Results with new camera: the good and the bad...

[pjr]

Hi guys... getting used to my new DSLR... I got some good pics, but also some bad ones. The camera does a better job with capturing my tank correctly under LEDs. However, I think the true "magic bullet" was nothing technology or technique related, just some luck... it was taking the black background off the back of the tank! It really has helped a lot.

The first are pics of "my little angels" at feeding time. Nothing fancy here.... standard lens (not a macro), just hand held (left the crummy tripod in the drawer), and only in "sports" mode. All LEDs on, pumps off. The blue from LEDs were toned down to true color with Elements (all digital cameras seem to struggle with LED blue).








You will see the width of this angel in the following pic! They are well fed!






I am pretty pleased with the above pics, considering the informal nature of the shots. However, the following two pics were shot in macro mode. Not as pleased. Maybe if I used the tripod I would have been happier, but I am not very satisfied with the detail. I am open to suggestions. Did I buy the wrong camera (hope not!) or do I really need to pop for a macro lens to get the desired detail?