swimmatte March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 Recently, I've been attempting to take some full tank shots and random assorted pictures with my crappy canon powershot. Unfortunately, the blue from my Kessil a150w's dominates the pictures and everything looks super dark. Is there anyway to take better pictures until I actually get a decent camera? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 The issue is white balance. If you can set your white balance, play w/ that setting. P and S cameras are not so good when it comes to adjusting the white balance to different light sources. You can also post process if you have photoshop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte March 22, 2013 Author Share March 22, 2013 I do believe I can change it. I'll check when I get home. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte March 22, 2013 Author Share March 22, 2013 As suspected, I can change the white balance however it still looks pretty crappy. Soon it'll be time to get a real camera, only problem is that any money spent on a camera = less money for coral and fish :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 only problem is that any money spent on a camera = less money for coral and fish :( Ahh..yes. First world problems! Ha ha...But remember, a camera doesn't count towards your fish budget....Since you use it for other reasons..So go ahead! The white balance is directly tied into the light as measured in Kelvins (and also type, like flourescent vs. incandescent). Good thing is you know how many K's your light has. Bad thing is, you can't adjust your camera to it. I have Nikon dslr and what I do in any situation is to get my white balance as close as possible in the settings before I shoot. Then I bring them into Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop to finish them off, if necessary. I shoot in RAW, always. You can also eye ball (which is what most people do, helps to have a calibrated monitor) the white balance setting. White balance means anything that is white in the photo should look white and not off-white/cream/etc. I know a lot of what we're taking photos of do not include white so it's some experimenting. I haven't taken any photos yet..well, because I have nothing to show other than rocks and 2 clowns. Once I get lights and corals, I'll start to play w/ the different ways I can shoot a tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k March 22, 2013 Share March 22, 2013 I tried for years to get the point and shoot to work with LED's and this is what works for me: 1) Turn off all pumps. Moving water creates 'glitter lines' which affect the cameras light sensor. 2) Find whatever mode on your camera that best represents what the corals look like to your eye without tweaking the raw file. 3) Make a shade that hangs down on the leading edge of the light that insures that the bright LED is not washing out your subject. 4) Use a look down box for best results. 5) Don't worry about white balance so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 Good advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BubbleHead March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 I miss FILM!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmatte March 23, 2013 Author Share March 23, 2013 I miss FILM!!! What's film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 Are your lights dimmable? You may get better results by making your tank less bright. Digital cameras struggle with reef tanks where some areas are super bright, and other areas are very dark. The camera can't figure out a good combination of shutter speed and aperature, and the pic comes out over or under exposed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme March 23, 2013 Share March 23, 2013 The camera can't figure out a good combination of shutter speed and aperature, and the pic comes out over or under exposed. Yes, this is an area where a SLR in fully manual mode will be able to compensate for, as well as a tripod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huly April 16, 2013 Share April 16, 2013 I was playing with different setting on my PS Nikon last night and I found Night Landscape so far is the best setting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Integral9 April 16, 2013 Share April 16, 2013 (edited) I always have problems with my camera focusing on the glass, not what I want to take a picture of. So to get around that, I put the lense so close to the tank that it cannot focus on the glass (usually right up against the tank). After that I pull the images into Picasa and do a quick white balance / contract balance and post it. assuming I remember to take the images off my camera..... edit: I miss being able to manually focus a camera.... a camera that doesn't cost an entire paycheck. Edited April 16, 2013 by Integral9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now