Photograhy of tank under halides

[funkyparott]

Hi

I have had a search, but I can't find any guides on UR about how to take photos of a fish tank!

I've got the Canon EOS350d.

I suspect this will involve using a tripod, no flash and shooting in RAW so white balance can be altered in photoshop (or similar). Should I be shooting in aperature priority mode? I feel a bit stupid asking!

Does anyone have any recommended settings for shooting with a digital SLR. I'm sure these won't be specific to any particular manufacturer?

Cheers

FP

[bristol_rich]

Stick it in Macro mode no flash and click away, thats what i do fo the minute until i get used to actually taking good clear photos and then id start worrying about diffrent modes and the like:thumbsup:

[funkyparott]

Cheers Mate,

I will give it a go!

FP

[wez130]

Canon dSLR's don't have macro mode, what lenses do you have for it?

Your best bet is a macro lens so bristol rich was kind of right, however, a lot of people don't have a macro lens, and you're looking at about £250 for a 100mm macro lens, so, if you don't have a lens capable of close to subject photogaphy, then you're gonna have to invest, the cheapest option is the one i use, i bought alens reversing ring from ebay and mounted a cheap 35-80 lens onto my camera - reversed, you can get some great results from this setup, and your closest focus is literally a couple of cm, this will cost you about £10 for the ring and £25 for the 35-80 lens, only problem with this is you lose aperture control and AF, the trick with aperture control is to set yr aperture to F/11 say, hold DoF preview button (the button next to the lens) then release the lens whilst holding the button. Just to show you what you can acheive with this setup, here's a couple of samples of mine, not fishy but still very good examples...

http://www.wesleybrookes.co.uk/pics/fly2_filtered.jpg

http://www.wesleybrookes.co.uk/pics/pics1/tickcreature_filtered.jpg

The magnification on these is approx. 1.8:1, a normal 100mm macro can only achieve 1:1 magnification, as indeed can almost any macro lens, except the Canon MP-E65, which can get 5:1 magnification, but you're talking 6-700 quid for that.

Another option is a Raynox lens, about £50 but this sticks on the end of your normal lens so you maintain full control of your lens.

Another lens to consider is the Sigma 17-70 F/2.8-4, it's a cracking lens and not too expensive, gives you 1:2 maginification, which is plenty for your tankm it's fast at the wide end so good in low light, it's renowned to be a good sharp lens and it's not too heavy.

Hope that helps you :)

[funkyparott]

Cheers Wez

I did purchase a Sigma telephoto lense for my camera a couple of years back.

I will check the model when I get back. It is a telephoto lense with a macro setting. I don't suppose it is going to be great as I was on a budget when I got it.

Bascially, there is a switch you set on the lense which locks the unit into Macro mode.


PS. That first pic of the fly is outstanding!
:)

[wez130]

i'm guessing it's the 75-300 APO, it does have a macro mode, (any lens with magnification of 1:4 has a macro mode), though it's not true macro, the most important thing is the focal distance, you need to be able to focus as close as maybe 4-5 inches to get an 'in focus' shot of your fish, especially if it's at the front of the tank because, idealy you need to put your lens against the glass and use the flash, having your lens against the glass means you won't have the flash reflecting back into your lens.