photographing the speedy Sid

[hyster104]

Last weekend I was lucky enough to find a LFS that carried Sid(s). They only had 1 lone specimen. I couldn't leave him there alone so I took him home in hopes they will get more in this weekend. Welllll, not this weekend, but I am on a call list for when they come in. So, instead, I picked up a dozen of another one of my little favorites...the Rummynose. The good news is my Sid has adopted them as his schooling buddies. I got a hoot out of this and tried to take pics, but, they move so fast they are all a blurr.

Does anyone have any tips on taking pics of such a fast mover. If it matters, I am using a Canon A630.

Here is an example of Sid leading the blurred pack

[Emma Turner]

Wow, they are moving fast! But are you sure that's a Y. sidthimunki? Of course it may just be because of the blurry pic, but my immediate thoughts were Y. nigrolineata or even Crossocheilus siamensis....

Can you increase the shutter speed on your camera settings? Would love to be able to see a 'still' pic.

Emma

[bslindgren]

Cool nevertheless. Unlike many LOL members I'm not a particularly good photographer, so I probably shouldn't reply, but since nobody has answered yet I'll give it a go (I'm sure others will soon give you better advice). Fast moving fish are difficult because you have to have a fast exposure time (1/125 or faster perhaps?) and f11 or smaller aperture to get any depth of focus. But if you don't have a high-end flash you won't get enough light, so good luck (my flash unit is a macro flash worth almost $1,000 and it pretty much does everything except take the picture, and I still struggle with some fish). Try manual settings (if available) with a flash (at a slight angle to the glass so you don't get reflection), and do some bracketing (trying different combinations of exposure time and f-stop). And be patient!

[hyster104]

shutter speed!!! of course LOL I increased/decreased everything else I could think of EXCEPT shutter speed. I am still new to this digital photography thing. It is midnight here so I will try again later in the week. Thanks for the replies, it was driving me nuts.

I can see where he looks like Y. nigrolineata, his spots blurred right into stripes.

this is the closest thing I have to a still shot showing a little of the pattern

[Rocco]

Looks like a sid to me in this pic.

[Martin Thoene]

Fast shutter speed is one of the biggest things in catching fish sharply. It can also negate any movement you might make while pressing the shutter. I take most of my pics at 1/2500 sec now as it gives sharper pics.

What camera do you have? Others here might be able to give settings advice.

Oh....and it sure looks like a sid from that latter picture.

Martin.

[newshound]

shutter speed will stop any movement if it is fast enough but
if your using a flash and are stopped down to f11 at a low ISO your shutterspeed could be 1/2 a second and you will have a frozen image due to the fact that a flash fires at (approx) 10, 000 of a second.
I would actually open up my aperture to get as much available light as possible (this will blurr out back ground too...an added bonus).
This will not work on your point and shoot...I should say might not work.
But on an Digi-SLR options are many.

[Rocco]

I've seen some point and shoots capable of these settings.

I've been looking at your camera's pictures and I think this might work.

Try this: put your camera on shutter priority. I think it's tv on the dial. What this does is allow you to control your shutter speed while it sets the aperture of the camera automatically. Its like shooting in program mode with the added control. Still, keep an eye on your exposure meter.

with a shutter speed of 1/100ths of a second, (100) on the shutter speed indication, it should be easier to capture your fish. If you can go higher, then better.

I need to start taking pictures of my fish again.

[hyster104]

WOW!!! Thanks for all the good information. As soon as I have time (working 14hr days all week ) to sit in front of my tank again I will try them out. My camera is no SLR, but, it does have quite a few options for changing settings. Maybe Santa will enroll me in a digital photography class

thanks again, I look forward to trying things out and posting the results.