Camera advice for a coralfarm

[coralprops]

Hello all,

I own a coralfarm and as such take (and post) many pictures of corals and clams. The pictures are made in a greenhouse and the light in the greenhouse is changing continuously (sun, clouds, winter, summer etc). When I take the pictures I use the help of a T5 fixture which has some 10K and blue bulbs. I use an Olympus Revolt 500 with various lenses and a extension tube, which is painful but doable. The main problem that I have is that the colors in the pictures do not look the same as the actual coral. I have changed the white balance with the coffee filter method, the blue light is gone but the corals look dull as dirt..... I tried taking the pictures in the RAW format, but that doesn't give me the "real" colors either. Additionally, during the summer the greenhouse is covered with a blue shading cloth that blocks about 50% of the light but it gives a lot more blue light in the greenhouse. Without the blue shading cloth the pictures seem to be better.

I need advice on:
1. What camera would you recommend for my environment will give me pictures with the "true" colors, and that does not require to make any changes when the light in the environment changes. All pictures are made topdown with a photobox.
2. What single macro lens is the best for that camera that can handle different depths (all the corals are not on the same height in the tanks).

Sorry for the lengthy post but I would appreciate if someone could give me some advice since there are so many cameras and lenses out there. Thank you for your time.

Thanks,
Henk

 

[Misled]

Have you tried using a flash or two??? I use one even when the lights are on and it helps correct the color.

 

[coralprops]

Thank you very much for your suggestion. Very nice shots! I have not yet tried flash since there is so much light in the greenhouse. But it makes sense since the pictures are better when there is no shading cloth on the greenhouse (winter).
Maybe I should invest in a good macro lens (more light) and a good flash. I think managing two flashes will be difficult, since my corals are in 6 tanks and it will be a pain to move the setup around.

Anyone else with suggestions?

 

[Reef Bass]

Generally the advice for "colors not right" is to shoot in RAW and set the white balance during post. However, your blue shade cloth is casting a blue tint which is not a matter of lighting color temperature. As Jesse suggested, a flash or two could help, although even then close up shots with flash tend to have a "flashed" look about them, though imho that would be better than just plain wrong colors.

The best results might be had by waiting to shoot for a cloudy day, then peeling back the shade cloth and shooting in RAW, with your T5 lights and possibly with a flash. A good macro lens seems mandatory however you end up shooting. If you can't get close enough, an open top acrylic box can let the lens get closer without being submerged.

 

[Recty]

You could probably do it on the cheap side by just buying a couple studio type lights and stands, the kind that are always on. Then you shouldnt get the "flash" look that makes the fish not look quite right, like how the blues really glow and turn a little greenish.

Anyway, you could just point one or two of those at the tanks from the sides and then shoot away from the front without having to worry about any reflections off the front glass but you'd still get more natural colors since the lighting would be negating some of that blue tint.

Buying two studio lights and two stands would probably cost less than one good flash does.

 

[coralprops]

Thanks for your feedback and help Reef Bass and Recty. Sorry for the late response. I was a couple of days out of town.

Reef Bass: The problem with cloudy days is that we don’t have many during the summer in the Spokane area (Washington). Also peeling back the shading cloth is a pain since it is connected with a steel wire to the foundation. I do all my shots with an acrylic photo box so I can get pretty close to the corals. You’re right, a good macro lens is a must. Currently using a extension tube on a zoom lens but planning to replace it with a macro lens (maybe tomorrow).

Recty: Like the idea of the studio lights. Currently using a T5 fixture with 6 39 watt bulbs (one 10K and 5 blue bulbs). If I change all the bulbs to 10K would that have the same effect? I am afraid that the pictures become very “white” since it will lose a lot of the colors from the blue lights.

 

[Recty]

Yes, if your concern is that your pictures are turning out too blue and you've got only one 10K bulb and the rest actinic, that is probably a lot of your problem.

You could just buy two bulbs, so replace two of the blues with two 10K and see if it makes a difference. If it does, then go ahead and replace the remaining three blues when you want to.

As a side note, you'll probably see more coral growth and extension with more regular sunlight range lights (the 10K) as opposed to being mostly actinic. You wont get that nice glowy fluorescent effect that the actinic lighting gives though.

As a side side note, you'll still need to shoot in RAW mode to correct colors well.

 

[coralprops]

Thanks Recty. I only use the actinic lights for making photos. I have a couple of 10K bulbs so I will give it a try and let you know the result.

Yes corals grow really well in sun light. The main reason that I am using the shading cloth is to keep the temperatures a bit down in the greenhouse. The shading cloth will be removed late September or early October.