Nikon D80 - reef photography

[map95003]

I recently picked up a Nikon D80, everything I read about this camera seems to be good, however there isn't much about reef photography out there (maybe I'm looking in the wrong places). I'm still learning about shutter speeds, f stops, etc. For anyone with the Nikon D series cameras, what are the best settings (in your experience) for reef tank photography?

I have a Nikor 18-55 VR and a 55-200 VR lens, is there a better lens I should look into for photograpy my reef tank?

I know the settings questions may not be an easy one to answer, I'm just looking for some settings to start with and I'll play around with different things as I learn more about the camera. thanks.

 

[aquariumclown]

Congrats, it's a great camera.

Lens wise, I would recommend you get a macro lens like Nikon 105mm Micro, and a prime lens like 50mm 1.4.

Get a decent tripod if you want to do reef photography.

I've learned that to be a better reef photographer, you need to be a better overall photographer, and learn all the basics. What you learn in regular photography all apply to reef photography. So shoot as much as you can and learn all the fundamentals.

There's no one setting or the right setting for reef photography, it's an art, be an artist and start taking pictures keeping in mind what you think might look good. Look at some reef pictures and try to see if you can get that shot and learn how they did it. Hang out in this forum, there are lots of good people who are answering and giving out great invaluable info. Good luck and enjoy your journey.

 

[aquariumclown]

Don't forget to check out these out...

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=333197

 

[map95003]

thanks for the info guys. What's a good macro lens for the D80? I will be using this lens primarily to take pics of my reef tank. I'm looking for something reasonably priced that would produce great quality pics...if this exist. thanks.

 

[melt]

nikon 105mm micro

 

[xtm]

You have many options for macro lenses..

Nikon 105 VR "G" about $900 new, 800 used
Nikon 105 AF-D (old ver) about $500 used
Nikon 105 2.5 AI, for about $250 used
Nikon 60 "G" about $500 new, $400 used
Nikon 200 f4, about 1700
Tamron 90, about 499 new, 375 used
Tamron 180, about 700 new
Tamron 60 f2 - $600, not available yet
Sigma 70, $499 new
Sigma 105, $499 new (surprisingly, same price as 70mm)
Sigma 150 (great lens) about $729 at B&H
Tokina 35 $399 (not worth it, imo)
Tokina 100, about $500

Best value in my opinion would be the Tamron 90 as it also doubles as a nice portrait lens. Go ahead and get one- any version. You have a D80, it has a screwdrive motor so you can AF basically anything besides AI Nikkors.

Then you have cheaper macros like Vivitar, Phoenix, Samyang, Rokinon.. all in the ~$100 range. Most of these are not true 1:1 but 1:2 and usually require an adapter to achieve 1:1. There are also some more exotic macros for the Nikon mount like Zeiss Makro Planar, Voigtlander, etc. I'd just stick with the common ones above.

 

[map95003]

Thanks for the responses guys.

xtm, thanks for all the info...I think I'll wait a while and learn more about the D80, photography and the lens you listed before making a choice.