Rebel XT settings?

[Blazer88]

I just got my Rebel XT today and I'm having a hard time getting images to look real crisp with good color. I tried shooting in the Tv mode with it set at 1/60 or 1/80 of a second to get things crisp but it lacked exposure. I haven't messed around in RAW much, just jpeg. So what settings do you guys shoot your tank with? I'm using the kit lens, BTW. Thanks for any help!

-Rick

 

[Blazer88]

I guess I'll throw up what I have done in the past hour of playing with the camera. I shot everything but the fish in Av mode with a tripod and pumps turned off, and I think it's a bit overexposed (no RAW). The Goby was shot in Tv at about 1/80, so it came out a bit dark and still blurry. But so far I like the camera, I just need to learn how to use it better. Please post up some criticism.

 

[newhere]

I think the pics look good. The first might be a little over exposed, or over sharpened?. Your goby looks mad about something. I have a canon 20d that I have had for about a year and I am still learning.

 

[DebsSisterFlo]

and the problem with those pics is??? Seriously, they look great to me! I have a rebel xt and I shoot in P mode because otherwise the camera never wants to focus on what I want in focus! lol!

 

[Blazer88]

These were shot in RAW which was WAY better to process. These were taken under either just moonlights or Actinic's, no daylights. I think I'm getting better.

 

[DebsSisterFlo]

WoW!!! I don't understand RAW at all, can you, when you have the time, please pm me with an explaination of how to do it? How did you, from start to finish, get those pics? I never used that tiny cd yet that came with the camera, do I need to install that to RAW photos?
Thanks so much, and hey, great pics, really!!!

 

[newhere]

Very nice pics. What lense are you using?

 

[Blazer88]

I was going to type something out about RAW, but these guys do it better than me
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAW_image_format

The software that comes with the camera includes a RAW converter but I use Photoshop CS2. It loads the data and I select the white balance, contrast, exposure, sharpening, and a whole slew of other features that are normally applied by the camera when you take a normal jpeg shot. The advatage is that I can see how each individual feature will affect the shot so I can pick the ones I want BEFORE it is turned into a jpeg. The result is a far better picture with more control. And I've not used the P mode yet, lol. I normally shoot in the Av setting (for more depth-of-field) with a tripod. I'm still unexperienced with the camera so I'm still learning what works best. I'll post some more pictures showing the difference between RAW and jpeg (since the camera can take both at once) so you can see the difference. Oh yeah, I'm just using the kit lens that came with the camera, nothing special.

 

[newhere]

Is it the EFS 18 - 55mm? I need to pick up on a few new tips for mine. I have to start messing around with raw mode. Do you know if Photoshop CS2 is better for raw than CS?

 

[Blazer88]

Yep, it's the EF-S 18-55 lens. As for the RAW performance between CS2 and CS, I have only used CS2. I have been told that Pixmantec's (Free) Raw Shooter Essentials is pretty good and even better than CS2, but I've never tried it. And here is a quick example between shooting in RAW and jpeg. This is the same picture taken in RAW and jpeg (I love how the camera can do both at once).

RAW: Exposure, contrast, tint, hue, saturation, shadows, brightness, color temperature, sharpness, noise reduction, plus others are all easy to adjust in this format resulting in a much more accurate picture. I applied the settings, cropped, and resized.

JPEG: The image is softer with less vibrant colors. It probably would look better if the levels were messed with to take out a little blue (I used auto WB for the pic) but the colors still wouldn't be accurate. Overall a much more dull shot...just like the ones I posted yesterday

I hope this has been of some help.

 

[geckofrog]

Yea i use CS2 for my RAW files too

 

[newhere]

I will look into the Pixmantec's Raw Shooter Essentials and see how it is. Very good example also. Very nice corals but, now we need a full tank shot lol. Thanks for the demo on the pics.

 

[Blazer88]

No problem on the demo's, it helps me learn this camera at the same time. And I saw the thread you posted of your tank. What settings do you use to shoot the the fish? Mine keep coming out with some blur. Do you shoot in shutter priority?

 

[newhere]

No I just use the night setting with no flash. Takes a few times to get a good pic.

 

[Blazer88]

Night shot, interesting. I'll give that a try. I just took a bunch in Tv at about 1/30 or 1/50. I'll post a few if any of them turned out well.

 

[Blazer88]

Out of about 75, I could only use two. I'll have to try the night mode and see if that is better at adjusting the shutter speed to remove any blur but still expose the picture enough. Fish are harder to take pictures of, lol.

 

[newhere]

Ya I take lots of pics to get a few good ones. If I could just get my fish to sit still LOL.

 

[newhere]

A few pics with just the night setting.

 

[Blazer88]

Those look great. What is that top fish? I think I may have seen one of those when I was in Jamaica last month.

 

[newhere]

The one with the clown is a bursa trigger or are you talking about the belnny. The one with the blue tang is a naso tang.