Aquarium Photography

[Feron]

Ok, so I'm new to the hobby.
I've gotten a big pile of rocks with all sorts of goodies growing on em, and have asked a couple times for identifications (and have gotten great answers, thank you all!).
But, my pictures..well..they suck..
I have an ok camera..3.2mp with 10x optical zoom and a macro mode.
But the thing can't seem to focus well on the smaller things in the tank.
Even manual focus is poor quality (and a tad frustrating).

So, short of sealing a webcam in an acrylic box and watching things from the inside (trust me, I've contemplated that idea), how does one take great, detailed pictures of the goodies in our clear boxes without spending as much on photography equipment as one spent on the tank?

Any pointers greatly appreciated.

 

[talloulou]

I find it helps to have the room all dark except the tank. This cuts off any glare that might come from outside the tank. Make sure you always shoot at an angle so you don't get a huge glare off the back of the tank. Also I try never to use the zoom. If I use zoom I'm almost guaranteed a blurry picture. It's much better to use no zoom and then crop the pic as desired later.

 

[reefrunner69]

There are plenty of pointers posed HERE. And specifically here, but there are many threads similar to yours all through out that forum.

As for focusing...make sure you are not too close, check your cameras minimum focusing distance and make sure you are at least that far from the subject. Make sure what your shooting has plenty of contrast for the camera to lock onto, a little trick here is to use a laser pointer or pen light to help the camera aquire focus, then remove the pointer or light and snap your pic.

 

[Feron]

doh...search function search function search function SEARCH FUNCTION..

whew, ok..
Thx reefrunner69, I gots it now..

 

[fishfreek]

Make sure macromode is enabled if your doing close up work.

Moving to show off photography as you might get more responses there.