need help with camera settings please, Nikon D200

[smalltime]

Hi, I shoot with a D200. My lens is a Nikkor 60mm 2.8

My lighting is a 6 bulb Tek fixture. bulb combo is
ati blue+
12k
ati blue+
ati blue+
10k
ati blue+

Thanks in advance

 

[BlueCorn]

Shoot in RAW and convert the white balance during processing.

 

[smalltime]

Thank you!!

 

[BlueCorn]

It is possible to set a custom white point but none of the other built-in settings are expecting such strange light colors. Doing it after shooting is much simpler.

Cheers

 

[JHemdal]

Doug,

Just curious - why don't more people shoot with a flash on their reef tanks? For me, that helps get the color back into a range that the camera can more easily deal with. Sure, you have to deal with backscatter and flash glare, but that can usually be dealt with using an off-camera flash, shooting at an angle, or getting really close.

I also have the personal worry that extremely blue light (super actinics, etc.) give cameras problems other than just white balance - like those wavelengths are not handled by the lens properly or something. Have you ever stared at a super actinic and seen little blue squiggly lines moving around? The human eye picks up some sort of artifacts, and I just worry that lenses and sensors might as well....

Jay

 

[BlueCorn]

Jay I can only speak for myself. I'm primarily a landscape photographer, as such I use natural light exclusively. I'm not even sure where the one flash that I own is at the moment. I haven't seen the artifacts that you mentioned.

 

[TWallace]

I don't shoot with flash because I think it tends to wash out the colors and turn everything drab. If done well, flash pictures look good, but the majority of them causes harsh shadows and washed out colors. Admittedly, I'm not very skilled with a flash, but I'm basing this on photos I've seen others shoot with a flash, not just my own. I do own a decent flash. I have a Nikon D90 with a SB-800 flash, which theoretically should allow me to take decent photos with a flash. Do you use it attached to the camera, or pointing down into the tank from above the water?