Good Camera Recommendations?

[Mr. Crabs]

Ok, I'm caving here. I've had it. I see all these beautiful pictures from people sharing what they have in their tanks with the world, and I'm jealous.

I have bought one crappy digital camera after another. I have tried all the settings over the years and still get blurry junk photos of my pride and joy.

Can anyone recommend a decent reasonably priced camera that I can buy to capture stunning clear pictures of my fish.......and even if they won't stay still? And something user friendly. I'm not a complete moron, but I have my moments and have to try hard with things that come naturally to others.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MikeYQM]

I run a Canon 7D & love it. I mostly use Sigma EX lenses due to the good performance & lower cost than Canon.

Color is the hardest thing to balance when photographing the aquarium due to the over saturation of blue. A camera with good white balance control is a must.

A tripod is also pretty important to ensure sharpness. For extreme close ups, a 100mm Macro lens works well.

 

[mwilliams]

Tagging along here... I too need a new camera to take those up close pictures that don't get blurry but I cannot aford the Canon 7D prices for that camera are way up there.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

I use a canon EOS T3 Rebel. Walmart for 399.00 which considering the competition in the DSLR market is about the best for the price (just offended Nikon enthusiast, haha). Some of photos from my two fresh and my two saltwater tanks...

 

[MyR6Rocks]

I use a canon EOS T3 Rebel. Walmart for 399.00 which considering the competition in the DSLR market is about the best for the price (just offended Nikon enthusiast, haha). Some of photos from my two fresh and my two saltwater tanks...

+1 on the rebel t3. Bought 1 a year ago and love it. Another thing I've learned is don't go cheap on the sd card either cause your gonna need a faster one to benefit from that camera

 

[Mr. Crabs]

Hey Reading!! A fellow Tropheus lover. I knew there were more othen than myself=-) Miss my wolf pack. I had 20 and have been contemplating doing another "Ode to the Troph" tank.

So, a Canon T3 huh? $399 was a little more than I was willing to shell out, but I understand that there is a direct correlation between minimum cost and forum pic crappyness. I think I will go have a look.

As for the Canon 7D Mr Mike...........YOWZERS! That is an expensive piece. Nice, I'll give you that. But I would expect to spend that kind of dough and have the thing unbox itself and take pics + upload to voice command from my couch. OUCH! I do appreciate the recommendation and the insight on white balance. That is a bit of unfamiliar waters that I have to get associated with because blue is one of the many problems that I have had.......and blur. Lot's of blur.

Please keep the tips coming and camera recommendations. I have been an admitted cheap skate in the camera dept. I have spent less than $200 more than 3 times in the past 3 years and have had nothing but disappointment. I do have a tripod, but I will have to step up the cash.

And YourR6Rocks, thanks for the point on the card. I did not know that. Sounds like putting snow tires and regular gas in a 911 metaphor with a camera. I get it. Thanks for the heads up there. And that would be 2 for the Rebel.

Oh, can someone please respond after reading this sentence. I want to make sure I am still here with the Mayan Calendar end of the world and all today?

 

[MikeYQM]

It was pricey but worth it. I also do a lot of sports photography and indoor/portrait work.

I used a Canon Rebel XTi before this and despite being upwards of 10 years old was a totally acceptable camera.

Healthy adjustable ISO & White Balance ratings are what you're looking for. Don't get caught up on MegaPixels. A 10 MP camera will still print clearly to poster size prints and 10 is low by today's standards. 10-12 MP will still allow you to crop photos afterwards without loosing too much detail. Lower MP also means lower file size which means smaller memory cards required.

Sharpness is highly derived by technique and lens. In my opinion a cheaper body with a better lens will yield better results than a bad lens on a better body. The kit lenses even in Canon are generally pretty bad. If you can buy body only then a lens separately. 18-55 is not a lot of length in a lens and won't let you get very close up.

Use of timer settings, tripods etc help technique wise to capture sharp images.

 

[Samzter]

Hmm I have the nikon d3100. If you buy a good lens to go with it the photos come out cool!

 

[Sniperhank]

I use the Canon EOS T3 Rebel as well. If you look at any pictures I take, they are all on factory settings as I have had no time to figure out how to make adjustments. Great camera without knowing what to mess with.

 

[Schism]

I use the Canon EOS T3 Rebel as well. If you look at any pictures I take, they are all on factory settings as I have had no time to figure out how to make adjustments. Great camera without knowing what to mess with.

Cant go wrong with this camera, i have it also however i believe most photos of my tank have been taken with my cruddy iphone 4s. With a good macro lens and and extension tube you can get some crazy sweet close ups. Ive yet to play around with it much. I might have to take some pics with it and see what i can come up with.

 

[Readingexcalibur]

It was pricey but worth it. I also do a lot of sports photography and indoor/portrait work.

I used a Canon Rebel XTi before this and despite being upwards of 10 years old was a totally acceptable camera.

Healthy adjustable ISO & White Balance ratings are what you're looking for. Don't get caught up on MegaPixels. A 10 MP camera will still print clearly to poster size prints and 10 is low by today's standards. 10-12 MP will still allow you to crop photos afterwards without loosing too much detail. Lower MP also means lower file size which means smaller memory cards required.

Sharpness is highly derived by technique and lens. In my opinion a cheaper body with a better lens will yield better results than a bad lens on a better body. The kit lenses even in Canon are generally pretty bad. If you can buy body only then a lens separately. 18-55 is not a lot of length in a lens and won't let you get very close up.

Use of timer settings, tripods etc help technique wise to capture sharp images.

I respectfully disagree with not getting a close up with an 18-55, I just took this pic of an ASD fuel paly, it is a micro at only 2 millimeters wide... Not claiming a macro won't get you closer lol. I agree with you with MP. When I look for a camera, I never pay attention to pixels, rather, the optical zoom holding the high priority.

For example, the first three photos are not enlarged rather manually zooming in. Relying on the motor for clarity... These corals are roughly 7-8inchs from the acrylic wall. A lens like a macro would sharpen the image, but not practical unless you are in the profession of taking closups. The last is a photo with my iPhone 5.

To the OP, I love troph. But I also love my calvus!

 

[Gregcoyote]

Nikon is they way to go. Their imaging sensors are superior to Canon. You need white balance and a tripod. But even a iPhone can work fine, just dial back all the blue light you can. Last one is a iPhone photo. Rest are from a D700.

 

[mwilliams]

Man those are beautiful pictures everyone...

 

[fort384]

I am pretty happy with the results I get from my Canon T3. It does well with the stock 18-55mm lens, and I also picked up a Tamron 60mm f/2.0 macro lens that is very reasonably priced (for a macro lens that is).

I shoot with a tripod and remote shutter, and use a custom WB. Most of these photos are full manual, which takes some tinkering, but not much. It took me a few days to start to get shots I was happy with. None of the below images are post processed other than adding a water mark and resizing/cropping. The WB and getting the correct exposure for the aperture setting you chose is key.

with the 18-55mm stock lens:

And a few with the Tamron 60mm:

 

[54seaweed]

How you tag the picts like that
thats neat

 

[fort384]

It is a free add on for photoshop.

 

[mwilliams]

I just found two Canon T3's which one??? Canon T3 or Canon T3I?

 

[Readingexcalibur]

Both work, I use the T3, the T3i has a few upgrades... Shutter speed ect.

 

[fort384]

I have a T3. It is less MP than the T3i, and also doesn't have a flip out screen. It is less expensive as well. I think those are the main differences.

 

[jetajockey]

FWIW the nikon d3100 is meant to compete with the T3 and they were at the same price just a few weeks ago during the black friday sale. We have the d3100 now and it's great. Either way, get a good dslr and you'll be making a huge leap forward over basic p&s digital cameras.