FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a Fuji FinePix S3000 but I'm going to start researching a new camera and would like any advice, comments, input, etc.

The camera is mainly used for my fish and tanks I like to do close up, highly detailed shots of the fish; I get lucky with those once in a while

Tank shots are very frustrating for me. I've experimented with all the settings on the camera (I'm definitely not an expert)...shots with the flash tend to come out dark and of course have reflections. I do have a tripod but pics without the flash show a tank with a bunch of blurs, which are the fish. I assume this is due to camera speed?

So any camera recommendations? We spend in the $300 range for the Fuji a couple years ago. This will be a step up for me so I realize the cost will be higher but unfortunately I'm not working with an unlimited budget.

Thanks for any input

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

i've got the konica-minolta dimage z3, which has 12x *optical* zoom and super macro mode, which lets you get within 1cm of your subject and stay in focus i think the z6 is the newest one on the market. it goes for about $350-400 depending on where you buy from. but if you buy online i have to say stay away from broadway photo, they were absolute jerks on the phone and they try to bait and switch you into buying a bunch of stuff you don't need for more than it should cost.

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Thanks for your reply

I found a good site online that does digicam reviews...I know I definitely want the 'big number zoom', but in regards to speed-not having fish turn out as blurs-what would I be looking for on a camera's specs.




~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

well, make sure you can set the "film speed". you want a camera that can do iso400 speed. it also helps if you have a manual shutter/aperture/focus setting, but that will be for when you get a little more advanced oh, and get a camera that you can turn off the flash. otherwise you'll get overexposed blurs

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Moondog,

KM stopped making digicams a few months ago, and recently announced they were pulling out the the camera business altogether as of March 31 2006. They've sold their lens mount to Sony who will make digital SLRs in their place. Just bringing it up, since I'm not sure if Theresa wants to buy a discontinued camera (and hey, my KM7D has been discontinued as well, so I'm pretty bummed about it too

Anyway, I'd stick with Canon for point and shoot cameras. The A620 is highly regarded, low noise at high ISO speeds, which is essential to getting good clear fish pics

EDIT: Should probably go into a little more detail on ISO speeds etc. here, not sure if you know already. ISO speeds on film refered to how sensitive that film was to light - the higher the ISO number, the more sensitive. In digital cameras there's only one sensor, but the ISO settings emulate the different sensitivites of film types.

Digicams (non-SLR cameras) have much smaller digital sensors compared to a regular film camera, or compared to a DSLR. Put it this way: if your thumb was the size of a 35mm film plane, the corresponding sensor in a digital camera of the same model would be the size of your thumb-NAIL. They have to pack a lot of pixels into these little sensors, and the result is what's often called "noise" at high ISO settings. So it's important not just to have that speed available to you, but also to have it perform smoothly. Not all cameras are made equal in this regard, which is why I suggest the canon A260. You can read a very detailed review of it below - the link will take you to a section detailing different amounts of noise at different ISO settings - you can see how much smoother the Canon is.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona620/page7.asp

The camera also lets you set aperture, shutter speed etc. etc. for when you're ready -and has video mode so on and so forth. A great investment IMO.

---

Back in the saddle!

Theresa, I got the Canon A520 for Christmas, I love it! I can take great foliage shots using the foliage setting, and the fish aren't so blurry using the kids&pets setting as well as the action setting. I can preset the resolution for posting on the web and sending in emails. It is a really nice and easy camera for someone like me who is a complete newbie to taking pictures. I haven't had a camera that works since my elder son (8) football spiked a brand-new basic camera 4 years ago! We only have 1 yr of pics of my youngest (5).
The canons are great, easy to use and you don't need to know much about all those really big camera words.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus