New Canon A85

[BigDs2002v6]

My Girlfriend and I just purchased a new Canon A85. There is a Macro setting but i can't seem to get it to focus up close on the stone. Is there anyone who could tell me how to set it up to take close up pictures of a diamond?? I've read the instruction book and i just cannot find anything. I click on the Flower button for macro and it still will not focus. Any help will be appreciated..
Thank you,

 

[oldminer]

I think these parts of the instructions may assist you. I use a more complex Canon and have a dedicated Macro lense on it, but once you get the hang of it, it will not be difficult. You may find that you cannot get closer than 2" from the item you wish to photograph. I think that is the closest limit with this camera. No doubt, a decent camera shop could get you on the right track. Note: On AUTO, there is no Macro control. You may need to use P or Manual....

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Program AE (P): Places the camera in control of shutter speed and lens aperture, while you maintain control over everything else (i.e., white balance, ISO, metering, exposure compensation, flash, etc.).

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Auto: The camera controls everything about the exposure, except for Flash and Macro modes, and image size and quality settings.

Five-Button Function Pad: These five buttons are arranged in a disk pattern on the rear panel, right of the LCD monitor. They serve as the left, right, up, and down arrow keys to navigate through settings menus, and the center button is the Set button, better-placed in our opinion. In Record mode, the left and right buttons adjust available exposure settings, as well as manual focus, when enabled. The top button controls flash mode, while the bottom button accesses Macro and Manual Focus modes.

 

[Patty]

Do you have a little tripod for the camera? Using a tripod cuts down on the hand shaking and gets you more focused pictures.

 

[quaeritur]

You may also need to zoom in some amount for the macro to engage properly... On my Nikon, the flower changes color in the display to let me know that I'm in the macro range, then I can get as close as 0.75".

 

[kevinng]

I have a Canon A80. It's quite similar to the A85. The macro mode allows you to take pictures quite close, up to about 2-3 inches, but not any more. If you want to go close, you need to buy an adaptor and a macro lens.

However, the camera is 4 megapixels, which means that you can take it a bit further away, and then crop it using Photoshop. The end result will still be sharp, as can be seen in the attached picture I took of my proposal ring:

 

[kevinng]

Another tip other than using the tripod... Use the 2 sec delay. This will ensure that the camera is perfectly still when the picture is being taken.

 

[oldminer]

What you will find with jewelry and gem photography is that you need a combination of shadow free or shadow controlled lighting and the use of a high F stop to increase the depth of field. One generally would want the whole ring in focus, not just the diamond on the top of the ring. Using a high F stop, a high degree of light restriction into the lens, will increase depth of field.




With the camera you just bought, you will find the F stop is somewhat limited. I work at F-32 in the 50mm Canon Macro EF lens that I use for most jewelry work. Your highest F stop will be far lower, so depth of field in macro mode will be compromised, to an extent.



The suggestion for a tripod and for cropping a larger image taken at a greater distance are both very valid suggestions. A feature of these larger megapixel cameras is the ease of flexibility in programs such as photoshop where you can really work over an image.

 

[BigDs2002v6]

First i want to thank you guys so much for the fast response and for the help.. I will go right now and try to take some pics of my Jubilee, Ok my girl friends Jubilee. I dont have a tripod yet but i will try to manage and use something else to keep it steady.. Thank you!