Check your user's manual.
The word you are looking for is Macro.
The normal focal length for your lens is from
3 feet to infinity at the wide angle setting (no zoom).
The Macro focal length for your lens is from
4 inches to 6.5 feet at the wide angle setting (no zoom).
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Put the camera in Macro mode.
Set the zoom to zero.
You should now be able to take sharp photos as close as 4 inches from the front of the lens.
When shooting in macro mode, for best results you should use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod, set the camera on a book or something solid.
Place the ring no closer than 4 inches from the front of the lens. Press the shutter button half-way down and you should see the ring come into focus.
Press the button the rest of the way down to down to take the photo.
Macro photography needs lots of light.
When you are that close to an object, the flash may/may-not not light up the area well enough.
If not, turn the flash off and set up small lamps on each side of the object.
Here is a short course in macro photography:
http://www.shortcourses.com/using/tabletop/chapter7.htm
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I just bought this camera today after having been told it would take great close-ups of small things such as jewellery. I've spent 2 hours going through the book and fiddling with the camera but and can't take a decent picture of a ring with it. I can take a close-up of someone across the room so their head fills the whole viewfinder and it looks great. But something small is just a big blur. Yes I have it on macro and I also hold the shutter down part way to focus but it just will not focus on small things. Any suggestions what I might be doing wrong, or is this camera really not made for zooming in on smaller things? thanks a lot...J
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