macro lense and bow front tank?

[DebsSisterFlo]

I was at a fellow reef club members place to get some goodies and while I was there I took some pics... I learned something; you can't put the hood flat against a bow front, thus preventing crystal clear shots... dang! Does anyone have a tip on how to get clear pics through a bow front?
That macro lense that I have (canon 100mm) has to shoot straight through the glass, if I hold it at an angle it distorts the image, same thing with the bowed glass. This may prevent me converting my 72g over because I love using my macro lense.

 

[gregr]

I'm pretty sure it's the aquariums not the lens that is causing the trouble. Bowfronts are sooo hard to get clear shots from. Good shots are certainly possible but I've never been able to get anything I'd consider razor sharp. I did find that with this one bowfront I got clearer shots if I took the pictures at a huge angle instead of straight on or at a slight angle- go figure

 

[IslandCrow]

I've had horrible luck with anything but pretty much head-on shots, and taking pictures of anything at the edges generally gets rather distorted either way. If I'd thought of that when I bought my tank, I probably wouldn't have gotten a bowfront. They look really cool, but I love taking pictures, and even the straight pictures seem like they may be ever so slightly distorted. One way you can alleviate it a little is to take pictures from further back. It helps reduce the distortion. If I have to take an off-angle picture, I use my 100-300mm zoom. In effect, it works basically like a macro. I just wish I had a wider aperature zoom (f/3.5 at 100mm), but they tend to get a bit pricey. Anyway, if you're really serious about taking pictures of your tank's inhabitants, I wouldn't go with the bowfront. You may even want to consider acrylic or starfire glass if you have the bucks. The clarity of the glass is obviously going to be a huge factor. Another option for a tank that's a little different are those corner tanks that use obtuse angled panels of glass, so you get kind of that bowfront curve, but the glass is straight and not concave.

 

[astrogazer]

You're going to get distortion, ie. refraction due to the bending of the light with respect to the sensor, this can be minimal, depending on the bow. A polarizing filter will help as you'll be catching a myriad of reflections. Oh, and keep your lens off the glass, by at least 1/2" if you can.

 

[astrogazer]

If anyone is contemplating a new tank and wants to be able to get the highest quality photographs, get nothing but flat glass, starbrite would be nice!