717 user, could use some help

[paradise]

hey everyone,

Just found this place, can you guys answer some Qs?
I have a Sony 717, and have a filter pack by Hoya, that has close up filters, +1, +2, +4. I do mostly Aquarium Photograpy, i.e. taking pics of fish through glass & water. My typical setup is total darkness with a top light strip on the tank that has 4x 65W Daylight power compact bulbs. My typical distance to the glass is about 8 inches, plus whatever the distance from the glass to the fish, which changes as they are swimming constantly.

What would you suggest that would help me focus better on the fish. I have not been able to work out the way these filters work, tried combining them but prety much figured out it does not work. I shoot usually in Manual mode using Macro, with NO flash (really washes out fish colors) and shutter about 1/80, Aperature of 2.0 (shalow DOF, right?), and ISO 100 (forced, otherwise too much noise).

I also can't get past the 717's shutter lag. i curse the freaking camera daily for that.

ANY suggestions on the setup or tech? Thanks in advance.

HERE are some of my recent pics I posted on this forum for critique.

Edward

 

[majere2sg]

I don't know if you knew, the focusing distance of the digicam when used with a +4 close up filter will be limited to around 25cm (100/4), for +2 will be around 50cm (100/2). You can always test it on a non-moving object to judge the focusing distance.

 

[Poon]

Also as with most macro, you might wanna try using manual focusing instead?

 

[justarius]

An idea to keep your fish in focus: put a clear sheet of glass or plastic into the tank, limiting the movement of the fish to a single plane. This will help ensure sharper focus.