getting clear photos

[nick2011 0]

i was thinking of buying a newer camera but im curious to know what kind of pixels i need to get good quality close ups of the flies i tie..any good info from anyone would be helpful.

[bluegill576 0]

pixels do help, but anything over 10 i think would be good. I have a camera with 14, but I think it is the same as ones I have used with 10. The most important thing is a good macro or even better, super macro mode.

[FrequentTyer 0]

In my limited experience, not all macro modes are created equal. I'm far from an expert, but I have 2 pretty similar cameras that both take good pictures under normal conditions, but one will not photograph a fly in macro mode no matter what I do. There have been a lot of posts on this topic, so I would do my research before heading out to the store. And I would take a fairly dark fly and a light piece of background material to try out the camera. The lighting in the store will be less than optimal, but with that combination you should be able to at least get an idea of the kind of picture you will be taking.

[flytire 0]

i was thinking of buying a newer

 

dslr or point and shoot?

 

 

the megapixel myth

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/mpmyth.htm

 

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/11/21/21pogues-posts-2/

 

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Do-Megapixels-Matter-Anymore-17480.htm

 

heres how i do my fly fotos. take it for whats it worth

 

http://flytyingnewandold.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-take-on-fly-photography.html

 

 

Remember that good pictures comes from a good photographer getting the best results from his camera. A damn good photographer with a camera phone would take better pictures than some people with top range DSLRS!

[Peterjay 0]

I wouldn't worry about pixel count. That's just a small part of the equation - manufacturers use pixel count as a marketing tool and are constantly trying to outdo each other. I've actually made 11X14 exhibition-quality prints with images from a 5.1MP Nikon pocket camera. What's far more important is to ALWAYS use a support like a tripod or monopod, especially with a small camera. Another thing to bear in mind is that the more pixels they jam into a sensor, the more problems you're going to have with noise. And as has been stated, you should try out the camera if you possibly can. There are lots of good cameras around these days, but you'd be well advised to stick with a major brand like Nikon or Canon.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Tripod and good lighting. Sometimes using the self timer helps too. Good lighting should give you a fast enough shutter speed even with the point and shoot that the little movement from depressing the shutter release should not cause any blur.

As Peterjay, Flytier and others have said, its not the pixels. Like Peter, I have 11x14 prints but mine were taken with a 3.1 megapixel point and shoot. It is the quality and size of the sensor that captures the image inside the camera and not the number of pixels.

 

Kirk

[Al Beatty 0]

Tripod and good lighting. Sometimes using the self timer helps too. Good lighting should give you a fast enough shutter speed even with the point and shoot that the little movement from depressing the shutter release should not cause any blur.

As Peterjay, Flytier and others have said, its not the pixels. Like Peter, I have 11x14 prints but mine were taken with a 3.1 megapixel point and shoot. It is the quality and size of the sensor that captures the image inside the camera and not the number of pixels.

 

Kirk

 

Hi

 

I have to agree with several of the other posters about the hype regarding mega pixels. One of our best selling books was shot with an old Nikon 3.3 MP P&S camera. But that camera had a great macro function AND even though it was a P&S it had the ability to focus manually. The problem with some P&S cameras (DSLR too if auto focus is used) is the camera ends up focusing on the background rather than the smaller fly in front of the background. We almost alway use the manual focus function when shooting our fly pix whether using a P&S or DSLR. That allows us to pick the focus point on the fly so the part we want to emphasize is in focus. EX: The fly step talks about adding hackle then we can focus so that part of the fly is in focus. Take care & ...

[kentuckytroutbum 0]

To add to what other posters have said, it's a macro lens, manual focus, good depth of field, tripod with a shutter release, White Balance adjustment,and GOOD LIGHTING. Lighting has a large effect upon the quality of the shot.

 

As far as pixels go, my eye doctor told me that the human eye, viewing a 1:1 photo at a normal reading distance with 20/20 vision can not discern greater than 12 mpegs. Higher mpegs becomes important if you want to greatly enlarge a photo.

[nick2011 0]

thanks to everyone for the help, i think im ready to venture out and start looking..