Need Camera Help

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Hey.

i own a sony cybershot.

i'm not really into photography at all, but i was just wondering if i can fix this problem. At autosalon, when i was taking pictures, if i had the flash on, it only focus's on the numberplate and reflectors. and makes the rest of the car really dark. With the flash off, if i moved like .1mm the photo would blur heaps.

so all my shots at autosalon were crap.

is there anyway of fixing this?

Edited January 28, 2007 by Nebz

[SKY031]

I was after some camera advice too, but i don't want to totally hijack your thread, so i'll help answer your question.... before asking mine, rather than start another thread

flash off, camera on tripod.

I had shocking troubles with photos at autosalon until i realised that the flash was negating the natural light which was available.

(..and i'm also interested in additional hints/tips in regards to indoor photography)

What I was hoping someone could assist with is lens cleaning.

There seems to be a blob of gunk which has somehow landed itself on the lens, and i don't want to try cleaning it with anything which could potentially cause damage.

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LOL damn. i didn't really wanna take a tripod to autosalon.

i'll just do without pics i guess.

when cleaning my lense. i just breath on it (make it damp) adn then use one of those special kind of clothes that you can buy at the sunglass hut.

probably doing it damage, i'm not sure. but it seems to make it cleaner. :s

[Sl!m]

Camera lenses should be kept clean, but it is a mistake to clean them too often. The marginal improvement in picture quality is not worth the risk of lens damage.

A camelhair brush is a soft brush and reduces risks of scrapes to your lenses. You will also need photographic lens tissue. Do not use eyeglass tissues; they are impregnated with chemicals that will damage the lens. Lens cleaning fluid will also come in handy for the cleaning process.

When you clean a lens, start by blowing or brushing away loose dirt. Never touch a lens surface with anything other than a clean lens tissue or lens brush, and never try to dismantle a lens in order to clean an inner element. Should an interior lens surface become fogged, take the camera to a repair shop. You can check a lens for fogging by shining a flashlight beam through the back of the lens.

Use a clean camel hair's brush to whisk dust from surface of lens. If lens is removable, take it off the camera and brush rear lens surface as well as the front. Be careful not to rub sand or grit across the lens. Use an ear syringe to blow away any remaining dust and dirt, especially particles that might be caught at the edges. Another safe method is to breathe on the lens and use some lens tissue to wipe off any debris.

Tear a piece of lens tissue in two, roll one half into a small cylinder, and dry off the lens by gently brushing it's surface with the frayed end of the tissue. Move the tissue in a swirling motion. Never use a lens tissue more than once. To do so can cause dirt to be re-applied back on the lens and cause scratching.

If the lens is still dirty and it's hard to remove the dirt, repeat this procedure over again until the lens is completely clean. Never place your fingers on the lenses when taking pictures. This will require you to clean your lenses every time you use your camera. Doing this will also reduce the life of your camera and your lenses.

[padey]

Hey.

i own a sony cybershot.

i'm not really into photography at all, but i was just wondering if i can fix this problem. At autosalon, when i was taking pictures, if i had the flash on, it only focus's on the numberplate and reflectors. and makes the rest of the car really dark. With the flash off, if i moved like .1mm the photo would blur heaps.

so all my shots at autosalon were crap.

is there anyway of fixing this?

I can't be specific with your camera as I don't own one, but generally, you need to either increase the ISO, and/or open up the aperture to the point where then slowest shutter speed is 1/60th of a second. That is about as good as you can hand hold a wide-medium telephoto lens before you get camera shake in your photos.

Most on board flashes are rubbish, so either get a more powerful external flash unit, or get a faster lens, or take a tripod, or get a camera that can handle better low light situations.

ap

[wokka wokka]

Ditto the above, though if you're really steady you may be able to handhold a bit slower shutter speeds, but when trying that take several shots of the same thing. (my digital SLR I can hand hold 1/4 sec on a moderately wide angle lens). Make yourself as stable as possible, two hands on camera, elbows into chest, look though the iewfinder (if it has one) so the camera resting against your head gives another point to keep it stable, if there's any pillars etc around they're good to lean against.

Also does you camera have any settings, like portrait/night/landscape/indoor etc? I know my casio compact does in the menu system somewhere, if it does try a couple like indoor or low light/night.

[Salsahsonic]

Hey.

i own a sony cybershot.

i'm not really into photography at all, but i was just wondering if i can fix this problem. At autosalon, when i was taking pictures, if i had the flash on, it only focus's on the numberplate and reflectors. and makes the rest of the car really dark. With the flash off, if i moved like .1mm the photo would blur heaps.

so all my shots at autosalon were crap.

is there anyway of fixing this?

Hi there

the tripod without flash is the first and probably the best thing to try (as mentioned in another post), also a higher sensitivity (ISO value) would allow the camera to take pictures at a higher shutter speed, but also gives rise to higher noise (graininess present as red and blue pixels mixed into the photo). Another way to minimise background blackout is to try and focus on another, further part of the car. By focussing on the licence plate/bumper, the camera will meter that and calculate for exposure values related to that distance and particular composition, thus having a well exposed bumper and a dark background. If it's possible to focus on, say the windscreen (taken from front for example), then the camera will calculate values to expose the scene correctly.

I hope this post hasn't been all "blah blah blah". Better luck with your next lot of photos!

Sal

[Beer Baron]

personally I've found sony cameras really sensitive to camera shake and they give blured pictures all the farken time. In the end I got rid of my sony and went back to my older canon which was much better. so my advice is either use a tripod, or get rid of the sony.

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Thanks for the info guys, hopefully my pics come out good the next autosalon