.five-six]

ok I have an canon A80, I have been looking into a rebel and the only that pencels out for my budget is to buy a used one with lenses as a package, on ebay $400-$600. then I started thinking about this kit Canon Powershot A60 A75 A80 A85 A95 Telephoto+Wide Lens for $100, you can take a look at my better photos in imageshack by clicking on my lil red house. I want 3 things, a bit closer focus, better zoom and focus ie: zoom on one subject at the back of the tank and focus, and get rid of the washed out look from halides. look at my photos and you will see what I mean. every now and again I get lucky with a good shot but for the most part they are all crap

 

[maxalmon]

PAS cameras are good for average situations. It really comes down to the image sensor and the optics of the lens, no PAS camera will ever surpass a digital SLR.
Try the Nikon D40, great starter camera at a good price. You can get them brand new with 18-55mm lens, tripod, carrying case for $525 on amazon.
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So far this is the best image I've captured, not bad considering I was using the 18-55 lens.

 

[five.five-six]

very nice, this is the best I have been able to do with my PAS.. I am just wondering if a low quality lens kit will help things or make them worse? will the D40 do quick shooting? the big selling point on a SLR for my wife is that she will not have to wait 1.5 seconds for the camera to take a picture

 

[KurtsReef]

Actually P&S cameras work great for macro photography, in general due to the sensor size the depth of field is greater than what you can get with APS-C or Full frame DSLR sensors. You may want to look around for another P&S camera that is designed for macro by having a closer focusing distance than your current model.

Anytime you place another piece of glass in front of your lens you are degrading the quality of the image, unless its a high end filter...I have no experience with filters such as the one your linking and have no idea how well or poorly it works.

 

[maxalmon]

five.five-six. Thats an incredible pic for a P&S....Yes, the D40 is fast, your wife shouldn't have a problem.
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Couple of tips, always and I mean ALWAYS use a magnet cleaner to clean the inside of your glass, There is always a thin film on the inside glass of your tank, you might not be able to see it, but the camera sensor will and cause the focus to be off.
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I stand my ground on the P&S cameras, the macro may be good for flowers or whatever, but when it comes to shooting thru glass and water, capturing correct color and detail, there is no comparison, I went thru 3 cameras before I finally realized that it was a lost cause.
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check out my photo journal on this forum for more pics

 

[maroun.c]

Five.five-six , Although this is a nice picture I would still say that White balance is a bit off, it can still be a lot sharper....
Coming from a P&S this is fine however you could still chose another preset white balance that gives you better colours or maybe measure the WB if your camera allows it.
As to improving on it I don't think there is still much you can do with a P&S. I used to have a Coolpix 5700 that focused at 3cm from an object and gave great results however there are still many limitations compared to what an entry level DSLR can give.
To start with this is not a macro image this is a close up. A macro image by definition is a 1:1 magnification ratio where the image that is not achieved by p&S as far as I know. A DSLR with a kit lens can give you better results due to the fact that it handles noise a lot better and at higher ISO than P&S, It focuses better, Manual focus is an option that odes not exist on most P&S and even if it exists it will not be as easy. With a DSLR yo ucan have an added flash that's farther away from the lens which doesn't result in washed out colours as much as in a P&S. Finally and most important if your really into macros and endup with a DSLR and a dedicated macro lens you will achieve much better results seeing what you achieved with a P&S. cheaper options with a DSLR still exist like closup filters (poor man macro) extension tubes reversing rings... all of these offer advatages at a certain prices (loss of light clarity and or autofocus and metering... ) some of those coupld with macro lens can achieve fabulous results.
Finally that "1.5 seconds for the camera to take the picture" you mention is called shutter lag it simply doesn't exist (or maybe exists at milliseconds rates which you don't feel)

 

[five.five-six]

clean the glass every time..great tip :thumbsup:

I am sure the white balance is way off, I took that photo under .03 lighting


I may be exaggerating with 1.5 seconds but there are 2 positions on the shutter button. 1/2 starts the auto focus and all the way clicks the shutter. the auto focus/white balance/fstop/ takes a bit. many times my kid won't even be doing what what he was doing when I decided to take the picture when it finally goes "click"


I can do manual focusing, and is is a small PITA to get to it in the menu. the problem is that the min focus distance is ~ 6" and with any zoom at all it is more like 10" so what I end up doing is manual focusing with a 2.5" LCD, and take a series of step by step focused shots and pick out which one came out the best, then crop.. it is a lot of work for mediocre results

my biggest problem is the bright halide lighting washing out the picture. see this example: