I'm a camera idiot

[Doc Pyres]

I was just getting up the nerve and the right set up to start taking pitures of my :spyder: collection when I went and dropped my camera on a hardwood floor. It was just a point-and-shoot Sony DSC W70, but it took pretty good photos and it wasn't cheap. The fall smashed the LCD screen, separated the back panel slightly from the camera body, and buggered the lens. This is all just from falling from about waist height onto a wood floor. I never knew the thing was so fragile.

So will it be possible to fix it? I just read on a website that repairs will cost more than just replacing it with a new camera. Wow, bummer. Does anyone know if this is true?

[A.P.F.]

Sadly, it's true. :(

[MAT888]

Sadly enough that's true. Digital camera repair is labour intensive and costwize you would be better of ordering a new camera imo.:o

[Doc Pyres]

*Bump*

Well, I finally sent my camera in and got it back from the repair shop, and it wasn't quite as expensive as I'd expected. Only $150 to repair a $400 camera :o (labour is cheap here relative to Canada/USA/Europe). So far, it seems to be back in working order. Now I just have to figure out how to take better close-ups with it. Every time I get the lens close enough to one of my posed Spydies to take a decent photo, the shot goes blurry. How do you guys get such great pics? :confused:

[yablanowitz]

My cameras have what is called a macro mode, usually symbolized by a stylized flower. It allows the camera to focus at much shorter distances. Even on a camera with "smart capture" that is supposed to select the optimal setting automatically, I get better results by manually selecting macro mode.

[Doc Pyres]

My cameras have what is called a macro mode, usually symbolized by a stylized flower. It allows the camera to focus at much shorter distances. Even on a camera with "smart capture" that is supposed to select the optimal setting automatically, I get better results by manually selecting macro mode.

Thanks, I think my Sony has something similar. I'll give it a try. And you're right, the full auto mode that is supposed to pick the best settings is not always the way to go.

[nuubee]

I have a relatively economical Sanyo digital camera that I still haven't mastered, but it has a feature that I finally figured out, sort of. If I 'half-press' the shutter button, the 4-cornered-centered-focus-bracket appears, and if it is either blue or green (?!), then the shot will be in focus. If it is either yellow or red, then it the image will be out-of-focus when I take the shot. If I am in macro mode, that usually means that I am too close, and need to start backing away in incremental amounts, and checking it again. Your camera may have a similar feature, and I hope what I just wrote makes sense.

[The Deacon]

Once you have figured out how to set your camera to macro, the other "secret" to sharp closeups is to use a tripod. And, if your camera has a "timer" setting try using that as well, it's the closest thing to a cable release that works with digital cameras. Like the cable release, it eliminates any chance of moving the camera as you press the shutter release.

The single greatest thing about digital photograph is that, assuming your camera can use rechargeable batteries, practice only costs time, not money.

[MAT888]

I don't know if your model has a manual focus feature. In this way you can point the mostly green /bracket frame to the desired object to be focused on.

Also pay attention on what the manual says on macro distance for lens towards fotographed objects.