Taking pics of moving fish

[gunderhill]

Hi guys, i've already posted this in the Fuji section before i found this forum. It's probably better here as i guess it's more general.

Got a dilema which perhaps you could help me with.

I have a FinePix F610 camera. I also have a number of Tropical Marine fish which i'd like to take pics of. Problem is I dont know my aperture from my elbow or shutter speed from my shoe. I'm just trying to get decent pics with the AUTO mode (and AUTO-MACRO mode) but with limited success.

Can anyone help out or give me a few tips?

I've included one of my better pics below of 'Nemo', as you can see it's still blury! It's taken me ages to take it 'that good' and i've taken hundreds since and they are no where near as good.

Help appreciated before i go completly bald!

Thanks,
Gary

[Pooky125]

Don't know how much I can help you, but I'll give you a few of the tips I use for taking fish pics. Use the fastest shutter speed possible. Turn off the flash, it's useless and will create a glare. If you can't then just angle the camera downward, to minimize it. A tripod is an immense help but not a necessity. Beyond that, I can't help you much.

[gunderhill]

Thanks Pooky, this has helped. I've set the Shutter Speed to 20..? Anything more than that and the picture gets too dark.

I'm going to invest in a tripod soon as the camera does warn me of camera shake at that speed.

Anything i can do to make the pics more bright? I've got the tank lights on and the room lights but without using the flash they are still pretty dark (but good action).????

Thanks
Gary

[Pooky125]

Whoops, knew I forgot an important point, turn off the lights in the room. Close the blinds, take pics at night. Reduces glare, and brings out the tank. If you have to use the flash, just remember to point the camera at an angle for all your pictures.
Good Luck

[DarkAngel]

Not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but a good place to look for info about aquarium photography is on the fish websites, especially cichlid-forum.com. They've got great articles on photography.

Joel