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Posts: 159
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So to make a long story short..---last summer caught my personal best right at dark.
Spent a lot of time with the new camera learning the self timer and where to set it up in the boat for a good quality picture.
Catch, unhook, leave fish in net, set camera up, take fish out of net, take pictures, release the fish, pictures are perfectly centered etc....but they come out very blurry it was a windy night with a chop.
So--what to do?---How does one take a picture by himself when there is a chop and not get a blurry picture?
Camera is not great--but not a piece of junk either--Cannon Power Shot SD 1200 IS.
Do I need a better Camera? Or Tripod? Any help would be appreciated.
Edited by Storm Strike 2/11/2012 1:38 PM
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Posts: 624
Location: S.W. WI | I know my digital camera focuses on what is centered in the frame when I push the button to take pic-start timer so.... If I am in front of camera and hit the button- then jump back to position for photo, camera stays focused where I was when button was pushed. I learned to get out of line photo, point camera down a little to set focus on bench I sit on, after button pushed, get back to bench and smile for the camera.... then it is in focus each time.
Hope that helps ...
-Jon |
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Posts: 360
| A buddy of mine actually takes a small 10 second or so video with him posing with the fish then he just pulls the picture out of the video on his computer. |
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Posts: 2024
| Sounds like a focus issue as the above poster indicated. You should test this by setting your camera up as you would in the boat, set to timer, allow the camera to take the photo and watch how it focuses, then take another object and place it where you might stand and watch how it focuses now (or step into the frame yourself and have someone tell you what's happening). What might be happening is the camera is focusing to infinity (think landscape shot) when you set it up, then when you step in front of the camera at, say, 6-12 feet away, the camera still is locked to focus at infinity and you come out blurry. Theoretically, if you have the camera on a static object like a box of some sorts it should act like a tripod in terms of stabilization, so I'm not sure the chop has anything to do with it. Couldn't hurt to turn the image stabilization on, too, though I'm not sure how good IS is on compact point-and-shoots.
Not sure if your camera came with a remote, but you might consider using it if it did or investing in one (not sure how much they cost). |
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Posts: 536
| Landonfish - 2/11/2012 5:15 PM
A buddy of mine actually takes a small 10 second or so video with him posing with the fish then he just pulls the picture out of the video on his computer.
Yah I second this as well, most of the time I'm bymeslf and it is easier to just take a short video clip and pull pictures from that later! |
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Posts: 474
| try this
http://joby.com/gorillapod
Practice in all situations and on several fish is the only way to be ready when you boat the big girl. I had several bad big fish pics till I was able to work out a system. Use the same spot in the boat every time for the camera and you. If needed for light etc I just turn the boat to the sun or whatever. I am using and Olympus Stylus Tough, waterproof to 15m or so and takes a beating. Sometimes I do a video with it too. |
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Posts: 175
Location: Tonka, MN | Or you could try burst mode if that's available on your camera. I noticed when using certain setting like landscape, night shooting, etc the picture comes out blurry on my Cybershot. I usually stick to auto and turn off the flash...much better picture even in the dark. |
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| I think adding one more thing to your photo arsenal might help: a flashlight. A headlight worn on your noggin can help, but can create annoying flare in the photo.
Autofocus relies on contrast. Not much contrast when its dark, which is why AF suffers in low light and why many cameras send out the little "helper" pop flash one or two times before they take a photo. That's partially to reduce red eye, but it also helps the AF "find" something to focus on. Each camera is different in this regard in what this "AF Assist" light does. On your model it may not help the AF at all. Your camera may not even do this, but it may have a feature where you can turn the AF Assist feature on.
Position a flashlight so its shining ON you, preferrably from the front and side. Then hit the button, position yourself and the fish. Try it first out in your yard or somewhere with a distant background that would simulate being in the boat.
A tripod will always help. Most of the time, the flash will stop nearly all but the most severe action. So if you were out in the SS Minnow on its fateful tour and rockin' away, yeah, even a tripod and the flash might not compensate for the rocking and rolling of the boat. The camera's not moving, but what its taking pictures of (you) likely will be moving some if its ruff out.
Shine a flashlight on yourself, use a tripod. Test it first and see what happens.
Good luck,
Eric |
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Posts: 25
| I dont know how many cameras actually have this but mine has an anti-shake mode so if the camera is moved at all it stays focused on what it was originally focused on |
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Posts: 2024
| Eric's suggestion is a good one, and your model Canon does have an autofocus-assist function (beam of light extends to light subject and allow camera to focus). However, this probably won't solve your problem if the boat is rocking (and you are moving, even if only slightly). You need light, as in a flash. It's been a while since I've played with a compact, but I would think you could set it to use both the timer and flash. You could also try and turn the auto-ISO feature (check your camera's menu) on if it isn't; this will keep your shutter speed up a bit, but will more than likely introduce noise/grain to your photos. |
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| I've taken LOTS of solo pics at night with fish...I will add a couple things that will help.
1. don't have your headlamp on.
2. get yourself some type of spotlight/very bright flashlight etc you can illuminate you and the fish the best with. I keep a halogen light that plugs into my cigarette lighter I mount to the console and shine towards the back of the boat to light up the fish / me....camera will focus a lot better if you have good light.
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Posts: 444
| To me it sounds like a fast shutter speed might help out. |
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Posts: 456
Location: Kansas City BBQ Capitol of the world | Storm,
Along with all the comments above here is one more to think about. If the boat is rolling left and you balance your body opposite to the roll the camera will be moving in one direction while you are moving in the other. This might make the picture blurry. Shutter speed should take care of that and if you can't manually do that on your camera most have a Sports mode that flip the shutter a little faster.
Good luck
Ron |
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