pictures of fish butts

[RumBum]

First I'd like to admit that I am a novice photographer; I have a totally automatic camera but want to get one with manual settings.

One of the problems I have with my current camera (digital) is that after I click the shutter button, the camera has to "think" about the picture for too long, by the time it takes a picture the fish has moved and I have a nice picture of fish butt. What do you recommend as a solution? Is there a certain function I should be looking for in my next camera to avoid fishbutt pictures?

Thanks,
Melissa

 

[jpcpat]

Melissa,

I have had the problem many times as well. Maybe we can compare fish butts sometime! I've found that turning off the flash helps, as well as taking the autofocus out of the play. Of course, blurring is a problem then. Beyond that, take LOTS of pics, and hope a few are worth it.

Some cameras have a "Shark mode" that eliminates the delay. I don't know what that does to quality, though.

 

[mattroz]

Dslr......................................

 

[Cacia]

I think the more expensive cameras have less delay.

You might try working with the tactics some of the fish gurus use where they stalk different species/ behavior with different strategies of lying in wait. Clay Wiseman, Marty Snyderman have a book....some excellent fun tips about how various fish act and how to optimize your shot.

Fish Butts are a common problem!

 

[fishballer]

not only am i a fish butt expert, i'm also picasso. as in all my pictures resemble his blue period paintings.

heh. but i don't care. it's fun taking pictures, even crappy ones

 

[Frank Hayes]

Please forward all fish butt pictures. I would have liked to send this under my alias however just to danm excited.

 

[Matt S.]

Prefocus with a half-press on the shutter... then wait until the time is right to push it the rest of the way. Eliminating the focus delay will massively reduce the shutter lag.

Learning how to pre-focus and lock in focus/exposure is the best method for shooting with a slow camera... besides buying a faster one.

If you are shooting without a flash, and your camera has some kind of burst mode, turn that on too. It's always better to take a few pictures instead of just one, if you can. It increases your chances of getting a keeper.

Don't get frustrated. I have a camera that is nice in all ways but speed and it is very challenging to get good shots of fish in my aquarium much less the ocean.

 

[Dive 'N' Dolphin]

Ok I have a butt picture for you. Its a turtle butt

 

[fairybasslet]

Even with the pre-focus feature, you still have a delay if you aren't using an SLR. You have to try and anticipate the fish movement. Here's one of a wave on the Hudson River that I took while hiking a few weeks ago. I kept pushing the shutter too late and would miss the splash, until I finally shot before I thought the wave would break. It sucks to have the delay, but unless you want to spend the big bucks, get used to it, or take photos of sponges. I love shooting those because they don't move.

 

[ewong]

One technique is to follow the fish as if you are shooting with a video camera and hope that the camera will fire at the right time.

If you are using a strobe, a fiber optic connection will slow you down, because you need to refresh the embedded flash. My point and shoot (Olympus SP-350) has TTL which does not require capacitors to be reloaded (for the flash).

A DSLR is another pricey $$$ solution.

Eddy.