New to Photography - Suggestions on Lenses, etc ...

[jdg]

Well, I'm new to this whole photography thing and I'm having some difficulty getting the clear and colorful shots.

What is the best Nikkor lens for shooting stuff in tank? When I try, the fish come out blurry and the corals don't have the right color (if I can focus on them at all). I tried to full frame a frag, for example, and I can't get it to focus. If I back away enough to get it to focus, then I get all sorts of other stuff around it.

I'm using a D90 currently.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[klepto]

there are probably hundreds of lenses that will work for shooting reef tanks.
it all depends on what you are trying to take photos of. If you are going for close up shots a macro lens will help- Nikon's 105mm has a good reputation, but it is not without a hefty price tag. (I use sigma's 105 for my close up shots... One day I will spend the $ for more of Nikon's lenses- other than the stock)- Im using the lowly D50-- i love it.

I would recommend that you work on basics like learning how to use your light meter and how to do some basic post processing like white balancing, cropping, sharpening etc and then worry about investing in nicer lenses. (unless $ isnt an issue)

1.clean your glass.

2.be sure you are getting directly parallel with the plane of your lens and the glass/acrylic you are shooting through. Unless you are lined up with the wall you are trying to shoot through, you will usually produce a blurred image because the glass/ acrylic will act as another lens.

3.get a tripod, and use it!... Only figure out what it is you want to take a photo of and how you want to compose the image BEFORE you mount the camera on the tripod.

4.keep taking images, but dont just shoot away blindly... Look at your results... adjust accordingly, give your camera's manual a look over to get a feel for the controls...

oh and if you can post some of your pics so we can see whats going on that would help too. Dont worry, we wont beat you up...


at least not too badly