Silver Lining in my CLOUD!

[Myteemouse]

I actually cheat and put the lens of the camera directly on the glass (gently) so my camera doesn't move.

 

[TJL]

Hey Kirk, I do already have a tri-pod and thanks once again Adam as that its been over 20 years since I played with slr (old Minolta 35mm) Having fun though a little frustrating re-learning the lingo and effects of settings. But here is my first handfull of pics up for critique. All pics untouched/edited.

Fully manual shots

Acans 1 exp = 1/10, F/6.3, ISO-100 with 55-200mm zoom

Red Yuma 1 exp 1/20, F/6.3, ISO-100, w/ 18-55mm zoom

T. crocea 1 exp 1/10, F/5.6, ISO-100, 200mm zoom

Giant Palys 1 exp 1/10, F/8, ISO-100, 200mm

M. spongodes 1 exp 1/8, F/5.6, ISO-100, 200mm

Then I tried a few in Guide Mode: see below

 

[TJL]

Guide Mode shots with manual focus only, realized that I need to also adjust my ISO setting next time.

Zoa field 1 exp= 1/40, F/5.6, ISO-800, 55mm

Green Brain 1 exp 1/40, F/5.6, ISO-800, 55mm

Favia 1 exp 1/60, F/5.6, ISO-560, 55mm

and one last fully manual of my Fungia 1 exp 1/6, F/22, ISO-100, 55mm

So, ready for some feedback from the pros.

Cheers, Todd

 

[Peppie]

It didnt take you long to get on the right track. I think the pics are very well done.

 

[TJL]

When it comes next for your purchases...spend your money wisely on lenses rather than upgrading your camera right away.

Yes, already looking into a nice macro... any suggestions ???

Todd

 

[user 2204]

First set of picutres look great. Start playing with your ISO more (up it) and change your F/stop setting to allow a more light in. A couple of the photos were to dark. Bump your ISO up as high as you need to to get somewhere between 1/30th and 1/60th shutter speed.

Example is:
ISO = 800
F/2.8
and shutter speed of 0.013

If you're looking for a nice macro lens you can't go wrong with either a Tamron, Tokina or Nikkor lens. Also depends on what your budget is like for lens purchase. Be sure to buy a fast lens. Stick with f/2.8 or faster lens.

One last note is, I’d much rather have a grainy shot than a blurry one and use the noise reduction tools in Lightroom after the shoot. Don't be afraid of touching up photos.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Myteemouse]

Sorry to be a bummer but high ISO gives you grainy shots when zooming in on the photo itself..
One way I check the clarity of my shots is I zoom in on the pic as close Ias I can in photo shop and see if its grainy or blurry. HIGH ISO will do bad things.

 

[CoralPropsMichael]

In the higher end "prosumer" DSLR cameras, the sensors are much "smarter," and able to handle higher ISOs, without getting grainy, to a point.

I'm not sure where your Nikon's limit will be, but with my Canon 7D, I can jack the ISO up to 1000, easily, without effecting picture quality. I could never have done this, with my Canon Rebel Xt. I'd imagine your Nikon will be very similar. This isn't at all the case, with the consumer DSLRs, such as the Canon Rebels, or the Nikon D series.

That being said, only bump your ISO as much as you need to. I'd suggest keeping it around 400, and playing around with your shutter speed and aperture settings, to effect light, from there.

In reading the EXIF data, of the photos you posted, most are taken with a shutter speed that's a bit slow. This will enhance any camera movement, even the pressing of the shutter button.

Don't mess with any of the "scenery settings," at all. Concentrate on getting a good picture, and those "enhancements" won't be needed. Those are just ways of making the camera compensate for a less than quality photo.

Shoot in Manual Mode or Av Mode (Aperture Priority).

Change your focus point to "center," or "spot metering." This will make the camera focus on a smaller area, instead of "averaging" the focus of the entire scene. This will result in a much sharper image, since you're controlling where the camera focuses, instead of letting it figure it out, itself.

So far, your first set of photos are really good!

 

[user 2204]

Here is an example of a high ISO with a nice DSLR Canon. 1600 ISO. If you do a quick search on reef aquarium photography and ISO, most will say that the higher ISO is a plus and not a bad thing at all.

Nemo and Dory in Seattle Aquarium | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Higher ISO helps capture more light into the photo along with aperture and shutter speed.

 

[user 2204]

In the higher end "prosumer" DSLR cameras, the sensors are much "smarter," and able to handle higher ISOs, without getting grainy, to a point.

I'm not sure where your Nikon's limit will be, but with my Canon 7D, I can jack the ISO up to 1000, easily, without effecting picture quality. I could never have done this, with my Canon Rebel Xt. I'd imagine your Nikon will be very similar. This isn't at all the case, with the consumer DSLRs, such as the Canon Rebels, or the Nikon D series.

That being said, only bump your ISO as much as you need to. I'd suggest keeping it around 400, and playing around with your shutter speed and aperture settings, to effect light, from there.

In reading the EXIF data, of the photos you posted, most are taken with a shutter speed that's a bit slow. This will enhance any camera movement, even the pressing of the shutter button.

Don't mess with any of the "scenery settings," at all. Concentrate on getting a good picture, and those "enhancements" won't be needed. Those are just ways of making the camera compensate for a less than quality photo.

Shoot in Manual Mode or Av Mode (Aperture Priority).

Change your focus point to "center," or "spot metering." This will make the camera focus on a smaller area, instead of "averaging" the focus of the entire scene. This will result in a much sharper image, since you're controlling where the camera focuses, instead of letting it figure it out, itself.

So far, your first set of photos are really good!

+1 to what Michael has mentioned.

 

[user 2204]

Not sure on the D3100, but the D5100 is capable of a 6400 ISO.

 

[returnofsid]

The Canon 7D is capable of ISOs up to 6400 and expandable to 12800. I've shot at ISO of 1600, with no visible grain, unless it was a really dark photo, and then there was a slight graininess. I've experimented with taking a lot of photos, at ISO 1000-1200, and pixel peeping. No graininess at all.

Nikon rates their ISO kinda strange...lol.

The D3100 is capable of up to ISO 3200 in standard settings, up to 6400 in Hi-1 and up to 12800, in Hi-2. Again, I'd always try to keep the ISO as low as possible, given the lighting situation. But with the 3100, there should be absolutely no problem with graininess, even up to ISO 1000.

 

[Myteemouse]

manual settings. iso 100 fstop 5.8 shutter speed 1/10 18-55mm lens canon XSI

 

[Myteemouse]

same with this one except the shutter speed was 1/25 i think

 

[returnofsid]

manual settings. iso 100 fstop 5.8 shutter speed 1/10 18-55mm lens canon XSI

Adam, are you positive about those settings? In viewing the EXIF data, of this photo, I'm showing completely different settings. Maybe my EXIF viewer is messed up...lol. I suppose I could run an update, on the Exif Viewer. Here's what I'm showing, for Basic Exif Data, for this particular photo.

EXIF IFD0

* Camera Make {0x010F} = Canon
* Camera Model {0x0110} = Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
* Picture Orientation {0x0112} = normal (1)
* Last Modified Date/Time {0x0132} = 2010:11:07 07:56:31

EXIF Sub IFD

* Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) {0x829A} = 1/15 second ===> 0.06667 second
* Lens F-Number / F-Stop {0x829D} = 10/1 ===> ƒ/10
* ISO Speed Ratings {0x8827} = 400
* Original Date/Time {0x9003} = 2010:11:06 14:52:54
* Shutter Speed Value (APEX) {0x9201} = 262144/65536
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time) = 1/16 second
* Aperture Value (APEX) {0x9202} = 434176/65536
Aperture = ƒ/9.93
* Flash {0x9209} = Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
* Focal Length {0x920A} = 55/1 mm ===> 55 mm
* Image Width {0xA002} = 2187 pixels
* Image Height {0xA003} = 1428 pixels

 

[Myteemouse]

Oh crap your right I [posted the wrong pic.. MY BAD. I forgot that one was under a ledge so I had to crank up the iso to get enough light! LOL thanks mike.

 

[returnofsid]

By the way Exif viewers are a great way to learn, by being able to see the settings used, to take various photos. There are exif viewers available, as add-ons, for most browsers. Then, when you see a photo you like, you can view the Exif data, to learn what settings were used, to take the photo.

 

[mfinn]

Pretty darn nice pictures so far.

 

[TJL]

Thanks everyone, for all this great information. I played around with higher ISO #'s and tried my hand at capturing fish images as well. Now I really feel like crud, chest-cold into head-cold then spending 2 hours hunched over trying to take pics of my ever swimming Tangs & Wrasses my back aches as well :Cry: I'll go through them tomorrow then post round two.

Cheers, Todd

 

[eww]

These shots are great Todd. Aren't these camera's so much of an improvement over the ol' point n shoot? I haven't been playing with ours much over the last several months but I did just break it out the other night for the fist time and got a few decent shots. One other thing I have also found is that if you can get the room as dark as possible it helps with glare and unwanted light in the shots. This way you can pull back from the tank a bit if you are trying to photograph something right close to the glass/acrylic that you are shooting through. I usually wait until it's dark outside but that's tough this time of year as the tank lights are out by the time it gets dark. Great job so far though buddy and take it freaking easy on yourself so you get better. We need to put those last few windows and your DR door in soon.