D70 aquatic pictures (56k beware...)

[Ibn]

For those who are interested in looking at digital cameras and have a bit to spend. Here's some pictures taken with this camera with various lenses.

Taken with kit lens (18-70mm f/3.5-4.5)
At 70mm (P. altum):


70mm (A. viejita male):


70mm (A. viejita female):


Taken with Micro-Nikkor 55mm f/3.5 ($90 lens)
Altum close up:


A. viejita male close up:

[Fosty]

Those are by far the clearest pictures of fish I have seen in a long time! What kind of carmera did you use and how much did it cost?

[Ibn]

Nikon D70. Costs around $800 body alone or $1100 w/the kit lens. Also, you can just pick up the body and buy the 50mm f/1.8 ($100 lens). The first picture was actually taken w/the 50mm lens, and not the kit lens. Just moved it accordingly.

[Wasserpest]

I need a bigger screen! That last Altum picture is awesome... Did you use the built-in flash for that image?

[ddaquaria]

WOW

What's your complete setup? What other lenses do you have? I am going between the D70 (recommended to me by a professional photographer that I work with) and the latest Canon. I have enven pondered about buying his - which is a D1XH with the upgraded chip.

What mode are you shooting in?

[Wö£fëñxXx]

Nice photo's, wish it was in my budget to spend $1k+ to take pictures of my fish

[jippalbert]

lol - Can someone recomend a 350-400 dollar camera. I have a 2X optical now and 4x digital zoom and it is not cutting it.

JA

[Jdinh04]

Originally Posted by jippalbert

lol - Can someone recomend a 350-400 dollar camera. I have a 2X optical now and 4x digital zoom and it is not cutting it.

JA

Try the sony cybter-shot dsc-t1. It's a good camera but doesn't have manual settings.

[Wasserpest]

Originally Posted by jippalbert

lol - Can someone recomend a 350-400 dollar camera. I have a 2X optical now and 4x digital zoom and it is not cutting it.

JA

Canon S1 IS definitely.

[Ibn]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The last altum picture was taken with the Nikon SB-800 flash handheld. The D70 onboard flash triggers the SB-800, through IR...no wires.

Other lens that I have: kit lens (18-70mm f/3.5-4.5), 50mm f/1.8 ($100), Micro 55mm f/3.5 ($90), 70-210mm f/4-5.6 ($140), and a Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro ($225) on the way.

All pictures were taken in Aperture priority mode, on auto, other than the two close ups. Those were taken with the Micro 55mm, which isn't an autofocus lens and all settings were on manual (even the flash).

I haven't tried out the D1H before, but many who have or was shooting with this camera, have since switched over to the D70. Since he's a friend of yours, you might want to ask him to borrow it and take some shots yourself and see how it feels in your hands.

[FISA]

IBN ....that is just awesome...

wanna share some photograhy tips ??? or are u just gonna blame it on the camera and lens kit ? :p

[Dieni]

I will be getting the D70 soon hopefully. Most probably I will be getting the Sigma 18-125mm and the 70-300mm lenses. Can wait to get my hands on it.

[Ibn]

Originally Posted by FISA

IBN ....that is just awesome...

wanna share some photograhy tips ??? or are u just gonna blame it on the camera and lens kit ? :p

The camera has a large part to due with it. Most of those pictures were taken with aperture priority (you set the f-stop, and the camera basically figures out the rest) on autofocus, which is pretty quick.

As for tips, I'm still learning myself, but can pass the following along.
1) f-stop: try to get this as low as possible to let the most amount of light in (usually one or two stops above the stated yields the sharpest pictures; i.e. on a f/1.8 lens, try shooting at f/5.6 or even f/8).
2) ISO: depends on the camera. DSLRs are less noisy at higher ISO settings versus point & shoot (P&S) cameras. Take the D70 for example. Image quality remains pretty similar from ISO of 200 (lowest setting) all the way to 800. Most P&S are noisy at anything above 200, so try to shoot below that.
3) Lighting: very important. The more light you have on the tank (some people put more lights on their tank during photo sessions and then pull them off; or use flash, preferably not the onboard one), the higher your chances of coming out w/a sharper picture.
4) Practice. Shoot as many shots as you can. Takes awhile to get to know your camera. The more you use it, the more familiar you become w/where the buttons are, settings, etc. I've taken more than 2,000 pictures with the camera since I got it, which is less than 2 months ago and as time goes by, I'm seeing improvements.

Guess that's it.