Reef Photography

[jgillard]

Does anyone think it would be of a benefit for me to write an article on taking pictures of your tank inhabitants? Time and again I see posts with pictures that are blurry when it does not have to be that way.

If there is some interest I will write something up for budding shutterbugs.

[ajx22]

Does anyone think it would be of a benefit for me to write an article on taking pictures of your tank inhabitants? Time and again I see posts with pictures that are blurry when it does not have to be that way.

If there is some interest I will write something up for budding shutterbugs.
Definitely!!!

Regardless - people can and will be able to learn something from it!

Thanks for the offer!

[ShipWreck]

Better question ---> Do you want to continue having to suffer looking at blurry pics?

Since the only way I know to make better fish pics is to buy a better camera with a faster shutter (and that would cause a divorce) I would like to know any/all tips and tricks you can offer.

[J_T]

Eagerly waiting :) I only have a powershot s240. I do alright with it, but I may be getting a better camera at christmas (depends on if I buy myself one or not).

Oh, here is a picture for Ron, Hate for him to see a thread about pictures, and find none.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e328/Jammor/red_blue_zoos.jpg

and I would love to get pics that are better than this :)

[Reef Mike]

The first suggestion, which is also the cheapest is to buy a tri-pod and cable release adapter. Or if your camera has a shutter delay, engage it.

Mike

[RonPeter]

Yes I am sure alot of people will appreciate the article!

[jgillard]

hehe.. buy a camera with a faster shutter speed. That is funny. I can almost guarantee that your camera can use a faster shutter speed without buying another one. I will make the article easy to understand for the beginner. I will also help anyone with question on specific models afterwards.

I guarantee I can help you get much better pics with the hardware you have. You just have to have a basic understanding of what you want to accomplish and how to get there. I will make sure that we all do.

[Darryl_V]

YES PLEASE.....

I need help...I'm never satisfied with the pictures I take. I have a problem.

Start with....what is the difference between ISO and exposure?? Im still not sure on this one. Then...how do I set my white balance. I've tried to manually do it with a white peice of paper on the desired lighting but it turns out like crap and I just end up using the florescent setting on the camera. I know my pictures can be better with this camera....also I want more true to life colours ..is that all to do with the white balance.

I'm sure a nice expensive DSLR would help too but I appreciate the idea of helping us get the most out of our hardware today.

[cobs00]

Why dont you hold a little seminar at a venue so it can be more hands on. I would definately come with my camera to learn.

[StevieK]

i'm in ... teach me ... teach me:iagree:

[jgillard]

I'm glad to see that people are interested. I will get right on writing that article. Everyone no matter what camera they are using can take better pictures.

[mr.wilson]

I'm eagerly awaiting to hear your input as my photos are terrible.

I'm not posting this link to diminish the value of your article, so take no offense. I just thought I'd throw it in to contribute to the topic.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i2/aquarium_photography/photography.htm

[steve w.]

I'm eagerly awaiting to hear your input as my photos are terrible.



You haven't seen my thumb fish.

But seriously,I'd be interested in learning more.

[jgillard]

Mr. Wilson:

That is a good basic article on aquarium photography. I do not think it really goes into specifics enough so I think I will still write out something! You can definitly find most anything on the net. I will write something to contribute anyways! :)

[jgillard]

Ok. To adequatly cover this subject I am going to break it down into pieces. This way you do not have to wait until the whole article is completed. I will supply pictures to illustrate the concepts as we go along. Also, it will allow questions to be posed to each thread to make searching easier.

[bigtyguyy]

Can i ask what camera's you guys are using to take pictures because i just relized mine is a 2 mp 7.5x optical zoom. I need to buy one, not sure how crazy i should go!

[StevieK]

i am not the expert to ask which camera (in reality it depends on budget more than anything else), however, take the coupon from the Aquarium Pros main page with you and check out Henry's. They are quite competative.

[Darryl_V]

Can i ask what camera's you guys are using to take pictures because i just relized mine is a 2 mp 7.5x optical zoom. I need to buy one, not sure how crazy i should go!


Hey ....7.5x optical zoom isnt too bad. Just the fact that it is 2 megapixels doesnt make it a bad camera. Infact most people would say that 2mp is about the right to print a 4x6 picture with no pixelization (looks as good as a film).

Also remember when you view pictures on the internet there quality has been reduced from what ever it was to less then 2 megapixel.

what kind of camera is it?? Im not a pro but that might help.

[jgillard]

7.5x optical really does not tell you everything. It is just a ratio of how wide the camera goes to how telescopic. If you camera does not go very wide then you will always find yourself having to back up to fit everything in the frame. It may not be so important for reef photography but is for every day photography. In this day and age I would not recommend anyone to get a new camera that is not at least 4 megapixels. You may be able to print a 4x6 with 2mp but it does not give you any play room and when you get an awesome shot that you wish to print larger you just can not.

[bigtyguyy]

its an Olympus, i got it when digital cameras were just getting popular. Jer you just need to get over to my place and show me how its done!

[bigtyguyy]

I tried to find or increase the iso but i can't with my camera i don't think!

[jgillard]

If you are in auto mode it usually will not let you. You have to venture outside of that mode. Check your manual. It will tell you if you can change it. Most cameras allow this change as it is pretty important.

[kkonowalchuk]

I have a sexy Canon EOS Digital SLR camera I picked up off eBay for about $1000 with 3 lenses, tripod, cases, etc. The price in Canada would have been well over $2500 for all the stuff that came with it.

The only problem I have when taking pictures of my tank is trying to get close enough to get the detail without being able to use a macro lense. :)

For night time, the tripod is idea - and I use the timer on the camera so I can push the button and get my hands off to avoid any shaking. Then, the automatic sloooow shutter speed takes over for some nice photos.

[jgillard]

The only problem with the slow shutter speed at night is you will get blur if things are moving in the tank. (polyps waving etc) but it can be a neat effect.

[kkonowalchuk]

True... I've had a couple shots with a ghost Clown in it because one swam by. I always take 3 or 4 of the same shot so that there's a better chance of having a good one. :)

[bigtyguyy]

hey i found this site on canon.ca and its a guide on how to take good pictures and why curtain things happen when taking pictures. check it out. http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

[kkonowalchuk]

Cool - thanks for the link. Just browsing through, it looks like they followed me on my vacation..

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/p_2_010.html

The pic with the bells & the church with a blue roof is in Oia (pronounced Eeya), Greece (in the Santorini islands). The bridge is in a very smelly part of Venice.

I'll have to read over this site in detail to get a hang of getting some nice night-time pics. :)

[jgillard]

If you want to learn about canon SLR's you can not go wrong with: http://photoworkshop.com/canon/

There is a good tutorial on using a Digital Rebel. Tutorials can be applied to most any SLR.

[bigtyguyy]

nice thanks.