Canon Sx120 IS camera will not zoom closeup from a tripod at 19" set at macro!!! Instructions say the camera cannot focus in the range of the yellow bar, well how do you get away from the yellow bar? Which will also result in removal of the macro setting! Any zooming to get closeup blurs out of focus no matter what I do and that's when still within the optical zoom range. Taking pics of coins and need to zoom in and get really close, as advertised. Tripod is set at shortest distance, 19" from end of camera, which is perfect to get my overhead fluorescent lighting properly illuminating my subject coin. Using the fine setting with large pics (3648 x 2736 pixel) for the best quality and no flash. Any attempts to use lower ISO speeds, low = 80, for improved quality brightens it up too much and blurs increased. F stop or reducing the AF frame size doesn't seem to really much either. It did get a little better at one time but was very course upon zooming on my computer and trying to improve upon that was to no prevail and now forgot what I was even doing at that time. If I can get the pics to be high enough quality, I can zoom in from my editing software to get what I want, at least that's my thinking? Any help would be really appreciated, at wits end here. Thanks in advance! -------------------------------------------- I've tried manual focus as well, but not had any luck. If I zoom in far enough to see what I've got as far as focus, it appears that the zoom is too weak and can't be focused, (silver dollar size coin), manual or auto. If I zoom out to where it focuses on it, I can't tell because it's too small! I need a zoom for my eyes to see if the focus is right because of the distance and size??? Tried 2.3 x digital zoom setting with optical, at least I can see the coin in the view finder, yet pics are still grainy and not very clear.

In super macro mode, there is a minimum focussing distance. Any closer, and you have no hope of locking in a focus. So, be sure you don't go past this point.Close up pics have a very shallow "depth of focus" meaning that very little in front or behind what you focussed on will be in focus. Is anything in focus in your pics? If you can exert some manual control over lens openings, you could try using a smaller opening to get more of your subject in focus. When taking close-ups, always use a tripod.

Make sure its not set on Macro thats the flower ( tulip) icon no zoom will be in focus on this setting for average or long range shots
please rate my help++++Thanks for using FIXYA

Hi there please follow the link below for user guide & use the zoom ring or macro mode( control dial) for distance & close photo taking. Thanks.
LINK --- click here.,

According to the specifications for the camera, the focus range is from 19.62 inches to infinity, so anything closer than this will be progressively more blurred, depending on the distance. The camera has no macro focus options. The specs also say that this is a 0.3MP camera with VGA (640x480) resolution. Unless this is strictly a camera intended for web graphics, its' uses are quite limited anyway and an upgrade may be worth considering. Most modern point and shoot digital cameras have excellent macro abilities at a very reasonable price. To me, this might be worth considering. I like the Olympus lenses for macro work in this catagory and there are several others worth considering as well- Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony and Panasonic all offer great options for close-up photography at reasonable prices.

Wish I could give you better news, but am guessing that camera is quite old.

Hi. As a pro photographer, I can tell you what 'macro' does on all cameras or lenses. 'Macro' focusing is for focusing on close objects, say an inch or two from the lens to a couple of feet. It is for closeup shots, say ants, or a fly, or someone's eye, raindrops on glass, etc. Try it out sitting on a patterned countertop or table or tablecloth to give you an idea, focusing far away and up close.
As far as the manual, there doesn't seem to be anything on the official site unfortunately. Good luck and have fun.
http://gi.konicaminolta.us/index.asp

Do you focus and then push the shutter button half way down to lock in that focus? Then all the way to take the picture?

Do you support the camera on a tripod or kneel down and support your arms on one knee or lean against some object to keep the camera steady> You can even press your arms tightly against your body before you focus and shoot. And be sure to press the shutter button very gently when you shoot so the camera will not shake or move.


Do you have the camera on the right mode for the photo you are attempting to take? Such as night/macro/action/ etc. Try taking photos on just the automatic mode to see if you can get focused shots. Make absolutely sure your camera is not in Macro mode ( a picture of a little flower on the screen) unless you are doing extreme closeup shooting.

Go to your menu>then setting> then set your camera back to default settings if you can. Or if you are unsure how the camera is set. If you do not have your manual you can go to the Canon website at www.canon.com and click on support or downloads and find the manual for your camera and download it. That may give you the answer you need as well.


Please get back to me if you do not have any luck and send along more info such as camera age.

Dear Stefan:

Barring a malfunction with your len's autofocusing mechanism, the problem that you're experiencing is likely due to the limitations of the camera's focusing / zoom range in Macro mode.

You didn't say what ranges you were shooting from but basically, in order to get proper focus, you must first make sure you're within the proper lens to subject distance for the macro mode that you've chosen.

There are two macro modeson the S5, Macro and Super Macro. Macro shooting is done only within the ranges of 3.9 inches to 1.6 feet from your subject. SuperMacro mode (which is entered into by simply pressing the Macro button for one second) will only focus within the ranges of 0 inches to 3.9 inches. So if you are in either of these modes and stray from their focusing ranges, your camera won't focus properly.

Another issue that you may be dealing with is the very limited zoom range in Macro/Super Macro Modes. The zoom is basically meant to be set toward the maximum wide angle end of the zoom range. There is a yellow indicator bar below the Zoom Bar in the viewfinder that indicates the Out-Of-Zoom range in which the zoom basically can't be used. As you may see, only the first 10% or so of the zoom range is useable.

It might be that you could possibly be wavering in and out of the two macro mode focusing ranges and/or zooming into the Out-Of-Range zone during your session. Either can cause a similar effect such as you are describing. It's hard to say without actually being there.

To test this out I would simply set my camera on a tripod or other stand at a known fixed distance from the subject, set the camera to the macro mode indicated by that distance (either MACRO or SUPERMACRO), zoom out to the widest focal length and take the shot to see if it is clear or not.

If so, your camera probably has no problem. If it is still not focusing properly you might want to send it into the service center for a diagnostic. There is no charge to diagnose a problem with your camera and if nothing is found to be wrong you will only be out of the shipping charges spent to send the camera in to the service center. If a repair is needed, it can be done at that time.

Hope this helps you.

Sincerely,
HeavyDLB

Your camera has the ability to shoot Macro and Super Macro, although in some Dial Modes, you can't use Macro.

To engage the Macro mode, press once the button on the left side of the lens/camera that looks like a Flower. To engage the Super Macro mode, press and hold the same button for more than one second.

Macro mode range 3.9 in. - 1.6 ft
Super Macro mode range is 0 in. - 3.9 in.
To cancel Macro mode, press the Flower icon button once.
Zoom levels are limited, and you will know that when the zoom bar turns yellow. This means the zoom is not available at that zoom level.



Hope this helps.

1. Do not use the zoom while using macro. 2. When clicking the Macro button, click it again, only for 2 more seconds at the second click, it goes to 'Super macro' mode for zero distance. This works in the Canon S3 IS, I hope it will help you in the older S2 IS. 3. Use a tripod. 4. Use the timer for no movement when using a tripod. 5. Try using the manual focus, it does the trick when the camera doesn't focus automatically. Good Luck!

Make sure your camera isn't zoomed in (full telephoto) The camera can't handle both full zoom AND super macro. Don't forget super macro goes from Zero to 20cm from the lens. Zoom completely out and you should be able to see something within that range. The biggest complaint I've heard about the S2 IS is if you take closeups of bugs the chances of the bug crawling onto your lens is pretty good.:-) Be very carefull of blocking light with the lens at extreme closeup too. Although the flash squelches well to allow for closeups it can leave a nasty shadow. If you're really serious about macro you'll find a ring flash would come in handy. BMW