why wont my pictures focus?

blakklabelx · Jul 2, 2008

ive been trying to get a good picture of this flower, but none of em can focus the entire thing clearly. i tried the flower setting, and auto with macro and super macro but parts of it are still always blurry.

blakklabelx · Jul 2, 2008

btw, i have a fujifilm s5700 camera

icassell · Jul 2, 2008

The difficulty with macrophotography is getting sufficient DOF (depth-of-field) ... you need a steady camera (i.e. tripod) and a small aperture (high f-stop number). I believe the problem with your flower is twofold. I think there is some camera shake (no part is without some blur), which you could eliminate with a tripod, and your f-stop isn't high enough to get the whole thing.

This link might be useful:
http://workbench.cjmovie.net/phproxy/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5waG90by5uZXQvbGVhcm4vbWFjcm8=

Keep shooting!

Rachelsne · Jul 2, 2008

A while ago I wrote a blog post on this (yeah I was bored), this is what I wrote:

If you are using a regular consumer digital camera for example a Sony Cybershot, you will need to set your camera to macro mode(the flower). Macro mode allows your camera to focus on a subject that is close to the lens. using the macro mode will allow you to get 15-20cm away from your subject, if your subject is very small then if you have a super macro mode then you may wish to use this so you can get much closer. Your camera will require you to manually select manual mode, this is either on the main dial or as part of the menu, look for the little flower symbol and select it. To get help you get the nice bright sharp image, make sure you have lots of good lighting, or use a light tent. (these can be bought or made quite cheaply). If the area is well lit, your shutter will open and close very quickly, which will keep the image sharp. If the subject is poorly lit your shutter speed will slow down allowing more light through to the sensor, with just a small movement on a slow shutter your image can become blurry.

Page 66 of your manual-link below, shows you have advanced features and you can select super macro.

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s5700/images/fx_s5700.pdf

reg · Jul 2, 2008

Rachelsne said:
A while ago I wrote a blog post on this (yeah I was bored), this is what I wrote:

[snipped]

See above:

blakklabelx said:
i tried the flower setting, and auto with macro and super macro but parts of it are still always blurry.

blakklabelx · Jul 2, 2008

thanks reg

but do they make tripods that are say, 2 feet tall? the flower is somewhat low to the ground on a fence and ive seen 3 inch tripods up to like 5 feet tripods but never around 2 feet

icassell · Jul 2, 2008

many good tripods can get down low (you just don't extend the legs) ... on some you can mount your camera on the bottom of the center post

reg · Jul 2, 2008

Most decent tripods (all?) will be able to adjust in height - I dunno if it would go specifically around to 2ft but most tripods do adjust.

blakklabelx · Jul 2, 2008

icassell said:
The difficulty with macrophotography is getting sufficient DOF (depth-of-field) ... you need a steady camera (i.e. tripod) and a small aperture (high f-stop number). I believe the problem with your flower is twofold. I think there is some camera shake (no part is without some blur), which you could eliminate with a tripod, and your f-stop isn't high enough to get the whole thing.

This link might be useful:
http://workbench.cjmovie.net/phproxy/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5waG90by5uZXQvbGVhcm4vbWFjcm8=

Keep shooting!

so would i have to switch into manual mode to get a decent picture? what f-stop and shutter speeds would you recommend?