drummereef's 180g in-wall build

Awesome guys, I'll focus (no pun intended) on Canon then. I'm replying to all previous posts since all of you are Canon guys. :lol: I appreciate the help and I'll definitely check out the Rebel XS/XSi series for sure. :)

I don't want to spend a ton of money since I have corals to buy :D, but really need a decent camera. There's just no way to get a good FTS with my point and shoot even after adjusting the white balance, ISO, exposure, etc... I've exhausted my patience with that piece of junk. :lol:
 
OK guys, I have a lead locally on an XSi, $450 firm. Is this a fair deal?

XSi body
18-55mm lens
2 batteries
charger
8gb SD card
wireless remote
 
The xs is only 10.1mp where the xsi is 12.2. I don't know much about that sigma but I know I can see it is about $200 on Amazon and gets great reviews. Your going to want a macro lens for the aquarium I can promise you that.

The 18-55 is a great starter lens but you will find that you will soon want many more. I spent some time at a local zoo and aquarium wishing I had a good macro/telephoto lens. I purchased a Tamron 18-200 and found it to be a good all around lens but nothing out of this world.

As I stated earlier the body is chump change compared to what you will spend on glass. Of the two you posted I would probably go for the xs with the macro lens. But check ebay you can find super deals. Also check the photog sites you might find something.

*Disclaimer: I had a Boulevard Tank 7 followed by two rocks glasses of Belvedere.
 
AJP said:
The xs is only 10.1mp where the xsi is 12.2. I don't know much about that sigma but I know I can see it is about $200 on Amazon and gets great reviews. Your going to want a macro lens for the aquarium I can promise you that.

The 18-55 is a great starter lens but you will find that you will soon want many more. I spent some time at a local zoo and aquarium wishing I had a good macro/telephoto lens. I purchased a Tamron 18-200 and found it to be a good all around lens but nothing out of this world.

As I stated earlier the body is chump change compared to what you will spend on glass. Of the two you posted I would probably go for the xs with the macro lens. But check ebay you can find super deals. Also check the photog sites you might find something.

*Disclaimer: I had a Boulevard Tank 7 followed by two rocks glasses of Belvedere.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info but you're cracking me up man! :lol: :lolspin: :p
 
Finally got a FTS worth sharing.... kinda. :lol:

I used these settings on the point and shoot. Still not the quality I'm ultimately looking for but for a 3.2 mega pixel p&s camera it's not horribly bad I guess. I still had to adjust the white balance and add a little blue in post, but still no where near as blue as when you are standing in front of the tank. Wondering how close your colors are using RAW format? Do you have to do any color adjustment with your DSLR?

1/400
F3.5 (didn't realize I could get it down to 2.8 until after the shot)
ISO 50 (as low as she goes - 50, 100, 200, 400)
JPEG Format (it's all my camera will support)


FTS.jpg~original
 
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drummereef said:
AJP, I've read about the Sigma macro lens a little. There's an XS in my area with everything above plus a Sigma 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens and a Tripod. $500 for everything. Fair deal?
Click to expand...

That's not too bad, but the telephoto is a bit different than a fixed focal length macro. I see that lens on bhphotovideo for $160. Operationally, what's different is that you have to stand 5 feet away from your subject for that telephoto (or 3.1 feet when in macro mode). With a true fixed focal length macro (which will probably run twice as much as the telephoto), you can get within 6-8 inches of the subject.
 
Hows the cycling going? Watching closely because I'm about to start a 120g myself.
Also, what kind of salt did you go with?
 
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I absolutely love that that rockwork! Whats with the background, one dark piece and two light pieces?

When I shoot in RAW I don't bother with any amount of white balancing because I think it is much easier to just use the color temperature slider in photoshop. If you don't have photoshop I'm pretty sure a bunch of really nice freeware programs have come out that will at least be able to adjust temperature for you.

That Sigma sounds like a decent lens, but I really prefer my lens to have a fixed aperture. That means that over the entire telephoto range it will stay constant as opposed to being f4 at 70mm and f5.6 at 300mm like with the lens you posted. I think its more of a convenience thing, but they do use higher quality glass in lenses made like this. Also, the longer your focal length the harder it is going to be to hold the camera steady at slow shutter speeds. I would also invest in a good tripod.
 
Michael B said:
Been a pleasure to follow the progress of this build - Inspiring indeed
Click to expand...

Thank you Michael B. :)

crvz said:
That's not too bad, but the telephoto is a bit different than a fixed focal length macro. I see that lens on bhphotovideo for $160. Operationally, what's different is that you have to stand 5 feet away from your subject for that telephoto (or 3.1 feet when in macro mode). With a true fixed focal length macro (which will probably run twice as much as the telephoto), you can get within 6-8 inches of the subject.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. I'll hold off on that one and find a good true macro lens for the XSi then. :)

Greenmaster said:
WOW I can't wait till you get some fish and your DSLR.
Click to expand...

Me too!!! :D

henrystyle said:
Hows the cycling going? Watching closely because I'm about to start a 120g myself.
Also, what kind of salt did you go with?
Click to expand...

It's going about as well as it should I guess. Still some traces of ammonia, but it's just been 1 week today. Still adding a cube of mysis everyday to keep things going. I'll keep you posted when the nitrites start coming up. :)

Taqpol said:
I absolutely love that that rockwork! Whats with the background, one dark piece and two light pieces?

When I shoot in RAW I don't bother with any amount of white balancing because I think it is much easier to just use the color temperature slider in photoshop. If you don't have photoshop I'm pretty sure a bunch of really nice freeware programs have come out that will at least be able to adjust temperature for you.

That Sigma sounds like a decent lens, but I really prefer my lens to have a fixed aperture. That means that over the entire telephoto range it will stay constant as opposed to being f4 at 70mm and f5.6 at 300mm like with the lens you posted. I think its more of a convenience thing, but they do use higher quality glass in lenses made like this. Also, the longer your focal length the harder it is going to be to hold the camera steady at slow shutter speeds. I would also invest in a good tripod.
Click to expand...


I shot that pic last night with all the lights off in the sump room so what you are seeing is the back wall (white) and doorway (black) as you look through the tank. :lol: Still haven't picked up the pvc sheet for the background yet, couldn't decide if I want to go light/dark blue or black. I'm leaning towards black since the overflows are black and anything else might make the tank look smaller. I love how SunnyX's tank looks light blue as you look through it but am afraid the overflows will make the tank look squatty if I went that direction. :)

I think I'll keep my eye out for an XSi and pick up a better macro lens at some point. Thanks for the help!
 
You bastards have me wanting a new camera. I almost, and I mean almost bought the t1i today. If I didn't already have a HD camcorder I would have I think.
 
UPDATE:


Day 8 of the cycle and still showing signs of ammonia. Holding right at 0.25ppm. No nitrite yet as you can see by the test on the left.

On another note: I'm going to look at a second XSi tomorrow. The one I saw today had some minor scratches on the body and a scuff on the LCD so I passed. The guy tomorrow promises his looks brand new... we'll see. :)


Picture003-5.jpg~original
 
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Just curious Brett.......where are your phosphate levels?

And because of this thread I am now on a Canon XSi mission:-). Wife has been wanting more then a point & shoot for a while now and I am a big Canon user, so I am trying to see what deals are out there too.

Good Luck today........
 
tegee said:
Just curious Brett.......where are your phosphate levels?

And because of this thread I am now on a Canon XSi mission:-). Wife has been wanting more then a point & shoot for a while now and I am a big Canon user, so I am trying to see what deals are out there too.

Good Luck today........
Click to expand...


Hey tegee, the phosphates are 0 as the test shows below. They have been 0 from the beginning so no change there (thankfully). :) Good luck on your search too! I was browsing NY's Craigslist just to get an idea of street value and the XSi's are going for around ~$450 consistantly. They are a dime-a-dozen in the city, don't know what part of NY you live though but there's a bunch out there.

To get you even more excited about what the X-- series can do, check out my other thread on the subject and scroll down to OzarksReef's post. Click his homepage. He takes some really nice shots and documents his camera settings on each pic. Very nice. :)

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1844666


Picture002-2.jpg~original
 
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