Photography

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sleepyflight

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 17, 2005
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Lawrenceville PA, close to Corning NY since I live
Alright....all the jokers with the money shots spit it out. (nick this doesnt include you :D just pickin bud) I'd like to know what camera's you use and how everyone deals with lighting issues like FLASH. I've tried tripod and no flash but the fish has to be practically dead to get a good shot......not what I'm goin for :screwy: Would like to give you guys some better shot but I end up deleating 99% of the pics I take....I don't even like some in my own gallery but its what I've got. :wall: :help2: :feedback:
 
I use a Sony DSC-V1 5.0 MP with 4X optical zoom.

With the proper lighting (lots of it if you don't use flash) and careful focus of the lens, you can get good shots. Unfortunately I have problems with fishes that is constantly moving, making it extremely difficult to attain a good picture. In that case, you will have to use flash.
 
Mine is also a sony, a bit older apparently....3.1 Anyone know how to shorten the exposure time with no flash?? It's digi, does it really have to "expose" like film?? I just did some heavy water changes....too many tanks, too long. I'll start trying for some pics when the sun goes down so I don't have window glare everywhere. Nothing extravagant but hopefully all will like.
 
it all depends on the settings your camera has as to whether or not you can manually adjust the exposure time.

There are two things that you can play around with. Shutter speed and aperture. The shutter speed is what you are referring to when you speak of exposure time, it is how long the shutter stays open to let light in. Aperture is how wide the opening is. The smaller the aperture, the less light that goes in, which means you will need to leave the shutter open longer to make up for this lack of light. You can open the aperture up larger to let more light in, which will then allow you to increase the shutter speed to catch fast moving objects. The thing is, you need A LOT of light on the fish tank in order to get away with a fast shutter speed. You can pick up a 1000 watt halogen work light from Home Depot or Lowes for pretty cheap money.

On most tanks you won't have enough light to get really good shots without flash, but you can get good pics with the flash. A few tips for getting better pics with the flash is to put your focus on spot focus if it is available on your camera. This will help you focus on the fish and not the glass. Second, stand back a bit from the tank and zoom in as much as necessary. This should let you take pics from straight on without getting too much glare from the flash bouncing off of the glass.

If you have a lot of settings on your camera that you can adjust manually, just play around and see what works best. I use the Sony DSC-F828 and use it on manual mode. On the tanks that don't have enough light to go non-flash I usually have the aperture on 2.8 and the shutter speed around 500.
 
largemouth said:
it all depends on the settings your camera has as to whether or not you can manually adjust the exposure time.

There are two things that you can play around with. Shutter speed and aperture. The shutter speed is what you are referring to when you speak of exposure time, it is how long the shutter stays open to let light in. Aperture is how wide the opening is. The smaller the aperture, the less light that goes in, which means you will need to leave the shutter open longer to make up for this lack of light. You can open the aperture up larger to let more light in, which will then allow you to increase the shutter speed to catch fast moving objects. The thing is, you need A LOT of light on the fish tank in order to get away with a fast shutter speed. You can pick up a 1000 watt halogen work light from Home Depot or Lowes for pretty cheap money.

On most tanks you won't have enough light to get really good shots without flash, but you can get good pics with the flash. A few tips for getting better pics with the flash is to put your focus on spot focus if it is available on your camera. This will help you focus on the fish and not the glass. Second, stand back a bit from the tank and zoom in as much as necessary. This should let you take pics from straight on without getting too much glare from the flash bouncing off of the glass.

If you have a lot of settings on your camera that you can adjust manually, just play around and see what works best. I use the Sony DSC-F828 and use it on manual mode. On the tanks that don't have enough light to go non-flash I usually have the aperture on 2.8 and the shutter speed around 500.
Click to expand...

Now thats some awesome info that i've been looking for for a long time now ...
 
I agree with what largemouth said.
Manual settings are a must for decent aquarium pictures. I use a Kodak DX7590 and get decent shots. I never use the flash, I just think it washes colors out and always has a glare somewhere.
If you can get a slave flash (check ebay, they have wireless ones) that you can lay on top of the tank that will give you awesome results.
My settings are usually F2.8 and shutter speed of 1/60 second.
LIGHTING is the most important thing. Halogen will work, but from my experience, it will leave a yellow "tinge" to the pictures.

ETA: If you can adjust the ISO (film speed) That can help too. The higher the number, the less light you will need, but it will also increas how grainy the picture looks (unless its a top notch camera). I usually leave my ISO on 200 unless it is really bright.
 
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