Please Help Newbie Get Decent Full Tank Shot

[VP]

I have a Canon Powershot SD750 Digital Elph point & shoot camera. I'm supposed to be getting a decent digital SLR soon but until then ... please help me take a decent full tank shot with what I have. I have adjusted the custom white balance already but the colors still aren't right. I can adjust the following:

ISO, exposure, white balance, colors, metering, AF lock, etc. and I have a tripod which I am using. Here are some images I have taken. The anemone is so much brighter than it appears. I just can't get it right, so far.

p.s. I still have alot of corals an some rock to buy.

 

[bdepp]

Heya VP.

these look pretty good. overall i think your've done a great job. the clown in the anemone is a nice shot.

great to see you're using a tripod.

with corals, try using the macro function and shoot at as low ISO as you can get away with without blur. this way you'll get better colour and more light through the lens. remeber to turn off your pumps to minimise movement of the corals

fish are harder to get a shot of because they move! try useing the sports mode (which has a high ISO (800/1600) and the mulitple shots options. this way you should be able to get one maybe in focus

White balance s something we all fight with. try the "cloudy" setting. and then try everything else until you get something that looks "right". you may have to do some work in photoshop after but if you try and get something that is almost there you wont have to do much. You might want to adjust the exposure down a few steps aswell to get rid of the over-exposure.

Note: even though aquairums have heaps of light, they are still classed as low light situations in photography.

I would say you 70% there. give this ago and lets see how you go

Depp

 

[VP]

Gotta love the internet ... help from Australia, how cool.

Thanks bdepp, I will try your suggestions and post back.

Thanks so much.

Veronica

 

[dzb912]

i love the jawfish

 

[VP]

dzb912, the blue spotted jawfish is almost as interesting as my porcupine puffer that I had for 8 years. Jawfish are really fun to watch and they are very aware of the outside of the tank. That puffing of the cheeks they do which is seemingly meant to be intimidating is really cute.

bdepp, still haven't sat down to take more photos yet.

VP

 

[bdepp]

I'll be here when you post the new pics VP and look forward to see how they come out

 

[Toddrtrex]

If you are having issue with getting the right colors you may want to try some photo editing software. I have a DSLR, with a manual WB, and I am still having issues getting the colors to look right. Granted the camera is new and I am still figuring it out.

I downloaded a free trial if "lighthouse" and with just playing with it once I am pretty happy.

Before,

After,

 

[VP]

I see, it removed alot of the blue. Where did you download the free trial?

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12688599#post12688599 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VP
I see, it removed alot of the blue. Where did you download the free trial?

And yes it did, comes in handy when using 20K bulbs.

Sorry, it is called lightROOM, not lighthouse.

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/?ogn=EN_US-gn_dl

 

[dragonette]

I have the same problem. Im shooting a canon rebel xt and I can photograph corals and up close but my tank shots are always washed out. it really sucks because it looks nothing like in real life.
Ive tried messing with WB but Ill have to try slowing down the ISO and a tripod I guess. its so frustrating!!!

heres my washed out tank

 

[VP]

Dragonette,

I feel your pain!!! It's driving me crazy too ... the real life colors are so beautiful and I just can't capture them!

I want to get the Canon Xti but not sure if should even get an SLR. Post your picture when you get the settings more dialed in.

 

[IPT]

dragonette - If that is the SLR version of the camera you could try doing some "exposure compensation" and AEB (auto exposure bracketting". Usually you can set the camera to "bracket" (take three shots with the camera changing the paremeters) automatically. I believe the Rebel can do that.

There are so many high light and low light areas in tanks that sometimes the lightmeter in the camera will get "confused". If you set to bracket (ie. take one shot with the exposure the camera thinks is right, one shot +1 (over exposed) and one shot -1 (underexposed) you will have better chance at getting the right exposure for the shot.

This used to be expensive with film, but with digital it's not an issue at all.

 

[Toddrtrex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12746033#post12746033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by IPT


This used to be expensive with film, but with digital it's not an issue at all.

Exactly, I will take a picture, look at it, and if I don't like it I will adjust one setting, and start again. I will keep doing that until I find the group of settings that work. Besides time it costs me nothing.

Plus you get instant feed back, don't have to wait for the film to be developed. Way back in the day I remember my Dad taking pictures ( film SLR ) with my mom holding pieces of paper with the settings he was using on them.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Until your shutter fails around 100,000 pictures (thats what the newer cameras are rated for...the older ones were more like 10,000). Then you get the latest greatest camera available...but keep the lenses *RIP 10D*. This is one reason we say "bodies come and go, but glass is forever". 100,000 is a lot but my 40D takes 6.5 every second. I've dialed in about 45,000 since I bought it last September. It adds up!

 

[VP]

That's good to know TitusvileSurfer, for when I get my Canon Xsi in August. I didn't think about the camera having a max shutter life.

I've been playing with my Mom's cheapy Kodak Easyshare which you can set more manual settings like aperture & shutter speeds and I am already getting better pictures. I can't wait to get the Canon. Hopefully you guys will help me out then.

VP

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Now you can replace the shutter for ~$200. By the time it fails your camera will have probably been upgraded to a newer model which may have caught your fancy for some time anyway. When you hit 100,000 actuations your camera isn't going to turn into dust. Some fail before, many live on much longer, but 100,000 is what Canon says you should expect to reach. Think about the cost of film for 100,000 exposures, not to mention your shutter would STILL have gone out in the analog DSLRS. $200 is a very very reasonable price in the grand scheme of things.