New Camera Aquarium Test Shots

[dshnarw]

First aquarium photos using a new Canon 60d and my old Sigma 150 macro lens...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chad]

wow, every time I see photos of yours, I am envious!

 

excellent pics!

[gizmoody]

Love it! All are great macros, but the glass shrimp is my favorite.

[BowieReefer84]

Wowzers!

 

Can you post a couple settings for those pics. Aperature, Shutter speed, iso? Do you use a tripod? Just trying to get an idea of what to try...

 

Thanks,

Mike

[rocko918]

Sweet pics, nice work!

[RicSG]

Yup i am really trying to find a good settings.

[El Camaron]

very nice pictures man, i need a macro lense.

[dshnarw]

Thanks everyone. The new camera is vastly improved in the ISO range over my old XSi, so these were a breeze compared to what I used to be doing - especially in low light aquarium setups.

 

 

For settings...the generic setting for these pics (ignoring the red epizoas and the caribbean spotted cleaner shrimp, which used flash) would be ISO 2500, f/9-f/14, 1/40 to 1/150 (all manual settings, so all slightly different apertures and shutter speeds). I don't use a tripod very often, but I tend to put the lens hood directly on the glass and use a bit of pressure to hold steady when the subject is far enough away that I can still focus, and tend to have steadier hands than most, so I would still recommend using the tripod when practical.

 

If you can't manage ISO 2500 because of noise, I used ISO 400 on my XSi at f/4-f/9 and got usable shutter speeds by underexposing by a stop or so (EV -1) and increasing the brightness a bit in processing. You won't quite get as much in focus with the limited DOF that way, but as long as the fish eyes are in focus and you try to situate the subject generally parallel to the camera lens, you should be okay.

[RicSG]

awesome pics and thank you for the info. Will have to try taking some pics.

[BowieReefer84]

Thanks everyone. The new camera is vastly improved in the ISO range over my old XSi, so these were a breeze compared to what I used to be doing - especially in low light aquarium setups.

 

 

For settings...the generic setting for these pics (ignoring the red epizoas and the caribbean spotted cleaner shrimp, which used flash) would be ISO 2500, f/9-f/14, 1/40 to 1/150 (all manual settings, so all slightly different apertures and shutter speeds). I don't use a tripod very often, but I tend to put the lens hood directly on the glass and use a bit of pressure to hold steady when the subject is far enough away that I can still focus, and tend to have steadier hands than most, so I would still recommend using the tripod when practical.

 

If you can't manage ISO 2500 because of noise, I used ISO 400 on my XSi at f/4-f/9 and got usable shutter speeds by underexposing by a stop or so (EV -1) and increasing the brightness a bit in processing. You won't quite get as much in focus with the limited DOF that way, but as long as the fish eyes are in focus and you try to situate the subject generally parallel to the camera lens, you should be okay.

 

Awesome. Thank you! I have always tried keeping ISO in the 100-400 range to eliminate noise. I need to bump this up, and see what happens. I also always use a f/3.x-4.x I'm not sure what range I have on this hmm. 1/40 to 1/50 falls in line with where I am, sometimes I get up to 1/200 max. Time to practice.

[dshnarw]

Awesome. Thank you! I have always tried keeping ISO in the 100-400 range to eliminate noise. I need to bump this up, and see what happens. I also always use a f/3.x-4.x I'm not sure what range I have on this hmm. 1/40 to 1/50 falls in line with where I am, sometimes I get up to 1/200 max. Time to practice.

 

I just looked at some of the most recent photos in your tank thread. It looks to me like the focus is slightly behind the subject in several of the photos. You might consider adjusting the focusing system to spot focus rather than any evaluative focusing system for the closeup shots if you can. I also see what I suspect is a bit of motion blur, so I'd definitely recommend a tripod or some steady surface and either a remote shutter release or use the timer function to allow the vibrations from pressing buttons to die before the photo is taken. As far as camera settings, it looks like you've got a pretty good handle on it already.

[BowieReefer84]

I just looked at some of the most recent photos in your tank thread. It looks to me like the focus is slightly behind the subject in several of the photos. You might consider adjusting the focusing system to spot focus rather than any evaluative focusing system for the closeup shots if you can. I also see what I suspect is a bit of motion blur, so I'd definitely recommend a tripod or some steady surface and either a remote shutter release or use the timer function to allow the vibrations from pressing buttons to die before the photo is taken. As far as camera settings, it looks like you've got a pretty good handle on it already.

Thanks, I am working with a point n shoot Panasonic Lumix. It is nice, but NOT a dslr. I have full manual control on everything except focus. I have to choose spot, area, etc... I think if I up the ISO a little, and get a tripod they will show a lot of improvement.

[OUsnakebyte]

Love those Periclimines shrimps - awesome!

[Reefoholic]

Envious! Amazing pics!!!

[jason the filter freak]

not in th least shocked, they turned out great

[ctenophore]

Daniel would you say the higher ISO range is the biggest advantage to the newer bodies? I've heard there is considerable improvement in high-ISO graininess between my nikon D200 and the newer D300 or D7000 or whatever is the latest version of the semi-pro nikon dslr. What other major features do the newer bodies have?

[dshnarw]

Daniel would you say the higher ISO range is the biggest advantage to the newer bodies? I've heard there is considerable improvement in high-ISO graininess between my nikon D200 and the newer D300 or D7000 or whatever is the latest version of the semi-pro nikon dslr. What other major features do the newer bodies have?

 

Thats a bit of a loaded question I think digital cameras are still in the stage of rapid development that we saw in computers a few years back, so most things are improved and outdated by the time they hit the market right now.

 

ISO range is definitely the first thing I noticed - on the order of 3 stops difference between 3-year-old tech and current tech. With processing, I could use ISO 6400 now, and I was limited to ISO 800 previously.

 

Pixel density without quality loss has also improved - both Canon and Nikon have increased by about 6MP in the last few years. Ultimately, the difference between 12 and 18 megapixels doesn't matter much unless you want to print big images, but it is nice to have the ability to crop more of the image without degrading the quality, even for web photos.

 

Processing speed has improved, depending on the model you look at. I know that Canon is getting about 2 fps faster out of the current processors than 3 years ago. My Class 4 SD cards are useless for anything but landscapes because they can't keep up with the shutter in burst mode on the new camera.

 

Dynamic range has improved, usually on the order of 2 stops greater range, and the processing for dynamic range has improved to avoid blowing out highlights or clipping darks as easily when shooting JPEGs.

 

Auto-focus sensors have improved quite a bit - greater spot density, and a greater percentage of more precise cross-type sensors.

 

The newest group to come out has integrated wireless capabilities for flash setups, which is a pretty neat solution for needing an off-camera flash and only having a speedlight since you aren't limited to hooking it directly to the hotshoe.

 

But the biggest change that may or may not be of interest is the addition of HD video to pretty much all the new camera bodies, along with the huge improvements that Canon/Nikon and others have made towards making it user friendly on the DSLR.