Digital pics

[reefer]

anyone have good advice on the first book to buy for getting results with a digi cam...im talking complete novice here http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif ..not for me i have a friend who has a reef tank and this friend asked me to post for him http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[tuan]

tell your 'friend' to read this: http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=59251

but don't tell him in public 'cos people will think you're talking to yourself. http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[reefer]

hi tuan my m8 said thanks for that..seems like a good start..so he says anyway http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif
but theres gotta be a book or something someone can recomend http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[Mushroom]

Seems like the trick to get good reef tank photos is to get a camera with good macro. Now depending on the size of your tank this could mean £200+ for a small tank and £400+ for a big tank. Think about how often you will buy new stock as that's the time you will want to share your photo with others. I would not recommend someone to spend £200+ just to take tank photos every couple of months.

Fish are much harder to photo than corals as they move. With corals a better picture can be obtained if it is closer to the front glass. Always use the macro option on the camera, change the settings from auto to manual, turn off flash for most corals pics and change the white balance to cool white if your camera does not have a manual white balance option. Change the EV to something like -0.9 if you are shooting into a metal halide tank.

Always take at least 2 or 3 shots of the same corals, from different angles if possible. Depending on your camera half press the shutter button and try to keep your hand as stable as possible (or use a tripod) before pressing the shutter all the way down. There would be a short delay before the picture is taken and that is the moment when your hand should be as still as possible.

Your camera should come with a photo library problem that would enable you to cut and paste specific areas of a photo, and change the resolution to something like 640x480.

Your photo would still likely be too large to be published onto the web. I use a free program (downloadable free of charge from most window utilities download site out there) called DCEnhancer. It enables me to save the image to about half the size but still retains about 70% quality of the original picture. Don't use its image enchancing options unless your photo is too dark or too blurry, as an enchanced photo looks very unnatural.

Finally, the hard bit of uploading the image onto your website which is by far the best option as you can link it directly to the post using the [IMG] tag. Most ISP offers free webspace. As a last resort, you can put the image on one of those free web photo library but most people hate those as adverts pop-up. Or you can upload your image directly into this site as Doh has explained in the other thread.

[reefer]

errr cheers mushroom but when i said novice..i didnt mean quiet that novice http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
im using a fuji602zoom and get quiet good pics by using the macro or super macro in full auto mode and manual focus, but really looking to move on from there..i know this cam can perform ten times better..just look at lisa`s pics
kinda like buying a porsche and never getting it out of first gear http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif

[mridley]

reefer you could always try this one I can recommend the author *http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec....1659624 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1861082428/qid=1037059609/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/026-2647512-1659624)

[diadema]

Reefer.... you might want to have a play with the "spot metering" facility your camera offers. The difference you can get out of a photo by just playing with this is rediculous. There's a good article on reefcentral about it.... I'll try to find the URL.

D.

[Mushroom]

Reefer of course I know you can take decent enough pics already as I have seen your photos, I wrote all that for anyone who is a complete novice as you call "your friend". http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

I think it would be silly to compare your pictures with that of Lisa or mridley. They are both very well known "worldwide" for the quality of their pics and I'm not sure but I think mridley is a professional photographer.

While you may have more or less the same camera as Lisa, I am sure she can tell you there is much more to photography than the camera. And I doubt if some books can suddenly make you into a "professional photographer" if you see what I mean. Having said that, mridley is using a £2000+ camera so even Lisa cannot hope to be able to match the quality of his pics.

[diadema]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Mushroom @ Nov. 12 2002,14:26)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Having said that, mridley is using a £2000+ camera so even Lisa cannot hope to be able to match the quality of his pics.[/b][/quote]
What a load of aptasia! http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

If I go and blow £20k on a reef set up does that make it an automatic success with little or no input from me???

Conversely, If I now go out and buy a Canon EOS-1D does that mean my photo's will automatically be fantastic?

We all have to start somewhere and a good book on Digital photography has a lot to offer. You may not be a "professional" but you'd be a damn site better off than just click and hope!

D.

[diadema]

Macro photography:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec....8026039 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0715308009/qid=1037112720/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/026-3008558-8026039)

And another:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec....8026039 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1584280263/qid=1037112720/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_0_3/026-3008558-8026039)

AAAAAnd another:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec....8026039 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811724573/qid=1037112873/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_0_3/026-3008558-8026039)


D.



Last edited by diadema at Nov. 12 2002,15:03

[reefer]

hi mushroom
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I think it would be silly to compare your pictures with that of Lisa or mridley[/b][/quote]
i was only comparing them to lisa`s just to get the point over that this cam can take better pics than what i can currently do with it
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">And I doubt if some books can suddenly make you into a "professional photographer[/b][/quote]
yup but im not looking to become one i just would like to get more from my camera than i currently do..hence id like to read a few books on the subject http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blush.gif
diadema..cheers for those links and mark for the book reference..i noticed the last name was the same as yours http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif ..bro im guessing http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[mridley]

Reefer yep your right http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[simonh]

Okay... not a book but a useful tutorial on what the controls on the more advanced camera's do:

http://www.webslr.com

Only limited access without paying but still gives you somethings to play with http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif



Last edited by simonh at Nov. 12 2002,01:35

[Lisa Page]

Reefer,

The best suggestion I can make is..... practice, practice, practice! I think that my shots have improved a lot in the year that I've had this camera and that's simply due to taking lots of shots and experimenting with the camera.

Regards

Lisa

[tuan]

The best thing about a digi cam is that you can take thousands of pics and not worry about costs.

Even better still is that the camera stores the settings with each photo, so you know exactly what shutter speed, apeture etc.. was used. A huge leap forward from the days when you have to meticulously write them down in the vain hope that when you receive the developed photos you can work it all out again.

If you look at sites like www.pbase.com - and look at other people's photos, you can find out what camera they used and how they took the photo (well, almost all the info is there).

e.g. www.pbase.com/reefhaven (http://www.pbase.com/reefhaven) for a few of my attempts. Oh.. don't click on original unless you have broadband!



Last edited by tuan at Nov. 13 2002,10:54

[reefer]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Even better still is that the camera stores the settings with each photo, so you know exactly what shutter speed, apeture etc.. [/b][/quote]

no way, your kidding http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif i know i should RTFM..but little point in the right direction would be nice http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[tuan]

It stores it as part of the JPEG files for each pic. For whatever software you use to view the pic - look for "Image Information" or "Image property" etc...

Go to the pbase site I posted, look at the pics, at the bottom it tells you which camera and settings.

[tuan]

For example, MGI Photo Suite has menu "Image -> Information" giving you this:-
http://www.ultimatereef.net/ibv3/iB_html/uploads/post-12-35187-EXIF.gif



Last edited by tuan at Nov. 13 2002,23:53

[Alpha]

Guys dont know much about books as I just take loads and sift through them later deleting the crap. Thank god for big memory cards.

This is literally my advice to any budding David Baily. take a piccy, take it again and if its something you dont want to miss once again. I use my digital camera whilst diving in the UK (not the clearest of waters I know) and I have had some excellent results, although admittedly I have had some absolute crap as well http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif .

My camera is the cheapy Olympus D490, and I bought this coz I could get a waterproof housing. Looking forward to adding some stock to photograph and post to astound you all (laughs) http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

anyway heres a few piccies from my UK dive trip this year, slightly off subject but just goes to show u dont need to spend thousands for decent piccies.


http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/fishy.jpg

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/squatty.jpg

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/anemones.jpg

Alpha http://www.ultimatereef.com/ibv3/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

[Mushroom]

Alpha I think there is quite a difference between shooting underwater and shooting through glass. I use a worse camera than you and yes in my small tank I can get some ok shots if the corals are close to the front glass. In underwater you can just move closer to the object to get a better shot which you clearly cannot do in an aquarium.

[Alpha]

I know mushy but the point of the message was that you dont need a 2k camera to get a good shot just patience and several (if not hundereds) of goes.

Cheers m8

Alpha