Need help on Camera Settings

[-BlackJack-]

If someone with some camera knowledge could assist me, I would greatly appreciate it. I can't get good aquarium pictures for the life of me.

I have a SANYO VPC-E670 (7.1 mega pixels)

(don't laugh, it was a gift)

I can't figure out what settings to use for the best possible Aquarium photography. Normal everyday pictures, it takes very sharp, rich, vibrant pictures. All my aquarium shots come out looking like total crap no matter what I do.

I'm assuming I should be on the "macro" selection, and these are the available settings:

Image resolution - 2m, 3m, 5m, 7m3:2, 7m
Image quality - good, better, best
Focus zone - selected area, center, multi-zone
EV compensation - +2,0 through -2,0 in about ,3 increments
White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Tungsten, Flourescent, Cloudy
ISO Speed - Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Color - Vivid, Color
Sharpness - High, Normal, Low
Saturation - High, Normal, Low
Contrast - High, Normal, Low


My aquarium is a 150g with 2x72" SuperActinics, and 3x 175w MH. I posted that info because I'm sure the lighting makes a difference.

 

[MCary]

Max out your resolution, there is not reason to use less. Image quality best. Focus zone center if shooting macros or closeups. I don't use EV, I can fix that during post processing, but I don't know if your trying to get good shots directly out of the camera if your pictures are too dark on auto mode increase the EV if to light reduce the EV. If you don't have a custom WB, just use auto. The rest of the functions are software functions. They can be duplicated and even done much better with your computer. Experiment with them. I can't advise without knowing what the effects of the settings are.

Use a tripod and increase iso until you have elliminated camera shake and don't have noise. It's digital, take pictures with every combination until you find a good recipe.

Mike

 

[-BlackJack-]

Thanks I'll try that and see how it works out.

I do have an adjustable white balance (or auto). I think it only asks what kind of lighting I'm using (sunny, cloudy, flourescent, ect)