Proper Digital Camera Settings

UWPoolGod1

UWPoolGod1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What settings should you put on your digital camera to come out with nice clean non-fuzzy closeup pics of cues? Turn on/off digital zoom? Change resolution size, etc, etc?
I have a Canon PowerShot A620 7.1 megapixel.
 
for close-up pictures you need to turn on the macro setting. i'm not sure how to do it on your camera, but i'm positive it does have that setting. lighting also plays an important role i use this:

http://www.amazon.com/American-Recorder-SIB-100-Photo-Studio-in-a-Box/dp/B0009E3UUY/sr=8-1/qid=1166290269/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-2250269-1097764?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

it's not great for full length shots. but for close-ups it works well:

DSCN0588.jpg


good luck.

guy
 
Are you looking to make closeups of the inlays or just shoot the forearm and butt?
See if it has the MACRO icon (a flower) and fiddle with that.(i don't know your camera specifically)

Do you have it on auto, or on of the manual settings?
 
The higher the resolution the more a tripod is needed to stop the blur. Even clicking the shutter can blur a pic with high resolution.
 
Ruthless said:
The higher the resolution the more a tripod is needed to stop the blur. Even clicking the shutter can blur a pic with high resolution.
Click to expand...

Ruthless you sure know what you're about.

Keeping it perfectly(or as close to) still is very important, though I haven't tried any of the new digicams with image stabilization. Anyone?
 
UWPoolGod1 said:
What settings should you put on your digital camera to come out with nice clean non-fuzzy closeup pics of cues? Turn on/off digital zoom? Change resolution size, etc, etc?
I have a Canon PowerShot A620 7.1 megapixel.
Click to expand...


No flash, you need light and lots of it, take it outside if you can on an overcast day, don't worry about getting that close, just make sure you have good focus and then crop the pic in a photo shop program. a tripod and timer or remote helps as well.

Jim
 
This is incorrect. The blur he's talking about has to do with the inability of the lense to focus at such a short distance.

What he needs to find is the macro setting on the camera.

That aside, resolution does not play a part in blur. Only the sensitivity of the sensor (ISO), the amount of light in the scene, the aperture (f-stop) and exposure setting will account for blur.

Ruthless said:
The higher the resolution the more a tripod is needed to stop the blur. Even clicking the shutter can blur a pic with high resolution.
Click to expand...
 
Tripod

Looks like you camera has macro function. On the back, look for the Flower/MF symbol. Press down on the 4-way pad to select the macro options. There might be two. My fuji digital has a Macro, and a super macro. In super macro you cannot zoom. I assume your camera is the same way.

620.jpg

Once in macro, you will need a small tripod... or something firm to position the camera on. Holding it at a close distance to your subject you will not be able to get a clear picture. Use a bean bag if you have one, or a book.

If you find that you still cannot get a clear shot, try using the timer feature. At close range the macro function is super sensitive to movement. If you set the automatic timer, the camera will not move when the shutter activates.

That is the nice thing with digitals... it doesn't cost you anything to take a picture. The learning curve is much faster than film to get a correct exposure the first time.

Brian
 
WOW is this perfect timing! I just gave my daughter her early Xmas gift, a canon powershot G7. Neither of us knows much about these so please keep the advice coming. Any suggestions on the type of tripods that work best for canon cameras would be gereatly appreciated also. We will try to post some pics of my cues tomorrow.
THANKS to all who contributed to this thread!!
Dan
 
Rtfm!

Focus, Depth of Field, Stability, and Diffused Lighting, once you understand these, you'll be taking some nice pictures. Your Fine Manual will go over the basic concepts of these elements of photography:cool: There's a S@##load of resources on the Internet on Photography not like when I started in the late 80's. If you like to have paper, go to your local Library.
As for viewing your pics the program I like is Infranview... http://www.irfanview.com/. It's got some basic editing features built in, be sure to get the Plugins also.

THIS IS ONLY 800X600, LOOKS A LOT BETTER IN 1600X1200
McDermott_1B.jpg
 
Last edited:
What a great thread and replies. I have been trying to figure this problem out also and was not smart enough to ask the questions here. DUH!!

I just got out my camera, found the Macro button and will be experimenting later this week.

I also use Ifranview for simple photo editing where I don't want to get into the complications of Photoshop. It's easy to use and free.
 
One thing a lot of people don't know, is that when using macro mode, make sure the zoom is all the way OUT. Move the body of the camera closer to the subject rather than zooming in. You can focus closer to the subject this way.
 
I have been trying to learn how to take better pictures and I was told that natural lighting is the best. I also was told that anything more than 5 MP is not really going to help much with regular applications unless if you need to print the picture out real big.

I like the small tripods as they are easy to carry around. You can put it on the rail of say, a pool table while you take a picture of your cue.

I like the pictures on Dick Abbot's web site, no idea how he could have such clear pictures with no shadow, they certainly look very nice.

Jack Justis also takes nice pictures of his cases on his site.

Richard
 
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