Camera suggestions.

eupterus · Post by **eupterus** » 01 Apr 2006, 00:11

I have been looking at the quality of phots on these posts and am quite frankly jealous. I also admit that I know nothing about photography. Can anyone suggest a good quality idiot proof camera which would be good for photographing my tanks and my fish. I have just started successfully spawning some cory species and want to keep a photo log af growth and development so want something that can cope with macro. Help please

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Apr 2006, 00:42

The Nikon Coolpix series are pretty good.

Waldo · Post by **Waldo** » 01 Apr 2006, 01:57

It depends on what your going to be doing with them. If you are printing you pictures the your megapixals are going to matter. If you doing pictures for your computer it doesn't matter.

Nikons are spendy but their pixals are better.

Best bang for your buck. go to a pawn shop. get a camera. play with it. there are things you can do to take better pictures of your fish.

The biggest problem is focus. Most cameras are automatic, however they have settings to say focus between 3 and 10 ft. Some cameras have what is called a Micro option. The settings on the camera might show a box with a dot in the center, or a flower. This means your taking really close up pictures of something that doesn't move. When taking a picture the button you push usually has a stop. In other words if you push it down all the way it will jam somewhere in the middle. This point is where your camera will focus. the rest of the way down it will take a picture. Most people just hit the button. Focus move in or out to get the item you want to be concentrated on then click the rest of the way.

The other big thing is flash. I prefer filling lighting from another sourse as flash can give off irredescents the fish normally doesn't have or you can see through the fish. If you use a seperate light you will see better results.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 03 Apr 2006, 17:56

Ok, so any decent modern Digital camera will have more megapixels than you can usefully use on a web-site or posting in a forum. And unless you want to print your own posters, you'll have decent print quality from it too, without spending lots of money.

Where some do better than others is in the Macro function (Waldo, Micro isn't the same as Macro!), where you can take close-ups of (for example) fish. As Waldo correctly mentiones, the camera will probably have a Macro-mode, for close-ups of small objects.

And it's a good idea to let the camera focus properly before firing the shutter off - some camera do this quicker than others, but for fish that don't move about too much, you're probably fine with just about any of the modern digital cameras.

If you can try the camera out in the shop, try taking a photo of a coin or something like that. A 50p piece would be a good measure of medium-sized fish - bigger things will obviously work only better, so I wouldn't worry about that end of the scale, but if you can get a good shot of a coin, you've got a camera that is good.

Finally, anything called "Digital zoom" is just "snake-oil" or "bottled air" that they are selling you. If you MUST do this (take the middle of the picture and make it larger), you're much better off taking the picture with the camera as is, and then manipulate it in some photo software - it'll do a better job than the camera itself. So ignore whatever they say about digital zoom and look at any optical zoom.

If you are really into photography and plan on taking photos of OTHER things, particularly those moving quickly, you may want to have a look at a digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera, which has interchangable lenses. Now, we're talking something that will take just about about photo and do it really well too - but we're also looking at the better part of a grand, or at least several hundred pounds. Canon EOS 350D is a good choice here [that's what Jools just recently got]. You'll probably also want a Macro lens to go with it, there's plenty of choices, but adds another couple of hundred, as will a decent external flash... I have pretty much that setup, except I've got a EOS 10D which has less megapixels and is a bit older than the 350D.

Oh, and once you've got some decent pictures, you'll need to have a photo editor (like PhotoShop) to make them really goood - most importantly, quite often you'll want to crop a little bit off, but also adjusting colours, contrast, levels and stuff. This is particularly the case if you go the DSLR route [because they don't attempt to "fix" things in the camera as much as the simpler Point&Shoot cameras]. You usually get this software with the camera, so it's not an extra cost, but it's important to learn how to use it - and this is a gradual process. The first few attempts may be just a small adjustment, but as you learn more, you get used to changing more...

--
Mats

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 03 Apr 2006, 21:16

I went with the middle-of-the-road option and haven't been run over yet. It's a Nikon Coolpix 4200. Not too many zoom features, but the macro feature is quite nice and easy to find. A red hand pops up and tells you if the picture will come out blurry. If we haven't confused you enough, extra memory and an extra battery are a good idea, from my experience. It's another thing that needs to be factored into the cost.

Amanda

Waldo · Post by **Waldo** » 04 Apr 2006, 02:31

Oops MatsP is right.

Thats what I get for talking to myself. My own language only I know what I'm talking about.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 04 Apr 2006, 09:19

I few more tips....

1) Have LOTS of patience. You will spend hours before you get anywhere near a good shot.

2) Clean the glass in and out. Big difference.

3) Mess around with the "white balance" as this will dramatically change the appearance of your shots. The camera usually gets it wrong on auto.

4) Don't bother with flash. If you can't afford the fancy lighting, just use a small LED torch. As long as it comes in from a different angle to the camera, it should help the camera to focus.

5) Mess around with the sensitivity control (basically the same as exposure). Again don't set it on automatic, the camera will mess it up!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 04 Apr 2006, 10:39

More tips:
Get yourself a tripod. It's a pain sitting there with the camera at hand, waiting for the fish to come out - especially that new one that you SOO MUCH want to get a shot of, and that hides as soon as you move more than a finger. If you can leave the camera aimed roughly at the right place, without getting muscle-ache and can keep at it for some time...

There's typically two fish-problems with fish photography:
1. Fish that move. You have to wait for them to stop a bit...
2. Fish that hide. You ahve to wait for them to come out...

You also have a problem with "darkness", since many catfish only come out when the tank-light is off - and if you keep catfish that aren't nocturnal, they most often don't like really bright lights anyways, so it's still going to be pretty dark...

agree and disagree with racoll - builtin flash in a small Point&Shoot camera is almost always next to useless. A decent (add-on) flash on a DSLR works quite well as long as you understand when to use it and when not... Like all tools, there's a right way and a wrong way to use it...

--
Mats