Stan is getting a new camera!!

[valice]

The number of flash-guns is dependent also on the scape. If you have alot of shady areas and wish to light them up slightly, you need to place flashes to cover those areas.

So a 3ft tank can also use up 4-5 guns. That's why Amano uses studio strobes for his tank photography.

Oh.. that's a cheaper alternative. Get those cheap 20-30 bucks slave flashes instead of a flash gun.

PS: seems like my-mac doesn't allow hotlinking of pictures and things to other places.

[bclee]

BCLee, Ah- so the SU800 is saves the hassle of glass reflection. I'm already thinking how to shoot something like this.


Copyright belong to ADA

The tank is 5ft wide [like mine].
I was told in APF that i need like 4-5 flashguns. I noticed that my Depth of field is like nothing even at f8.
Noticed that Amano's pictures are usually set at f22 or f32. That's crazy.

I think I would need separate lighting for the bg. 2 flash units.
and two for the tank. I would also need some space to light the bg.

I haven't tried this but this is what I would rather do. I would get a TTL cord SC-28 or 29 for the SB-800. Use the SB-800 as the commander and a flash itself. There would only be one cord. Not too bad and it is a cheaper to do that.

BC

[StanChung]

Hi BC, That thought crossed my mind. The SC 28/29, do you know what's the difference? Read SC 29 has AF illuminator assist. [that probably means Flash illuminator can light up for AF to work in dark situations]

The sc 24 i have kept tipping the camera over. I have a feeling it's going to be the same as i need some distance between camera and 5ft tank.

Vincent, I'm sure to have lots of shadow areas! lol. Even for my 3ft tank. I think i'd take care of that bu propping up some fluorescents to fill. [might not if the colour temp is way off though.]

ps. This pic is actually hotlinked from my-mac...you probably have to join or something? [sometimes it loads sometimes it doesn't? ]

[bclee]

Hi BC, That thought crossed my mind. The SC 28/29, do you know what's the difference? Read SC 29 has AF illuminator assist. [that probably means Flash illuminator can light up for AF to work in dark situations]

The sc 24 i have kept tipping the camera over. I have a feeling it's going to be the same as i need some distance between camera and 5ft tank.

Vincent, I'm sure to have lots of shadow areas! lol. Even for my 3ft tank. I think i'd take care of that bu propping up some fluorescents to fill. [might not if the colour temp is way off though.]

ps. This pic is actually hotlinked from my-mac...you probably have to join or something? [sometimes it loads sometimes it doesn't? ]

In that case SU-800 may be the way to go for you.

But then, with those $$$ for SU-800 & SB-800s, you can actually get a couple small studio strobes. You might want to consider that option too.

BC

[eddyq]

This thread is so boring when one does not have money to buy D200, D80, SU-800, 1DMKIII, FMII, BH55, Feisoi 3401, etc... but must admit they make good photographs.

[valice]

Don't worry eddy, it is the person behind the equipment and not the equipment infront of the person that makes good picture. And that's what I what I keep telling myself.

I want my 30D! Who wants to buy a 2nd hand 350D?

[StanChung]

It's not a race to keep up with the joneses! We all want the best equipment but there is no end in sight if we want to chase or keep up.

BC, you're right about the strobes. I don't mind investing if I see myself doing a lot of studio stuff.

[benny]

Boys...the secret to great pictures....

"It's the setup, not the setting. It's the technique, not the camera."

Cheers,

[bclee]

It's not a race to keep up with the joneses! We all want the best equipment but there is no end in sight if we want to chase or keep up.

BC, you're right about the strobes. I don't mind investing if I see myself doing a lot of studio stuff.

Studio is FUN!!!

BUY!

BC

[StanChung]

BC, My my...legs are wet but not diving headlong into it yet!

Benny, you're like a broken record.
So far I haven't come up with a smarty pants reply yet except agree. Some guys take killer pix with good enough compacts!

[benny]

Benny, you're like a broken record.
So far I haven't come up with a smarty pants reply yet except agree. Some guys take killer pix with good enough compacts!

I know.. but sometimes it's heartbreaking to see folks putting hard earned savings into new equipment that they don't really need, thinking that it will improve their pictures by leaps and bounds. Then only to realise that it's was the same as before. For the same amount of money, they could have spent it on something to improve their setup instead and the returns would have been exponential.

I think choy is one great example of milking every last bit out of his compact (albeit advance compact) G5 before moving to something else. His old pictures from is G5 still surpasses a lot of the other folks with much fancier setups.

With limited resources, I would always go for the following (with reference to aquatic photography):

01. Cheap second hand DSLR body (6 megapixel and above is fine) - S$700 used
02. 100 mm macro lens - S$450 used
03. Flash with wireless capability - S$500 used
04. ST-E2 (or SU800) wireless transmitter - S$280 new

Total setup cost for taking cracking pictures...just under S$2000. And the great news is that it's getting cheaper every year!!

Cheers,

[hwchoy]

actually it is a good introduction to this genre of photography if you go my route. get a used G5/G6 (I dislike the G7 intensely), the flash setup (3 & 4 as per Benny's list), a +4 close up filter with adaptor, and you are in business.

As a newbie, the digicam gives much deeper DOF which means you have a better chance of getting focused pictures. you can also use the digicam vanilla for family events and outings.

Once you get the hang of it (in my case that meant 55,000 shots, each and every one firing the flash and ST-E2) you can decide if you want to go for a DSLR.

When I switched to a DSLR, it took a while to get used to and figuring out the ropes. Mostly its because the DOF is now so damn shallow, you get more good shots, but many of the shots are also don't quite make the mark due to really shallow DOF.

[StanChung]

Benny, Choy, YupX1000 + YeahX1000
To photograph what we photograph- tanks, fishes and plants, the key things we need are the 01-04 Benny has listed.
Though I'd also add a 14 mm for tank photography, some useful mags on digital photography and few coffee table photography books/mags for inspiration.

Shooting large tanks is dfficult as the coverage is larger.
Taking pix of fast swimming small fish is a real pain.
Getting nice CRS shots is not easy as the DOF is a so shallow.

I'll be shooting much more when I'm home. Discovered two of my lenses are fungused. argh. Also would need to get my macro and SB24 back[on loan to friend] or hunt for an SU800.

Question-Would a 60mm macro be more useful than a 100mm? The doubling effect of narrow frame digital makes it into a 120mm. I see bonuses as more DOF, less motion blur.

[hwchoy]

I thought Nikon sensors are 1.5× crop factor? which means a 60mm becomes 90mm.

[StanChung]

Oh ya oops!

[valice]

It depends on your working space.
If you shoot in a LFS, your 60mm will be very useful. Choy will appreciate this fact when shooting at the old EC.

Also the 60mm is much faster also in terms of AF given the shorter route it needs to search. Although this really shouldn't be a reason for using a 60mm.

As for shooting fish in a large tank, why not get a dedicated photo tank like Choy and benny. So what ever fish will only have limited swimming space. And no matter what fish, you don't need to move too much.

[hwchoy]

I think the 90-105mm range is a good compromise between working distance, weight and cost.

[StanChung]

Vincent, I think ideally it should be in it's 'green' surroundings. I've taken my discus out into 'studio' tanks and photograph them. I'd place them in front of the planted tank to get nice bg.

Another dumb question, do you guys use an IR focus trip? As in when something moves into focus, the shutter snaps.


*Moving them into studio tanks tend to make them stressed and pale. They sometimes feel ok after awhile like tetras but for discus they keep showing their stress bars and this is frustrating. Have to leave them for hours and the water gets dirty with a lot of floating particles.