decent pix w/o macro

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Armacielli

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Feb 8, 2008
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I have pens I need to shoot, but when my camera is close enough to get the detail I want, it doesn't know what to focus on and I cant force the close focus because I dont have a Macro setting. can I get decent pics w/o it? these are my best:

081.jpg


082.jpg


088.jpg


those were my best but even they were hard to come by
 
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The short answer is no, not without a lot of cropping which is not likely to get you very good results. What kind of camera do you have?

And welcome to the IAP.
 
The top 2 are pretty good.. the bottom isn't so hot... If you post your model camera - we can post better tips. I usually lookup things like minimum focus distance based on model.
 
I agree the top two aren't bad the last one needs help.
P.S. It looks like you are low on bread!:D
 
Welcome to the site!

Until you get a better camera, your best bet is to lose all the busy backgrounds. Use something without texture, preferably white, and get a really un-detailed pen prop. I've got the same problem with one of my older cameras, and I've found that if I take away all of the alternate focus points, it finally decides that the pen is the best thing to focus on.

That's my best guess. :)
 
Hi Armacielli you are my first to post to being a newby to the forum' what I tend to do is to take a pic of the pens on A4 white piece of paper it will be easier to edit the background if you need to also if the camera is not too clever on the spec try taking the pics outside on a nice sunny day I have had some good results in the past' I'm no pro photographer' oh and use a tripod if you have one this helps a lot, If your going to use a backdrop in your shots use a nice contrasting color Saturn sheet and have your pens maybe on stand so shadow casting is not an issue, what I'm saying here if you have the pen directly laid on to the backdrop it looks like it's in water only seeing half the pen so rule is raise it up a bit hope I have been some sort of help. These tips are only from my own experience.
C ya all soon.
Splinterfinfnger
www.turnedwood.co.uk

2008210202626_apple_beech_main.jpg
 
It would be really helpful if people would stop posting their own pictures in other people's requests for help and also not comment on the pens. Dean and I have both asked the OP for information about the camera being used and once we have that, we can offer some relevant advice.
 
How about moving the camera back from the subject, shoot at highest quality, then crop it some. Are you wanting to make 11X14 prints of your pens? Web photos need to be 72 pixels/inch. I think you could sacrifice some image size (in megabytes) to gain image detail.

DOF will also benefit from the added distance.
 
Im know nothing about photography and only get good pictures now because my new camera has a macro setting, but I used to place the camera lense of my digital sony up against a magnifying glass and took my closeups. It worked out very well in good light, when you dont need a flash.
 
The specs on dpreview.com say your camera does have a macro mode and will focus as close as 13cm. There should be a flower symbol on one of the buttons on the camera. Use it and move in close enough to get rid of most of the extraneous background. Orient the pens diagonally in the viewfinder and keep the pen as parallel as possible to the back of the camera.
 
Well, hot damn! there is a macro setting on there! And in a very obvious spot that I should've noticed. Shows what I've learned after two quarters of Forensic Photography
 
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