Digital Cameras for Reef Tanks

[crumbletop]

My camera just broke and I'm looking for a new one. The camera didn't do well with close up focus and also pretty much was terrible at trying to get focus through the glass of my tank. Any recommendations on what to look for or what brands are good for taking good pics of the life in my aquarium?

 

[coral_reefer_25]

CANON!....that's what I'm savin' up for...

 

[Pickupman66]

Man, I wish I could get mine to work well for taking tank photos. I want some really good ones, and I am about to resort to digging out my old film one form college film class.

 

[crumbletop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8592946#post8592946 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pickupman66
Man, I wish I could get mine to work well for taking tank photos. I want some really good ones, and I am about to resort to digging out my old film one form college film class.

I hear you. I have looked at Cannon, but there are so many models. I feel like I need something that either has an awesome autofocus (i.e. it doesn't screw up going through the glass of the aquarium), or a good manual focus. Also, I'm wondering about having a good white-balance so everything doesn't come out looking blue. I don't have enough $ for something like rewik uses, but his sure takes great pictures. I wonder if there are some lesser models that a dummy like me could use.

 

[gflat65]

Mine does okay, but doesn't process blue very well. It's taken a while to figure out some of the nuances of the camera, but I've started to figure it out. It is an HP 850. If it allowed a manual focus and could just snap what it sees rather than what it wants to see... The macro function works well, though.

 

[TitansFan]

The age old question you hear in any reef forum... How big of a wallet we talking here?
I am personally saving up for Nikon D70 or D50. Its a great relatively inexpensive Digital SLR camera. Here is a link with some photos taken with one:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=922986

I just picked up for the wife a Canon PowerShot A530 from bestbuy last week $150. It takes great pics for a inexpensive point and shoot digital.

If you like the idea of a SLR but not the cost consider a super zoom point and shoot. They can give you 10x optical zoom as well as other lens options for better macros.

 

[KAiNE]

I have a Minolta Z3. Until i hacked the firmware to make it shoot in RAW mode it was pretty useless under actinics.

IMO - whatever camera you decide on, make sure you can shoot in RAW mode.

 

[crumbletop]

Well I want to keep it at $350 or less. I'm not really interested in an SLR because they are big and complex. I'd rather have a point and shoot -- probably more like a super zoom.

So RAW format is a must. I'm thinking a good manual focus, and a good macro mode are musts as well.

 

[coral_reefer_25]

Hey crumbletop....check out these sites.

http://www.dpreview.com

You can look at the features of virtually any camera available and compare two different ones side by side. When you find one that you want, go here.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=2891

Anything you buy from their "used" division that is a level 9 or above, you'll swear is new. I work for a publishing company and we have a staff of photographers....I've seen some of the "used" gear that they've bought from there, and it all looks great.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

I work for a publishing company and we have a staff of photographers....

Me too.....where are you at?

 

[coral_reefer_25]

I'm at a company called Journal Communications....we're in Cool Springs. What about you?

 

[Fanof49ASU]

United Methodist Publishing House.

 

[Angela Short]

For a cheap point and shoot with a pretty good macro I like my Kodack easy share. Color balance gets messed up a little on tank shots, especially blue, but it takes overall good pics IMO. For less than $200.

 

[RUPE]

I'm using a canon power shot. I take prity good micro photos. the micro setting is only good for items close to the glass.

 

[crumbletop]

Wow -- those are nice pics! How close to the glass do things have to be?

 

[RUPE]

I'd say those were about 3" from the glass, but 6" is about the limit.

 

[DMBillies]

Jack- I don't know a whole lot about cameras (I use a Kodak Easyshare DX7630...probably would have gone a different route if I had a reef tank when I bought it), but I do know that you should definitely invest in a decent tripod. Without using a flash which will wash out the colors on the corals, your exposure time is going to go up (or will need to be manually set longer) and you'll end up with blurry pics if you don't have a steady hand. I know my pictures got a heck of a lot better once I went out and bought one.