Please help me take better pictures of my tank

[wojo]

Hello, i purchased dslr month ago (Olympus E-510) and while i can already take very decent pictures outside, i am really struggling while taking shots of my tank. please follow the link below and see for yourself.

http://picasaweb.google.com/WojoWietecha/ReefTank?authkey=3HSoV1pePV4

i avoid taking pictures with a flash as without one it looks more real. my problem is that the pictures come out darker than they are, and they lack the crispness i get when i take pics outside. i played with white balance, iso and else but never was able to get anywhere.

your help is appreciated.

 

[kingfisher62]

Try using a flash but shoot at an angle so the light does not reflect back at you!

 

[wojo]

thanks for the suggestion but that didn't work, plus pictures taken with flash don't resamble the same coloration as you see in real life

anybody else can help, i have to be missing someting really simple and crucial over here, this is not a bad camera

thanks.

 

[MCary]

You are trying to make the camera do something it just can't do. The light in your aquarium, because of the blue, is very dim. You should be able to notice this by looking at your camera's light meter. With this low light, your camera's only choice is to open the aperature and slow down the shutter. This makes it very difficult to capture moving fish. And the more you zoom in or use telephotos, the more difficult it is.

Possible fixes.

Experiment raising your ISO. Raise it until you get noise you cannot correct in post processing.

Get a lens with a bigger aperature. f/2.8 or lower. (f/1.8, 1.4)

Take the picture with a flash and add the color you want back with photoshop.

Mike

 

[kingfisher62]

I wonder if shutting off your actinics during shooting would help cut down the blueness in your shots?

Thats the great thing about digital cameras . It cost nothing experiment.

 

[spanglish]

The pics on link are not bad at all.

1. How do you white balance?
2. Do you use a tripod?
3. How high do you set your iso?

I have more trouble with full tank shots than close ups.
The key is quantity of light.
Slower shutter speed and lower f stop is what you need for
corals, etc.
Moving fish are a whole other puzzle.

 

[arts007]

To compensate you can also use a light magenta filter which will compensate for the blueness, but will also lower your shutter speed. So a tripod may be in order for that, or raise your ISO

 

[spanglish]

Always (or almost always) use a tripod.
I use my timer so I don't risk movement while
pushing button.