Friend with a much better camera than mine...urghhh
- Thread starter lllesley
- Start date
toothybugs
New member
Your friend and their gear most certainly do not suck.
Yep!!! :lol:
reepher315
Humble Student
Thats a gorgeous mandarin. I need a boss camera like that.
IPT
Active member
Some of it is gear for sure. The glass specifically but a lot of times there are just certain things you can tweak with your technique that'll increase the sharpness of your images. You might compare some of your EXIF data with his or simply see if he's doing something different then you are. If he's not the just bribe him with some beer and grab his lens for an afternoon or two
.alex&carina
New member
You can take this picture whith any dslr camera.
lllesley
New member
So if you can take a shot like these with any camera why did his cost $7000 plus and my camera cost $400. I have never had the clarity and crispness !! But if that's what you think then you must be a great photographer. I envy that trait.
I'll also say some point and shoots can produce images like that.
lllesley
New member
Wow. I just wanted to share what I thought were some great shots taken by a friend. I like the shots. They are better than anything I have taken before and if that makes me a dummy then so be it. I just thought people may appreciate some good photography. Obviously I was wrong and it's not actually that good. Appears I still have a lot to learn on reefing & photography. Oh well I like research.
No one is calling you a dummy or bashing the shots, and yes the pics are good. We could pick at them and say the snow could be removed, or a couple other little things, but that's not the point. There are point & shoots in both Canon and Nikon that can produce amazing photos. I'm sure if your friend is as good as you say, he understands this. There's a lot to be said about the gray matter behind the camera. First learn to see what a camera sees. Then get the camera to see what you want it to see. That won't happen shooting in auto settings.
alex&carina
New member
This Picture is taken whith my Canon 1100d. I men that if you now how the camera work, you can take same nice pictures whith a cheap camera=)
JaYbIrD1969
New member
I think whats being said here is don't sell your equipment short. Your friends images are quite good but they certainly could be even better! I am not putting down his photos, but with a 7K camera/lens, the results can be even better. And the way to achieve that is the same way you can achieve excellent quality with your camera. I will point out one example that is paramount in reef aquarium photography. Only one of the pictures you've posted is even close to "tack sharp" and its the Mandarin. The reason is its utter lack of movement. you must be able to manually set your options to let in the most amount of light while keeping a reasonable depth of field and shutter speed. Shutting down your pumps and letting the tank settle goes a long way toward getting the quiet, stillness required for excellent, consistent results. Your corals stop swaying and your fish will mellow AND the snow will settle.
Its kind of like if you and Tiger Woods swapped clubs for the back 9. He's still going to be making birdies and youre still going to be making double bogeys. Theres a lot more to it than the equipment.
Keep researching and experimenting and leaning. Its a wonderful journey and reef photography is VERY challenging
Its kind of like if you and Tiger Woods swapped clubs for the back 9. He's still going to be making birdies and youre still going to be making double bogeys. Theres a lot more to it than the equipment.
Keep researching and experimenting and leaning. Its a wonderful journey and reef photography is VERY challenging
It seems to me that with dslr prices, there's a point of diminishing returns.
At some point, you're getting features, not the ability to produce better pictures. Having a $7000 camera doesn't mean you can take good pictures. It just means that you have a $7000 camera.
My wife's cousin has the same camera as I do (Nikon d5100) and is always asking why my pictures look so much better than hers. The difference is that she doesn't understand the technical aspects of photography. She primarily shoots automatic and sometimes dabbles with aperture priority. I shoot 100% manual, and adjust for things like depth of field, exposure and white balance.
Tl;dr - good photography is almost mostly dependent upon the photographer's skill, not his or her equipment.
To the OP, those are some good pictures. Perfect? No (but perfection is rarely achieved). If you'd like to take pictures like that, just keep practicing. Learn how a camera works and how to manipulate the settings to achieve the picture you want. It doesn't happen overnight, but it's certainly not difficult to learn.
At some point, you're getting features, not the ability to produce better pictures. Having a $7000 camera doesn't mean you can take good pictures. It just means that you have a $7000 camera.
My wife's cousin has the same camera as I do (Nikon d5100) and is always asking why my pictures look so much better than hers. The difference is that she doesn't understand the technical aspects of photography. She primarily shoots automatic and sometimes dabbles with aperture priority. I shoot 100% manual, and adjust for things like depth of field, exposure and white balance.
Tl;dr - good photography is almost mostly dependent upon the photographer's skill, not his or her equipment.
To the OP, those are some good pictures. Perfect? No (but perfection is rarely achieved). If you'd like to take pictures like that, just keep practicing. Learn how a camera works and how to manipulate the settings to achieve the picture you want. It doesn't happen overnight, but it's certainly not difficult to learn.
IPT
Active member
I agree with all that was said. Didn't mean to make this into a technical thread. They are nice images but I thought from your post you were implying you couldn't get images like that because of your gear.
As many other people posted technique and knowledge will trump the gear itself more often then not. Someone with good skills can get a killer image from consumer and certainly prosumer level gear. Someone lacking good technique and fundamental knowledge will produce mediocre images with even pro gear. Heck I have good gear and have been doing this for years. I still kick my self in the butt sometimes at the mistakes I make in the heat of the moment! Luckily that happens less and less. There are a lot of variables that affect the quality of a picture. Just moving on e inch to one side or another can totally transform an image.
It doesn't sound like it was your intention posting to learn how to get better pics for yourself but rather just to share some nice images. It's all good man, we dig that. i think we just like it even more helping people take their stuff to the next level or make the most of their gear. No harm intended.
Oh, sorry, one last thing. Ansel Adams once said something to the effect that capturing the image was only 50% (or something like that). It was the darkroom work that made that made the image come to life. He was a master at working a negative. That said it may be just as important if not more so in the digital era. You need a sharp image with good composition to start with. However, masking to get good tonal balance and range is essential. Color correcting, and dang, sharpening is a science into itself. Eh, I probably said too much again...hope it is taken in good stride as it is intended to be.
As many other people posted technique and knowledge will trump the gear itself more often then not. Someone with good skills can get a killer image from consumer and certainly prosumer level gear. Someone lacking good technique and fundamental knowledge will produce mediocre images with even pro gear. Heck I have good gear and have been doing this for years. I still kick my self in the butt sometimes at the mistakes I make in the heat of the moment! Luckily that happens less and less. There are a lot of variables that affect the quality of a picture. Just moving on e inch to one side or another can totally transform an image.
It doesn't sound like it was your intention posting to learn how to get better pics for yourself but rather just to share some nice images. It's all good man, we dig that. i think we just like it even more helping people take their stuff to the next level or make the most of their gear. No harm intended.
Oh, sorry, one last thing. Ansel Adams once said something to the effect that capturing the image was only 50% (or something like that). It was the darkroom work that made that made the image come to life. He was a master at working a negative. That said it may be just as important if not more so in the digital era. You need a sharp image with good composition to start with. However, masking to get good tonal balance and range is essential. Color correcting, and dang, sharpening is a science into itself. Eh, I probably said too much again...hope it is taken in good stride as it is intended to be.
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If you want to learn more, just hang around. As a group, we really are nice peoples. We have weekly topics to keep us shooting. This weeks is holes. I'll stick up a thread Friday evening for pics.
It can give you a look into what others see. Questions can be asked about pics and it's all in good fun. There are people using I-Phones and point and shoots. Give it a shot, so to speak.
It can give you a look into what others see. Questions can be asked about pics and it's all in good fun. There are people using I-Phones and point and shoots. Give it a shot, so to speak.
IPT
Active member
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