photographing your aquarium..

[greenmaji]

I have noticed that alot of the members here have very professional looking photographs of there tanks.. Im interested in what kind of equipment and methods are being used to get these kind of results.

 

[Jchillin]

Well, if you consider me worthy, I'll give you mine:

Equipment - Fuji S3100

Photos - For inhabitants, I use the max pixel setting, auto-focus and flash (angling away from glass to avoid flash reflection). I then edit them with irfanview, a free photo editor download.

For tanks - Turn off all interior lights and let fly, no flash.

 

[greenmaji]

LOL... worthy... I didnt mean for it to sound so elitist..LOL
your pictures are very good Jchillin

 

[hashbaz]

I would like to see an article here about how to take good pics of aquariums without spending a fortune on fancy equipment. I have a lot to learn but can give a few tips:

1. take TONS of photos - some are bound to look good.
2. use a tripod and timer/remote to prevent blurry pics.
3. use polarizing filters to remove reflections. (on my very-long wish list)
4. bright aquarium lights help too.

I found that taking pics in "auto" mode was much better than anything I could come up with on "manual."

 

[greenmaji]

I figured blurry moving objects had something to do with the aperture speed of the camera.. or something to that effect.. I know that most fish are not like takeing pictures of a football game but im sure some cheaper cameras would give you blurry moving livestock..

 

[Guest]

my camera phone shows blur if there is the slightest movement

 

[greenmaji]

anyone else having nice results willing to share there equipment and methods?

 

[mattrox]

I use a FujiS304 it is 3.1 mega pixels, the model has bee superceded mow but it woeks well on maximum resolution. The auto focus often focuses on the gravel behind the fish rather than the fish so I get LOTS of blurry shots.

 

[Bearfan]

From the pictures I shot last night:

Nikon Coolpix 4300
Manual Mode
Image Quality - Fine
Image Size - 1024
White Balance - Fluorescent
Metering - Spot AF Area
Image Adjustment - Auto
Image Sharpening - Auto
Lens - Normal
ISO - 400
EXP - -1.3 to -2.0
Focus - AF Area Mode
Noise Reducation - On

I'm still tinkering and by no means the experts the likes of ReefRunner are, but it works ok.

Here are some I took last night:

 

[black udder]

I use a Canon S1 IS, pictures are highest quality, about mid-size. I try not to use any zoom, just makes it harder to focus. I use autofocus. Take a ton of pictures. I leave the interior lights on and don't use the flash. I have a fast shutter setting that I use.

 

[krap101]

what is the thingy to change the shutter speed? like the iso or eu or whatever?

 

[greenmaji]

the iso is the speed of the film.. the number thats on the film when you buy it.. HTH

 

[greenmaji]

I have no idea what it would mean on a digital though?? unless it is a selectable mode of the camera..

 

[krap101]

okay thanks

 

[krap101]

so mine has auto 100 200 300 and 400

so 400 is the fastest?

 

[greenmaji]

yes 400 would be the fastest iso.. you need less light and get less bluryness from moving subjects..

 

[krap101]

ic

 

[TomK2]

There is a already a section on how to photograph your tank, in the showoff/photography forum? There you will get tips like:

use a tripod
dim the room lights
up the iso setting
Take huge numbers of photos to get that single "oh wow" photo
use the macro setting, where appropriate.
And more.

Check it out.

 

[TomK2]

oh- and setting the camera at an iso of 400 will result in very grainy and poor color images. Try 100 to 200 first.

 

[hashbaz]

I find it easier to focus when I am accross the room and zoom way in (up to 10x). But then I get blurry pics sometimes because of hand-shake.