what settings

[morgee]

hiii, my wife bought me a canon eos 1000 for xmas, ive taken some wicked pics but im struggling to take night pics of tank when just the moon lights are on.
can someone please tell me in siimple terms what the best setting are for me to use, i want to get the flourescence from corals so i dont want flash goin off.
thanks

[StuB]

First off, you're probably going to need a tripod. If the flash isn't firing you will need a long exposure, which means that you will need something to support the camera..

Now put the camera into aperture priority mode, open the aperture right up as wide as your lens will go (the smaller the f/number the wider the aperture).

There will almost certainly be movement blur though from things moving around in the water.. but that's something you'll just have to accept as a limitation... (or go off and learn lots about off-camera flash!)

[Alastair]

Tripod plus remote shutter release (or self-timer), flash-off, mirror lock-up (if the 1000D has this function), room lights off (including tv etc), tank pumps off.. then read back on this section of the forum as it's a question that's been answered lots of times..

You will probably need to use manual focus as the Canon AF will struggle without a good contrast target. Make sure you're far enough away to be able to get a focus (hint, it's written on the side of the lens).

Without a tripod you won't get an moonlight shot worth bothering with..


Then post a couple of images and let us know the camera settings (there isn't an auto setting worth using, so you'll need to practice in manual modes - use AV mode for aperture priority).