macro photo with blurred background

Hi,
Can any one help with settings to shoot a photo of ( the subject can be a flower or a bottle or jar) with blurred background
from a nikon P510.

any help will be much appreciated.

Br//
Anuraag.

Not familiar with the camera, but if it has an aperture priority mode that you can specify along with Macro mode then I would use that and select the most wide open aperture (lowest number) available and see how it works for you. Point and shoot cameras tend not to produce the narrow depth of field you're looking for, but the P510 appears to have a more substantial lens than most, so you may be able to get the results you're looking for.

Hi
using my nikon p510 , in Aperture mode


in pic 0417 - wide aperture and slow shutter speed
in pic 0415 - slow shutter spped i.e 1/80 , this picture is darker
in pic 0416 - shutter speed is 1/15 , picture is comparatively darker.
but the spped of 1/80 was also slow shutter spped and normally small f number goes with higher shutter speeds like 1/500 or something.

little confused here, what is the right setting.

Is it in Macro mode? Are you close to the subject? Are you using the max zoom? We need exif details.

Hi Muzza,

Thanks for reply, below is the information extracted from software viewnx2 :

File: DSCN0415.JPG
Date Created: 2/3/2013 2:53:24 PM
Date Modified: 2/3/2013 2:53:26 PM
File Size: 4.40 MB
Image Size: 4608 x 3456
File Info 2
Date Shot: 2/3/2013 14:53:25
Image Quality: Jpeg Fine (8-bit)
Camera Info
Device: Nikon COOLPIX P510
Focal Length: 4.3mm
Digital Zoom Ratio: 1.00
Converter: None
Focus Mode: Manual
VR: ON
Exposure
Aperture: f/3
Shutter Speed: 1/80s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
Flash
Flash Sync Mode:
Image Settings
White Balance: Auto1, 0
Noise Reduction: OFF
Active D-Lighting: OFF
Skin Softening: OFF
Picture Control
Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD
Base:
Quick Adjust: 0
Sharpening: 3
Contrast: 0
Brightness:
Saturation: 0
Hue:
Filter Effects:
Toning:
GPS
Latitude:
Longitude:
Altitude:
Altitude Reference:
Heading:
UTC:
Map Datum:
##########
File Info 1
File: DSCN0416.JPG
Date Created: 2/3/2013 2:54:16 PM
Date Modified: 2/3/2013 2:54:18 PM
File Size: 4.50 MB
Image Size: 4608 x 3456
File Info 2
Date Shot: 2/3/2013 14:54:17
Image Quality: Jpeg Fine (8-bit)
Camera Info
Device: Nikon COOLPIX P510
Focal Length: 4.3mm
Digital Zoom Ratio: 1.00
Converter: None
Focus Mode: Manual
VR: ON
Exposure
Aperture: f/3
Shutter Speed: 1/15s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 100)
Flash
Flash Sync Mode:
Image Settings
White Balance: Auto1, 0
Noise Reduction: OFF
Active D-Lighting: OFF
Skin Softening: OFF
Picture Control
Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD
Base:
Quick Adjust: 0
Sharpening: 3
Contrast: 0
Brightness:
Saturation: 0
Hue:
Filter Effects:
Toning:
GPS
Latitude:
Longitude:
Altitude:
Altitude Reference:
Heading:
UTC:
Map Datum:
##################
File Info 1
File: DSCN0417.JPG
Date Created: 2/3/2013 2:56:36 PM
Date Modified: 2/3/2013 2:56:36 PM
File Size: 4.65 MB
Image Size: 4608 x 3456
File Info 2
Date Shot: 2/3/2013 14:56:35
Image Quality: Jpeg Fine (8-bit)
Camera Info
Device: Nikon COOLPIX P510
Focal Length: 4.3mm
Digital Zoom Ratio: 1.00
Converter: None
Focus Mode: Manual
VR: ON
Exposure
Aperture: f/4.2
Shutter Speed: 1/8s
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: +1.7EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 800)
Flash
Flash Sync Mode:
Image Settings
White Balance: Auto1, 0
Noise Reduction: OFF
Active D-Lighting: OFF
Skin Softening: OFF
Picture Control
Picture Control: [SD] STANDARD
Base:
Quick Adjust: 0
Sharpening: 3
Contrast: 0
Brightness:
Saturation: 0
Hue:
Filter Effects:
Toning:
GPS
Latitude:
Longitude:
Altitude:
Altitude Reference:
Heading:
UTC:
Map Datum:

Are you using it at max zoom?

no , not at max zoom.
I will try again , if you can help me with the correct settings.

and also i am confused like, why does the camera in Aperture priority mode, chooses low shutter speed like 1/15 or likewise with wide apertures i.e ff no. as 3.1 or 4.1 ..

Your problem is the tiny sensor in the camera. The mini sensors in point and shoots render huge depth of field. Even at it's lowest f stop, I doubt you can blur the background much without a lot of distance behind the subject.

Actually the problem might not be the sensor but the focal length of the lens for that sensor's size. The smaller the sensor, the smaller the focal length to give a normal view. So it becomes very difficult to obtain what you are looking to get. Not that it can't be done, but it will be a lot harder than with a DX or FX sensor.

Maybe you'd like a real DSLR... :friendly_wink: