Well i am the idiot that needs help
i am using this Sony cybershot camera which is supposed to be quite good and generally it takes good photos.
Now i presume this is me as i do not seem to be able to take close up shots showing details on models without it all being blurred am i supposed to change settings in the camera or something as i leave it on auto usually?
any help be appreciated
cheers Brian

I've got a Sony Brian, a DSC1, and that has a Closeup button that you press. On mine it has a small graphic of a flower on it. Does that help? The same graphic is then shown on the screen.

Bryan,

I have a Sony Cybershot DSC-W7 and like Bob mine has a little flower on it (a tulip I think) which is on the right hand button of the round scrolling device on the back of the camera. This will get you into close up, however dont expect miracles. If this is not too good, have found that taking a high resolution picture, say 5 million pixels, from further away and then crop and edit to the area you want using your favourite photo editing software.

Les

Brian,
I have a Kodak V-550. It has a button with a small flower on it. When I press it, a flower icon comes up on the viewer screen. However it will automatically return to the off position every time the camera is turned off.
One other point, when the close up button is turned on you must slowly press the button to take the picture, as half way down is when the camera will actually do the focusing and it sometimes takes a second or two to complete. On my camera you can actually hear it trying to focus. I watch in the viewer and if the image appears blurred after the focusing then I release the button and try again.

If you find the close up button (Macro Button) and are sure it's turned on and you still cannot get it to focus, then let me know. There is one other trick we could try.
Hope this helps.

Wayne

Thanks everyone i have found the small flower and yes it does make a differance i will experiment with some loco piccys later and post my results .
cheers Brian

I would also use the self timer and a tripod if you have one.

Robert said

I would also use the self timer and a tripod if you have one.

Absolutely bang on Bob !!!!!

On either normal close up or macro, even the tiniest movement will blurr the shot.  It is ESSENTIAL to use the timer (or remote trigger with SLR) and a tripod (or other means of leaving the camera alone when it fires - a stack of books etc. etc. will do - just don't hold the blessed thing !!!!)

Petermac

[user=2]Robert[/user] wrote:

I would also use the self timer and a tripod if you have one.

This has to be the first lesson in model photography, that is if your are serious about the end result, another way is to use a bean bag which enables you to take images on the layout, not just from the side.

Another thing that helps is the iso, which will enable you to shot under lower light conditions, this also helps with the depth of field ( depth of focus)

Saying all of this and I hand hold all of mine:It's a no no

Canon powershot A610, tripod and 2 sec timer always.
Get's blurry otherwise.
 I too use the Macro (tulip) setting, full zoom and camera as far from the subject as I can to achieve a better depth of field, no flash, and I'm playing about with the manual focus at the moment (allows me to focus on what I want, not what the camera wants.)
I haven't done the hi-res and cropping yet but I've read elsewhere that it works well.

Keep playing… er testing HP.

I agree with all the above about using a tripod or beanbag.  I would also add to do a longer time exposure rather than use flash as flash can give a poor picture.  Reasons are that synthetic fibres reflect light so siliflor and synthetic foliage looks lie plastic.  Some areas are highly lit that you don't want to be and close to the camera is bright with further away being dark.  If you are  photographing in a garage with artificial light then flash will make your pictures look poor. 

The best light to use is natural, but not very bright sun, unless you are looking at using the shadows, which works really well for black/white.

The longer the shutter speed = a better depth of field, as for flash, it's okay if you are using more than one, but just to use the little one on top of you camera does not work.