Beginners Guide to Aquarium Photography(Work in Progress)

[Chlorophile]

Originally Posted by 5BodyBlade

I just bought my first camera that wasn't under $50. A Canon Powershot sx40 hs. I've never really been into photography, then I started seeing some of these photos and have been interested. This is a digital with a fixed lens, but a pretty decent zoom to it and it does have some features you're mentioning like aperture and macro. I haven't even scratched the surface yet. I'm wondering can this camera act similar to a slr? I mainly got it instead of the slr because it also shoots 1080p video as well.

I don't know much about that camera.
Does it have an eyepiece/viewfinder or just an LCD?
When you take a picture do you hear a clicky noise?
A lot of cameras have a speaker that plays a simulated SLR mirror flap noise, but you can typically tell the difference.
Eitherway, it should work more than well enough for Aquarium Photography except you won't ever be able to change lenses - which is good if you had no intention of buying any.

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by Chlorophile

I'm going to explain that stuff in the "Balancing ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed" section.
But I will reword ISO to "If leaving shutter speed and ƒ-stop the same, a higher ISO will brighten the picture"

Also, I don't think there is anything wrong with Lens Buying Addiction!
Especially if they are interchangeable with other camera bodies you may own.

Of course you don't. I don't either. It's just those who don't understand why we need all that shiny new glass.

My lenses, for the most part and within my main system all work on all of the bodies I have, film or digital. That was the nice thing about staying with Pentax. They made some awesome glass over the years. Not all of it was K-mount some are M-42 screw mount. They all work on all of my Pentax bodies up to the level of the lens. But they all get shake reduction since it's in the body. And they still make some awesome glass. Their Limited series is second to none.

One mention about p&s cameras. not sure if it's still true but when I bought my little Easyshare one annoying thing was the shutter lag. Do the newer models still have that problem? And they do take a nice picture. Look at my post with the pano in the critique thread. Done with a 5MP P&S.

[5BodyBlade]

Originally Posted by Chlorophile

I don't know much about that camera.
Does it have an eyepiece/viewfinder or just an LCD?
When you take a picture do you hear a clicky noise?
A lot of cameras have a speaker that plays a simulated SLR mirror flap noise, but you can typically tell the difference.
Eitherway, it should work more than well enough for Aquarium Photography except you won't ever be able to change lenses - which is good if you had no intention of buying any.

It has both an eyepiece and an lcd. There is a clicking sound but it is definitely simulated.

[Chlorophile]

Originally Posted by 5BodyBlade

It has both an eyepiece and an lcd. There is a clicking sound but it is definitely simulated.

Weird... maybe the mirror doesn't need to move, some sort of new fangled technology haha.

[Booger]

Chlorophile,
Thanks for your input. I have a display tank that's proven extremely difficult to accurately capture. Doesn't help to have a lousy hack on the other end of the camera. Can you give me some advice as to which settings you might be inclined to start with?

Display tank - Open top ADA 120P w/ 2 150w pendants. Bulbs are ADA "green" bulbs which do indeed have a slight green hue to them.

DSLR - Rebel XTi w/ Tamron 18-55mm (errr, I think) lens

What do you think?

[Chlorophile]

Originally Posted by Booger

Chlorophile,
Thanks for your input. I have a display tank that's proven extremely difficult to accurately capture. Doesn't help to have a lousy hack on the other end of the camera. Can you give me some advice as to which settings you might be inclined to start with?

Display tank - Open top ADA 120P w/ 2 150w pendants. Bulbs are ADA "green" bulbs which do indeed have a slight green hue to them.

DSLR - Rebel XTi w/ Tamron 18-55mm (errr, I think) lens

What do you think?

Although mostly a matter of personal taste I find that pictures look the best when you have your focal length as long as possible, especially for detail shots but probably for full tank shots as well.
Sometimes a wide angle is nice if your lens is right up against the glass, but it doesn't have that same "look" as a long focal length...

soooo... set your focal length to atleast 35. But 55 would probably be better for most of your shots.
I don't know exactly how bright those two pendants will make your tank, but I'd start off with an ISO of 400 and try a wide open aperture (lowest ƒ-stop) on a shutter speed of 1/60.
If your too dark or light tweak your shutter speed - if you have to go below a 1/30 shutter speed you probably wan't to raise your ISO to 800.
If you are photographing fish 1/60th will still probably be too slow and they will be blurry so you'll want something around 1/100 depending on how fast your fish are.
You'll have to try out different speeds to see what works.

Also set your white balance to auto, take a picture and if the color looks off then you could try tweaking it warmer or cooler till it looks the most like what you see with your eyes - or you could just go for whatever you think looks cool even if it isn't realistic.
I kind of like setting my white balance a little warmer than what I see in real life for full tank shots.

In our case where we typically have no need to use a smaller aperture you really only need to tweak ISO and shutter speed.

[Daximus]

Speaking as a complete beginner, defining these acronyms would be awesome.

You need a DSLR to get the best results, or at the very least a camera with manual focus, exposure, ISO, and aperture settings.
Some of the modern point and shoot cameras are very good, but the key factor in an SLR is that when you look through the eye piece you are looking through the lens.

To...

You need a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) to get the best results, or at the very least a camera with manual focus, exposure, ISO, and aperture settings.
Some of the modern point and shoot cameras are very good, but the key factor in an SLR is that when you look through the eye piece you are looking through the lens.

Love the post and finding it very helpful! Just tossing in my thoughts as a complete beginner to all things photographic. Granted, all I had to do was google DSLR, but the first time I read this sentence it was above my head.

[Chlorophile]

Thank you - will change it.

[Booger]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give it another go and hopefully produce something worth keeping.

[Chlorophile]

Added some more stuff at the end of the first post

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by Chlorophile

Weird... maybe the mirror doesn't need to move, some sort of new fangled technology haha.

There is no mirror. It's an electronic VF according to Canon's website.

If your tank lights lean green then use the fluorescent wb. Works most of the time since fluorescent lights generally leave a green cast.
OK a couple of tips for the beginner.
1st Set your metering to Center Spot if your camera allows it. Most are set to averaging or center weighted.
2nd Set your focus point if your using auto focus to Center if your camera allows it.

[BlueJack]

Perfect! This is the thread I've been waiting for

[Chlorophile]

Originally Posted by GraphicGr8s

There is no mirror. It's an electronic VF according to Canon's website.

If your tank lights lean green then use the fluorescent wb. Works most of the time since fluorescent lights generally leave a green cast.
OK a couple of tips for the beginner.
1st Set your metering to Center Spot if your camera allows it. Most are set to averaging or center weighted.
2nd Set your focus point if your using auto focus to Center if your camera allows it.

Interesting, so like an LCD screen then?

What benefits are there to Center Spot Metering?
I will be putting a section in about how to use auto-focus or manual focus and get the results you want, and using the light meter in your viewfinder and the benefits or reasons behind using Center Metering would be good info to have.
I'm not highly confident that I know the real benefits - however I do have mine set to center metering just so that I can point the center on some sort of neutral green in the tank and balance my light meter based on that.

In black and white photography I learned that your light meter only sees the color grey - and no matter what it is looking at it assumes the exposure is correct when whatever you are pointing at is the same tone as 18% grey.
That might not be completely correct, but thats how I remember it and is roughly correct =]

[GraphicGr8s]

Originally Posted by Chlorophile

Interesting, so like an LCD screen then?

What benefits are there to Center Spot Metering?
I will be putting a section in about how to use auto-focus or manual focus and get the results you want, and using the light meter in your viewfinder and the benefits or reasons behind using Center Metering would be good info to have.
I'm not highly confident that I know the real benefits - however I do have mine set to center metering just so that I can point the center on some sort of neutral green in the tank and balance my light meter based on that.

In black and white photography I learned that your light meter only sees the color grey - and no matter what it is looking at it assumes the exposure is correct when whatever you are pointing at is the same tone as 18% grey.
That might not be completely correct, but thats how I remember it and is roughly correct =]

I think it more or less is like the lcd screen. The advantage to it though is the contact points it gives you for stability.

I use center because I just feel it's more accurate. The other settings combine to much information and give an average so if you have one spike or one dark area that is in a place that isn't really going to be part of the final it throws off the metering. Averaging does just that. It averages out all of the available light and makes a decision. Center weighted takes into account the entire frame but puts more emphasis on what is in the center of the frame. I shoot manual so I take the reading on my subject and set it as a starting point. Then I generally move the camera to get the subject off center. Rule of thirds whenever possible. When not possible I like the subject just north of center. Your eye will tend to bring it down to center. It's an optical illusion but it works. An old throwback to Layout and Design class.

[Robert H]

Great stuff, can hardly wait for part 2. My biggest frustration is dealing with reflections in the glass...