MY CAMERA SUCKS....can you help me make it better?

[AdventureGuru]

I have a nikon coolpix camera...and I hate it! but I dont have time to buy a new one and go to disney...
here's my issue...
if I use it on automatic the photos come out too dark...
if I try to use settings I mess those up....or they come out too blurry...
I'm going to WDW in sept and I want good photos...how do I mkae this thing work???

 

[robertchance]

i know this is a basic question to ask, but have you read the manual that comes with it for suggestions? and also just try practicing taking photo's with the camera. Nikon is a good camera company with good quality controls in place, so it is probably your technique with this camera more then anything. my gut feeling is that you only need to really read the maual and practice and your picture quality will improve greatly

 

[AdventureGuru]

the manual is um...greek to me...can anyone simplify it???

 

[seabright1]

I have a nikon coolpix camera...and I hate it! but I dont have time to buy a new one and go to disney...
here's my issue...
if I use it on automatic the photos come out too dark...
if I try to use settings I mess those up....or they come out too blurry...
I'm going to WDW in sept and I want good photos...how do I mkae this thing work???

To correct the xposure, use the exposure compensation buttons or setting.
It is usually the one with a "+/- " label. Try doing a couple of shots with +1/3 increments each and have it processed. Then see which one u like the best and then stick to that setting. Hope that helps.

 

[AdventureGuru]

sea bight...ok I tried that...but I'll work on it......I have to get the photos off my card...should I try this outside or inside or both?

 

[seabright1]

sea bight...ok I tried that...but I'll work on it.f.....I have to get the photos off my card...should I try this outside or inside or both?

Do you mean indoors and outdoors? If that is what you mean, the answer is yes.
1. there may also be another button that works for the flash "+/-"
2. if shooting outdoors at about close to noon time or when there is a strong light or sunlight behind your subject, you may want to use the flash.

Again, print the pictures at a photolab. Do not use your monitor screen as a your baseline for judging the pictures brightness.

 

[safetymom]

Have you calibrated your computer monitor if that is where you are viewing the images? Nine times out of ten people don't have their monitor adjusted correctly.

Nikons take great photos. Have you looked on Yahoo for user groups for your model? I belong to several for my cameras.

 

[ntsammy5]

Have you calibrated your computer monitor if that is where you are viewing the images? Nine times out of ten people don't have their monitor adjusted correctly.

Nikons take great photos. Have you looked on Yahoo for user groups for your model? I belong to several for my cameras.

Good advice. Also, have you tried adjusting the pictures using any one of the jpg editing software around. Most of those will correct any problames you have.

Good luck.

 

[JR6ooo4]

Do you have a picture hosting site. For very detailed reasons why a specific photo did not work it is best to see the photo and the EXIF information. Your camera stores information, right in the picture file, about the setting for each shot. If you have email you probably have a plavce to put a few photos online. Otherwise there are free sites that make it very easy to link pictures in a thread like this.

Mikeeee

 

[mhutchinson]

if I use it on automatic the photos come out too dark...

You may need to trick the AE for your WB (white balance or light levels). If you are trying to take a picture in an area with extreme ranges of light the camera will try to compensate to keep the brighter areas from being too bright. If you pre-focus on your subject (usually done by centering on the subject and then partially pressing the shutter release (not all the way though)), then frame your picture while still holding the shutter release partially, AND now take the picture you might find better results. This trick seemed to work well with my old Canon S20.

Not mentioning what the photos are that are too dark, if you are using a flash you might be too far from your subject for the flash range of the camera you have.

And maybe, just maybe....you might have to go to the back of your manual where they will usually give you some other tips if you are having troubles with the pictures.

The blur issue is either camera movement or subject movement. A digital camera takes a little longer to pre-focus than a film camera and you need to be aware of what the lag time is while you are shooting as it does make a big impact on your results. The partial shutter release trick use to also help me with my old Canon in this area as well.

Mike

Mike

 

[robertchance]

the book might be greek to you at this point, but if you read it and play,, you will learn

 

[caniswolfie]

Another thing you can do is to start reading the manual and if you are having trouble understanding something in the manual you can either search the forum for the topic or post about it and we can help with that specifically. It's hard to help when there isn't a specific topic in the manual that is confusing.

Another thing you can do is search online for free camera tutorials. They may explain the basic concepts that may make reading the manual easier.

 

[AdventureGuru]

thanks for all the tips!!!
I'll try these things on my day off.
the problem is going to be that I'm going to try all these tricks and then the lighting outside will be different then the lighting outside at WDW...

 

[Laura]

the problem is going to be that I'm going to try all these tricks and then the lighting outside will be different then the lighting outside at WDW...

Lighting anywhere changes all the time. Are your pics dark in varying degrees? Or is it the same level of darkness? Do you think your camera is broken? Has it ever taken pics that were not dark in Auto mode? Do other people's photos posted here look dark to you? If so, safetymom is right and you definitely need to adjust your monitor. Check that out here: http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

An easy photo hosting site is http://www.photobucket.com/. If you post some pics here, the great minds on this forum (not me!) can help you determine what's wrong. Photobucket gives out the EXIF data from your camera about how the pic was taken, like JR6ooo4 said.

 

[AdventureGuru]

I'll have to check some of these sites out...
BF uses print shop to lighten the photos-but never burns them to cd for me...which I really need to do...that way I won't loose them.


I just really want good photos-I do a lot of scrapbooking and the last thing I took photos of were inside and out and they were all dark...Same thing with other photos that I have taken so I dont think it is broken.

Sometimes they are grainy too...but I think I just have to bump up the quality of the photo-but that means I have to have a bigger card...So, I'm going to get a 2gb card. That way I can bump up the quality to 4megapixels...instead of what it is...


How many photos can I get on a 2 gb card at 4 megapixels (with my 265 I can only get about 24 photos)

thanks for all the help...
Guru

 

[robertchance]

you can figure this out yourself,, ,, do the math
2 gig divided by 256 = x times 24 = how many pics you will get on your card

 

[AdventureGuru]

ok so I did that and got 0.18...that doesnt make sense...
2 gig is = to what?

 

[robertchance]

How many photos can I get on a 2 gb card at 4 megapixels (with my 265 I can only get about 24 photos)


a gig is equal to 1 billion,, 2 billion divided by 265 million equals 7.547,, 7.547 times 24 equals about 181 pictures on a 2 gig card

another way to check is to take a few pictures, move them to your puter, see what the average size file is on these pics and divide 2 billion by the average file size..

another way is to read the manual,, the info on this should be in there also

reading the manual will provide you with a wealth of information,,

 

[AdventureGuru]

what would I do without you!!! thank you...however, that leads me to believe that a 2 gig card will not work for me!!!

on our last trip we took 23 rolls of 24 exp film=552 photos...

how do I economically store lots of photos with out having to have a lot of equipment (ie laptop etc???)???

 

[blackjackdelta]

I would never shoot pics less than the max resolution you have on the camera. You can always make them smaller.....Cards are usually cheaper than camera and if all you do is make 4x6's and scrapbook them 4 mp will work well.
Spending time with the instuction book is an absolute necessity. Being able to make changes to the settings from experience in a particular situation really help get better pics.
What model of Coolpix do you have. Maybe there is someone here who can help you with the basic settings.
Make sure you lens is clean.

Good shooting,

Jack