Ok I saw in an earlier topic where the flash was discussed...my biggest problem when taking pictures of fish doesn't seem to be so much the lighting, but the focus...

I have a Samsung S630 and its great for taking family portraits, I suppose, but when I point the lens at a fish tank...well it just refuses with all its might to focus on what I want it to focus on, whether I use a tripod, or not.

I've tried manually setting the ISO to 400, changing the built in color schemes from Flourescent to auto, and back again, changing between Multi-Autofocus and Spot.

I've also tried using the close-up button (yeh the thing that looks like a flower). Which makes sense cause a close up that isn't blurry is what I really want.. this seems to have the best results, but still the camera usually refuses to focus on what I want it to, so I have to move the actual camera toward or away from the subject, which still leads to a blurry picture.

I guess its possible this camera is just not going to cooperate with me (the best evidence is in the pictures I've already posted), but any help anyone could provide, well, I'll love you for it. =P

my kodak has a an iso manual setting which allows me to set the distance of the pic - - -but i think i would maybey shroud the tank in a dark sheet or towel - -turn off all lights other than the tank - - at 19" wide you sould be able to get some pretty fair pics and if everything is dark the camera will have no choice but to focus on the tank (lol we talk about it like it has a mind of it's own} - - interesting thought - -could the bowfront be throwing the cameras "sense system" off?
Snowboss

I might be able to help you Tmercier, i've done a lot of macro jewelry photography, and can maybe help you with camera settings. firstly, dont worry about exposure of light, you can always manipulate that with a photo program later. For the focus, the macro feature (the little flower) is for pictures within a few inches of the lens, any farther and you lose focus... however, you need plenty of light to use the macro feature properly, it won't work that well with aquarium lighting. Your ISO only helps with moving objects... the higher the ISO the faster the shutter can expose a shot. An ISO of 400 would capture a slow moving fish.. if its still blurry means you need a higher ISO for that fish. Also, don't use your zoom, this is a digital zoom so it will cause graining of the pics.

If these don't help, you can switch your camera into manual mode, and play with your shutter speed and f-stop. If u decide to go this route, its a bit more complicated to explain, so try to play with it, if u still have issues write back and ill guide you thru it.

Yes, a lower f-stop will give u narrower depth of field... which is harder to focus on the subject... so my guess would be raise your f-stop so that u dont have to worry about focusing on the fish, more depth of field will be in focus this way.

Now your shutter speed depends on how much light you are introducing. With your lights thats not much... so when you try to raise your shutter speed its going black... u will have to test out what shutter speeds lets the image come in.... raising your fstop means you will have to lower your shutter speed, as the higher fstop (aperature- lens opening) is letting in less light. Try this out and let me know what happens. Don't try to get a narrow depth of focus... this is tricky with fish in a tank... try the method of high f-stop and lower shutter speed and lets see how your shots come out. good luck

Well I think I've learned enough here to make some more attempts when I have another night off (night work sucks -.-). I can't get any good photos during the day cause of my 8 foot glass door right by the tank. Blinds only do so much. lol
I did take a couple pics of the 5gal which are up now, and in the second one you can see the subject - 'blimpie' but even at that distance on macro without any zoom at all he's a bit blurry (any closer and it just gets worse), course this was taken a few days ago and just approved today. You can bet I'll be trying again. :)
Thanks both very much for your help and insight. Hope this helps someone out as much as it helped me.

Tmercier, glad the info has helped... photography is a very tricky and time consuming hobby... much like aquariums i guess...

If u play with the manual setting, u wont have to use the macro feature of the camera. On a side note, if u raise ure f-stop and keep your shutter high enough to capture a moving fish without blurring it, but your image is coming out dark, then bring in another light. This will be easier than not having extra light, and increasing your shutter speed, only to lower your f-stop. Since the fish will be moving toward and away from you, changing f-stop or depth of field is tricky, thats why I suggest the deeper depth of field where everything is in focus. Good luck and let us know how it goes on this thread, so we can see the updated pics.