$#U%*# camera...

epruyne

I need any help I can get with this picture taking deal. I have a Sony cybershot camera with "macro" capabilites. I don't know if this is a great camera to use for coin shots but it is what I have so I have to figure it out the best I can...anyways what settings do I need to use to be able to take close-up shots...this pic is the closest I could get with the coin kind of in focus. The color isn't right either that toning is purple-red.

Any advice would be helpful thanks.

Eric

MadMarty

Send a PM to Russ, he is the photo expert!

baccaruda

there's a picture of a flower on my camera dial that's used for macro (up close) shots. come on, you know - flowers, up close shots... do they have to spell it out for you?

kind of like the lawnmower with the picure of the turtle and the rabbit on the speed selector. who's the genius who decided that was better than writing "fast" and "slow"

10,000 years later man has come full circle. we're back to using heiroglyphics.

Russ

And a picture of a person for regular shots.

Russ, NCNE

epruyne

Yes I tried the good ole flower button...and it was still very blurry. I will take a shot of that and post it if you want to see what I mean. Are there any other settings to change or any specific things with lighting I should be doing. I don't need 'trade secrets' or anything here I don't care that much I just want to be able to take a close-up and umm...not have it be blurry.

ClarkOfKent

Mine also has a nice little mountain range for long-shots. //

Tassa

Try using the macro mode and try holding the camera just an inch or so directly over the coin when you shoot. That method usually works best for me when photographing coins. However, it sometimes takes a few shots before I get it just right due to glare and shadows.

baccaruda

do you have it set on autofocus?

mine will autofocus when i press the shutter button half-way.

Russ

Fuzzyness can also be caused by inadequate lighting when using autofocus mode.

Russ, NCNE

ClarkOfKent

Seriously, though... my camera's macro capabilities didn't seem to be what they advertised, either. My solution was to get as close as I could and still keep it in focus. Then, I made sure to use the highest resolution available... so I had as many pixels as possible containing coinage. Even after cropping the photo down to coin-size I still end up with a very large photo that doesn't look too bad.

Also, a copy stand or tripod is a good thing. I know I can't hold my camera steady enough for close-up shots like that.

anoldgoat

I have a Canon S30. I use the highest resolution and micro mode. The instructions say it will focus within ~3 inches so i hold it three inches away from the coin. The coin looks very small in the picture taken but due to the hi res i'm able to zoom in (after uploading the pic with the SW provided with the camera) and get a nice large sharp photo.

mike