Cameras and photography

[ConcinusMan]

Is it the holy grail? How are close-up photos with the flash? I still have to rely on good light using my Canon G9 in macro mode.

Same goes for the coolpix cameras, but heck, the price is right and the pics look great. As far as "wash out" goes, that will happen if you're closer than about 3 feet. Adjusting ISO sensitivity downward sometimes helps reduce "wash out" but it will also make any shadows very black.

If you read any guides about macro photography they tend to focus of photographing stuff that doesn't move, if anyone has seen (or has) any good guidance for macro photography using a compact camera and moving targets I'd be interested to see the links.
My tips would be:
1. Hold the camera still by resting on the side of the tank or something else solid, or I use a gorilla pod sometimes. It's better to compromise the composition slightly to get a steady shot, you can crop it down later but you can't fix camera shake in Photoshop.
2. Flash will always washout the shot, so turn it off and use good ambient light.
3. Use manual focus, choose the focal point and move the camera to that distance rather than using any zoom or relying on autofocus.
4. Use the self-timer to help eliminate camera shake.
5. Expect to miss something like half the shots you attempt.
This is based on what I've learned so far using my G9, obviously other cameras may not have the same features or may have different strengths/weaknesses.

Good tips. I might add that the coolpix cameras have a "vibration detection" mode so camera shake isn't as much of a problem, as long as light is adequate, making for a fast shutter speed. The camera adjusts exposure based on detected light levels. This is why it takes great pics in low light, but without a tripod, you'll get blur in low light from moving the camera in macro mode.

In artificial light, it takes better pics if you manually set the white balance to "incandenscent" or "florescent", etc. The preview gives you instant view of the effect of these white balance settings.

If you are not taking macro pics, and light is low, set flash to "on" but don't forget to change white balance to "flash" or the photo will look icy blue.

As far as manual focus goes, that's how I get the good shots too. If you press gently to focus, and hold, the camera will stay focused at that distance until you let go, or press harder to take the photo. I'll usually use that feature, hold the focus, and move the camera until my subject is in perfect focus.

As far as the "auto" setting goes, it's better than many cameras but I always get best photos in manual mode. You just have to learn the effects of the different settings to get the best results in manual mode. The coolpix settings menus are extremely easy to navigate so you can change settings very quickly, unlike some other PITA cameras. They are very easy to learn/use.