Random Tank shots of my 75 Gallon RT.

[J4Life]

Well I finally decided to try out my Nikon D50 using an 28-70mm Tamron lens to see if I could get any descent shots. Here is my first go around.

To be honest I am not as thrilled as I was hoping. This camera can take far better pictures than I am posting so I am also hoping that anyone who owns a D50 will offer some much welcomed advice. I am hoping that I can hone in my skills so that I can try out my 70-300mm Tamron lens that has a macro switch with a range of 180-300mm for some really nice close ups but for now all I get is blurry washed out images.

Let me add that I have my camera dialed in for most picture taking events and I have been fine tuning my skills with both lenses but taking pictures of my reef tank has been the hardest part for me.

Enough chit chat here are the pictures. Let me know what you think good or bad.

Thanks and Enjoy!

 

[J4Life]

More pictures:

 

[J4Life]

more continued:

 

[J4Life]

more continued:

 

[J4Life]

still more:

 

[J4Life]

 

[J4Life]

 

[afex]

nice pics and tank

i would say the biggest culprit to your image quality is the condition of your tank glass. it seems very hazy and scratched up. more gunk on your glass will cause more noticeable reflections, and sometimes the camera will focus on the glass instead of the coral.

i bet if you spent about an hour with a scraper cleaning the algae off your glass, your pics would look 100% better.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12639709#post12639709 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by afex
nice pics and tank

i would say the biggest culprit to your image quality is the condition of your tank glass. it seems very hazy and scratched up. more gunk on your glass will cause more noticeable reflections, and sometimes the camera will focus on the glass instead of the coral.

i bet if you spent about an hour with a scraper cleaning the algae off your glass, your pics would look 100% better.

Yeah the glass has some definite scratches on it and I do need to scrab some spots but to be honest my little point and shoot panasonic luminix takes better pictures of the tank. The SLR should be able to focus past the scratches.

I am pretty confident that it has to do with my settings such as aspect ratio, focal length, iso setting, wb etc. I am still hoping someone more familiar with Nikon DSLR's can offer some assistance.

Thanks for the compliments on the tank minus my dirty glass.

 

[bdepp]

i agree with afex, it looks like your glass is dirty. i would give it a really good clean inside and out and try again.

you also might want to crop the images closer to the subject of the photo too

Depp

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12640230#post12640230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bdepp
i agree with afex, it looks like your glass is dirty. i would give it a really good clean inside and out and try again.

you also might want to crop the images closer to the subject of the photo too

Depp

Thanks I have and still not getting the results I believe I should be getting. Do you have any suggestions regarding the settings I mentioned earlier in my last post??

 

[bdepp]

yea sure J4Life.

firstly when I shoot corals, I use the "A" aperture mode so you can control the DOF. i like to use a f/2.8 or 4 when in close, so the target is in focus and the rest is blurry and you can't really notice it.

use as low ISO as you can, say 100. remeber to turn your pumps off or else you'll get blurry corals from the movement. use a tripod too or else... if your getting camera shake, just more the ISO up till your not. With the higher ISO 800/1600 you'll find that the colour gets a bit washed out and noise starts increasing.

get the camera as close to the glass as possible. this way it wont focus on the glass.

white balance is alway the killer in aquarium photoraphy. I always shoot in RAW format so that i can adjust the WB after and it doesn't "damage" the photo. are you using photoshop and what post-processing are you doing? I'd increase the saturation and contrast of your pics so they "pop" more

Also, what lights are you running in the tank?

Depp

 

[Jim Brody]

cool pics

 

[InLimbo87]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12649695#post12649695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jim Brody
cool pics

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=994909

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12649695#post12649695 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jim Brody
cool pics

Thanks Jim.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12649716#post12649716 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InLimbo87
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=994909

I am sorry but your post is IMO no better than what you're inferring that Jim is doing. Please don't post in my thread unless you have something to contribute to it.

Thanks

 

[InLimbo87]

Wasn't meant to stir up any controversy, sorry. Sent you a pm.

 

[J4Life]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12650072#post12650072 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by InLimbo87
Wasn't meant to stir up any controversy, sorry. Sent you a pm.

No problem at all. I sent you a reply as well. Thanks and have a nice weekend.

 

[J4Life]

Thanks Depp. I will give your suggestions a try. I am not a fan of shooting in raw mode or augmenting the picture much trhough photoshop. I think the camera if dialed in right can capture great looking color and pictures given the right lighting and situation. Of course having a good subject helps as well.

I definitely need to adjust my white balance as well. Also I am currently running XM 10K, 250's with T5 ATI Blue+ supplements on an IceCap 660 ballast.

I just ordered some new 10K Reeflux bulbs and I am looking forward to putting them in. I have seen some photo's of those bulbs and if mine look anything like everyone elses the corals are going to look awesome.

I will try to post some pictures after trying some of your suggestions. Oh and I ordered a new tripod made by Sunpak as well which I think will make a huge difference too.

Thanks again.

Bill

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12642517#post12642517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bdepp
yea sure J4Life.

firstly when I shoot corals, I use the "A" aperture mode so you can control the DOF. i like to use a f/2.8 or 4 when in close, so the target is in focus and the rest is blurry and you can't really notice it.

use as low ISO as you can, say 100. remeber to turn your pumps off or else you'll get blurry corals from the movement. use a tripod too or else... if your getting camera shake, just more the ISO up till your not. With the higher ISO 800/1600 you'll find that the colour gets a bit washed out and noise starts increasing.

get the camera as close to the glass as possible. this way it wont focus on the glass.

white balance is alway the killer in aquarium photoraphy. I always shoot in RAW format so that i can adjust the WB after and it doesn't "damage" the photo. are you using photoshop and what post-processing are you doing? I'd increase the saturation and contrast of your pics so they "pop" more

Also, what lights are you running in the tank?

Depp

 

[luisgo]

No doubt that you glass is very dirty. It is not helping your pics.

I have a Nikon D40x and can tell you that your photos are a little overexposed. That is why they look washed out. You should try some exposure compensation, -1 will do the trick.

Corrections can be done by post processing using Photoshop or a similar program.

Check these photos with some adjustments (exposure, sharpness and color balance).