Maybe I should post this on clubsnap or something but I reckon you guys have more experience in this area.
To take good full tank shot, how's a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens? Since I can cover the distance by moving around.
Does that f/1.8 make it sharper and brighter?
a tank shot is not that demanding, as long as you don't expect the fishes to be tack sharp. put it on a tripod and you should do fine with "relatively slow" shutter speeds e.g. 1/25-1/50
if your metering is working properly, an f/1.8 should NOT be brighter than an f/3 I guess
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
Won't f/1.8 at 50mm be brighter than f/5.6 at 50mm? More light in means I can have a faster shutter speed hence the fish looks sharp?
yes yes your f/1.8 is a faster lens so you can have faster shutter speed. but with a full tank shot, like I say, tack sharp fishes are not really that important, is it?
oh btw most of my pix are taken at 1/60 at macro working distances, so I doubt you will have much issue at 1/25-1/50 at full-tank distance.
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
It's a good lens to use for tank shots.
Keep your shutter speed above 1/60 so that the fishes are not too blur. Make sure the camera is mounted on a tripod. Block out all stray and ambient light.
Use centre weighted metering if unsure. If pictures looks over exposed, set exposure compensation on camera to -2 and use photo editing software to rescue the shadows.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
benny, I can shoot hand-held and hand-focus at 1/60should be no problem at all.
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
But if really shoot at f1.8 will mean the depth-of-field is very shallow. So not everything will be of the same sharpness ... right?
koah fong
Juggler's tanks
The main reason for me is AffordabilityEverything, including the fish, needs to be crisp sharp.
Yup, I need experts' point of view on this. But at 50mm, if let's say u work at 0.5m away from your subject, maybe got bokeh. For 2m or more, I'm not sure cuz I haven't got the chance to experiment with lenses.Originally Posted by juggler
But even if I do buy, it's ok. One of the cheapest lens around for this kinda wide aperture
KF is right, at f1.8 DOF will be too shallow and u wouldnt capture the entire tank, front to back in focus. move back and use a tripod, set to a smaller aperature. I find 50mm not really ideal for capturing the entiring tank. i prefer my kit len 18-55mm
if you got the room, you can shoot with 50mm or 100mm, the aperture isn't important (as in you shoot at f/8 - f/11) for depth of field.
But then again sometimes you like to shoot with bigger aperture or use a longer focal length (if space permits). If you look at some of Amano's photos of his tanks, sometimes I see fish in focus in the front and the plants slightly blur at the background. It gave a sense of "depth".
So getting a lens with wide aperture is of course good as you can have the option of stepping down to a smaller aperture when needed.
The 50/1.8 is the cheapest Canon lens with such big aperture. I have one too but frankly I rarely use it.
koah fong
Juggler's tanks
Just bought the 50mm f1.8, tried some shots of full tank at 2.8, fish very sharp but really shallow dof. Imagine 1.8 ... Haven't really get to know the characteristics yet but here's one cropped portion of a slightly bigger than 2 feet tank full shot resized using 60% smart resize(PSP). Full tank too ugly, next time then show
Settings: f/2.8, shutter:1/60 on tripod, lightings 36 watts over normal 2 feet, wb cloudy, iso100
suggest a smaller aperture and higher ISO. a good DSLR should be useable up to ISO400. But then again I still don't understand your needs. why are you shooting a full tank and still demanding tack sharp fishes, all of them? Looks like conflicting requirements. The solution to your problem is not a faster lens, but more lights.
Guess how Amano does it?
why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica
Guess I'm just a newbie and wanted to try everything new in the spur of the momentsuggest a smaller aperture and higher ISO. a good DSLR should be useable up to ISO400. But then again I still don't understand your needs. why are you shooting a full tank and still demanding tack sharp fishes, all of them? Looks like conflicting requirements. The solution to your problem is not a faster lens, but more lights.
Guess how Amano does it?
Hi Wong,Just bought the 50mm f1.8, tried some shots of full tank at 2.8, fish very sharp but really shallow dof
Settings: f/2.8, shutter:1/60 on tripod, lightings 36 watts over normal 2 feet, wb cloudy, iso100
Mind if you show a shot of a single fish in a bigger picture (640 x 480)? I would like to know what the difference of the picture as compared to using the kit lens.
You did not mention flash in your setting, so no flash?
Cheers,
Joe
Sure dude, probably later in the evening. But minimum focusing distance is quite long, at 0.45m, so you probably can't get extra big and detailed pencil fish
And yes, no flash. Just 36 watts over 2 footer. I think it's quite a good lense for fishtography, for bigger fishies.
I cropped a group of rasbora at 0% resize, 1 is too small
Here's a full tank pic resized to 1024 X 768 px, just to let you get the idea of how far I shot at.
All images as original, unedited
Yup, you are right about the DOF... it's really shallow. Even your blyxa/hairgrass (?) and your ferns have become a blur. Looking at your fishes, even they are close to each other, the ones behind have the bokeh effect.
But the fishes does stand out though... thanks for sharing the pics
Cheers,
Joe
Haven't got time to try 3.5 or 4.5 yet, maybe will be good. Later ....
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