john wescott , Feb 07, 2012; 07:05 p.m.
Hi there, I am new to this site and I am having issues with my Nikon p500 when it comes to focusing on objects up close. I am taking pictures for a photography class and my teacher prefers that we do not use the macro shooting mode when taking up close pictures. We are only supposed to use manual and we are allowed to change aperture, iso sensitivity and shutter speed but nearly every other setting is off-limits for this assignment. I do not have a macro lens as my camera does not have a removable lens (in the process of upgrading). I guess I was just wondering what techniques I might be able to use to achieve macro type photos that don't have a completely blurred out subject! Any advice will be gladly taken. Thanks!
Elliot Bernstein 
, Feb 07, 2012; 07:30 p.m.
You camera, because of its nature, offers very close 'macro' focus without additional lenses required.
The best technique I can think of that will give you great macro shots is to use a tripod. This is true of just about any camera when doing macro photography.
John Williamson 
, Feb 07, 2012; 09:44 p.m.
Don't get closer than your camera/lens can focus. If you aren't allowed to go into "Macro" mode, then you need to be aware of the minimum distance in normal mode. In non macro mode, your lens will focus down to 1ft 8inches in wide angle shots and 7 ft 3 inches in tele mode.
If you have the lens zoomed out, be careful with letting the shutter speed get too slow. Your camera will zoom out a LONG way. ( 810mm in 35mm terms ) and that will be hard to hand hold and get sharp shots with a shutter speed on less than about 1/800th of a second.
Ariel S , Feb 07, 2012; 10:30 p.m.
As Elliot says, macro photography is a lot harder to get enough light compared to normal photography, so make sure that you are stable, and make sure to take photos in bright light. However, since you simply say "blurred out subject," I am assuming that you are also possibly not focusing correctly. Let's do a test. Put your camera on aperture priority mode, set your ISO to 800, move your lens to the widest that you can, and engage manual focusing. Focus the lens to its minimum focus distance, and to get a subject in focus, physically move the camera closer to it. You should have to move the camera pretty close, but you will find your maximum magnification ability for your camera. Once you have successfully taken a few photos with these settings, to make sure you have the hang of understanding how to approach macro subjects, you should turn your ISO down to 100 or 200 for improved image quality and use a tripod. Also, turn your aperture down, because with macro you have a very small depth of field, and you will need to stop down to get everything that you want into focus.
Stefan Gruenendahl , Feb 07, 2012; 11:08 p.m.
I'm not sure the coolpix P500 has manual focusing. And I hope your teacher is aware that by not allowing you to use the built-in macro mode the best you can do is a magnification ratio (object size to image size) of about 15:1 at the tele setting. 2200 mm (2.2m) minimal object distance at 144 mm focal length. With such a large object distance the image distance is just a tiny bit larger than the focal length, so the (de)magnification ratio is 2200/144 ~ 15:1. Wide angle is much worse : 500 mm distance at 4mm focal length = (de)magnification ratio of 500/4 = 125:1.
So, to get the largest possible image of a given object with this camera without using macro mode you need to zoom all the way with the object about 7 feet away. Vary your distance until the object is in focus (focus confirmation light or beep or whatever else this camera does).
At these distances the usual macro recommendations about stopping down to get more depth of focus etc. don't really make much sense, but you can try and see whether it makes a difference.
