Blue LED picture taking

[jachrist]

I have quite a few zoas and palys that flourece really nicely. I'm just wondering what people use to take pictures that show the colors really well? What type of camera or what type of settings would be nice, thanks!

 

[that Fish Guy]

i have quite a few zoas and palys that flourece really nicely. I'm just wondering what people use to take pictures that show the colors really well? What type of camera or what type of settings would be nice, thanks!

a DSLR

 

[sahin]

I have quite a few zoas and palys that flourece really nicely. I'm just wondering what people use to take pictures that show the colors really well? What type of camera or what type of settings would be nice, thanks!

Its all about the WHITE BALANCE. Any camera with a decent white balance control will deal with the BLUE.

A DSLR will cope with this best. The other option is to take all your photos in RAW and adjust using software.

Iphones are pretty rubbish when it comes to taking photos of 20K/LED tanks, but Samsung phones usually have pretty decent white balance adjustment facilities.

The other low tech option is to place a yellow filter in front of your camera and take a photo; this cuts out a lot of the blue and allows you to take decent images. But it will take some experiment with getting the right amount of YELLOW in the filter.

Just some quick ideas.

 

[sahin]

These are images I took using a 10 year old Nikon DSLR, with Radion Pro light set on 20K NOT my tank, but one of my buddies tank:

 

[jachrist]

thanks I'll have to see if I can get my hands on one of the one's mentioned.

BTW that tank looks AMAZING sahin!

 

[ADAM ROBINSON]

Lovely tank wow

 

[sahin]

thanks I'll have to see if I can get my hands on one of the one's mentioned.

BTW that tank looks AMAZING sahin!

Lovely tank wow

Thats my buddies tank. His tank is full of the nicest LPS corals found in the UK. This guy is a top spender and hence gets to have some of the nicest collection of LPS corals in his tank.

Those pics are a few months old; he's bought some more nice stuff since.

 

[sc50964]

Thats my buddies tank. His tank is full of the nicest LPS corals found in the UK. This guy is a top spender and hence gets to have some of the nicest collection of LPS corals in his tank.



Those pics are a few months old; he's bought some more nice stuff since.

Wonder why there are two scolies placed partially in shade.

 

[jachrist]

I'm thinking there isn't as much "shade" there as we think? The photo almost looks edited since the black looks SO dark if you can see what I mean.

 

[sahin]

Wonder why there are two scolies placed partially in shade.

Those two in the shade belong to a third person; were put in the shade because the scolies were bleached in parts and receding.

I'm thinking there isn't as much "shade" there as we think? The photo almost looks edited since the black looks SO dark if you can see what I mean.

There is a LOT of shadow areas; the tank is a 93G, but only has a single Radion Pro over the tank. Yes, the photo was edited; but no more than what the tank looks like in person.

Also, the camera adjusts for the bright areas and makes the shadow areas darker than they are.

FWIW this tank is TOTM April 2014 on the UK's biggest reef forum.

 

[Webmanny]

If you want to go the cheap route and not have to buy a DSLR, I'd suggest some color filters. I got mine on eBay for around $10.00 and I can take good enough pictures under blue lights without the need of software or playing with White Balance.

Look for photography gel cards on eBay. You can buy the whole pack that comes with the full spectrum and try all the orange ones on your setup to match to your blue light intensity.

I took the ones below with my Nexus 5, the #3441 gel and a magnetic/clip on macro lens I also got on eBay for around $10 also.

In my humble opinion, sometimes, the cheapest route is good enough. And before everyone else starts jumping on my butt for suggesting this route...

I also have a Nikon 3200 DSLR, which I love, but I often find myself using my phone instead of my DSLR. This is just my personal opinion and not to be taken as some scientific fact provided by an expert.

I moved my hand on this one. Therefore, it is a bit blurry, but still nice.

 

[Cdodge1]

Here's an old shot I captured with my droid cellphone. I turned all water flow in my tank off. (Powerheads, return). Yes I know there is aptasia but they were quickly murdered with fire.

 

[Cdodge1]

And Webmanny, beautiful shots!

 

[cnewsome]

very nice photography and very pretty tank great color

 

[ajespo85]

Your buddy has an amazing tank! I have a Canon DSLR but my lens I have no just aint cutting it. What lens (lenses) are recommended? settings?

 

[sahin]

Your buddy has an amazing tank! I have a Canon DSLR but my lens I have no just aint cutting it. What lens (lenses) are recommended? settings?

I've seen great results from even a basic canon but when used with a decent lens: 60mm macro and the ultimate lens; the 100mm macro. Aside the the lens, getting the white balance correct works wonders.

 

[Mose]

If you're in a pinch, just toss some polarized sunglasses in front of the lens on your iphone - works pretty good.

 

[Fish Ed]

That anthias is wearing a party hat.

 

[Webmanny]

I just took some pictures of some other corals with a different filter and no zoom lens from my Nexus 5. To give you an idea, for these I used the color filter 2807.

I'm also providing the link to the filter gel book I purchased, which I recommend.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/291295222170

 

[awhedbee22]

It is all about the white balance on your camera.. Very tricky..