Expected F Stop.

[Grabble]

Just a quick query as I'm planning on messing about with my Nikon D80 to take some photos of my newish nano to chart it's progress.

Assuming I put it in shutter priority mode on a shutter speed of 1/125 or there abouts to try to capture fish without blurring what sort of aperture range am I likely to be able to play with under 3xT5 lights? Will I be ok using a Nikon 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 G AF-S DX VR Lens for example or is a dedicated macro better?

[KROS]

depends where on that huge zoom range you plan on sitting, on 1/125 i doubt you will get anything other than under-exposure and well under-exposure on the longer end of that lens, at the short to mid range i reckon you might get away with f4 or f5.6 if you want sharpness, dont think you will get up to f.8 where i think that lens is at its sharpest

[Interzone]

ISO dependant of course. Sorry to sound negative but wouldn't it have been quicker just to do a quick test!

[Alastair]

Depends what sort of view you want to get.. a macro for the nice close-ups, but I've used anything from an ultra-wide angle for FTS and a fast 50mm for moderate close-ups.

Take some test shots.. that at least sets a baseline for giving advice on what you might need to change to improve.

[KROS]

ISO dependant of course. Sorry to sound negative but wouldn't it have been quicker just to do a quick test!

Ha, yes, there is that too! its digital, wont cost you anything but some of your time to find out definitevely!
ISO will be a big player too, if its only going to be viewed at screen res you can probably ramp the ISO up quite high and not worry about noise too much, this will allow you smaller apertures for sharpness if you like, although im not sure shutter priority on a new nano (have you fish yet?) is the way to go. As focal length can kinda dictate what shutter speed you need

[Grabble]

aye if I were at home and with the camera I'd do just that but as I was reading through the threads on here I figured I'd ask if anyone else used a similar setup... that lens is a fairly common combination with Nikons given its versatility. Guess I'll just go and have a play with it later on tonight...

[edit] and no, no fish in there at the moment, a variety of snails, a hermit crab and a peppermint shrimp upstairs. This was more of a case of trying to gauge what I'll be able to manage given a fairly common setup that other people have far more experience with.

[KROS]

If you have no fish i wouldnt worry too much about having a fairly fast shutter speed, you have a VR lens if you have no tripod. If you can use a tripod turn the VR off and use a longer exposure that will allow you to stop down to F8 or beyond if you like. Id be more inclined to shoot on aperture priority, dial in F8 and see what it gives you.
I use a d80, dont have that lens but i still couldnt tell you definitely what settings its going to want to use, depends on all sorts of things, how much sand is in your shot, colour of your background, height of lights above your subject, all sorts!

Put up some pics that you managed to get

[Grabble]

STILL not had chance to have a fiddle with the camera near the tank... but yes, I will slap up some photos as soon as I get the chance and get some advice...