Cant figure this out for the life of me!

[kobelka]

Hi all,
I have a Nikon d5100 dslr that I cant figure out!
It takes great pictures of my kids, family, dogs and everything I want it to..... Except when it comes to my tank.
I have read the manual and watched and read on the net on how to set the custom white balance but cant get it. Also I cant figure out how to take a pic without the flash?
I see the pics that many of you post and am in awe.
Any tips?
Anyone familiar with this camera?
Thanks
Dave

[fido19]

1)get a macro lens
2)use a uv filter on the lens (they are dirt cheap)
3)to turn of flash just go into manual or p mode
4)also autofocus may not be the best option try manual focus
5)having a stand will help a lot
6)try taking pictures from different angles (this can help you a lot with certain corals or frags)
7)i have used a nikon d5100 and have managed to get some decent pictures out of it and i am sure you will too
8)persistence is the key here

[toxic111]

First thing is to get it off the A setting for the flash. use M or S. I usually use S on mine to set the shutter speed I want.

For white balance get to it through the menu settings. I don't have a photo showing my setting but I use Fluorescent '6' Daylight, it seems to give me the best colours.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

Biggest issue of taking pictures of any type is lighting, any photographer will tell you.

Make sure the tank is lighted well and that should solve most of your problems.

Having a macro lense will help definately

manual focus is the key

[kobelka]

Lighting is the issue for sure. I can take clear pics of anything not lighted with a 14k pheonix! I assume its the white balance I need to figure out. When you snap a closeup of a SPS do you set the custom white balance with a piece of white plastic? Set it on auto? M? A? S? I guess its just alot of reading and trial and error to become a good reef photographer?
Any other advice?
Thanks so far.
Dave

[Nano]

play with your white balance, and ISO sensitivity as well, to find a setting you like, its really trial and error, I think I shoot, around 800-1600 ISO and white balance is manually set prior to shooting. shoot the pictures in the largest format you can so you can scale them down slightly afterwards, so they are a bit more crisp

[cav~firez22]

I wouldnt bother with UV, but definatly get a good Polorized filter. and as for whit balance, if you shoot in raw, then dont worry about it, do all your adjustments in photoshop or lightroom

[Jeff000]

Originally Posted by Nano

play with your white balance, and ISO sensitivity as well, to find a setting you like, its really trial and error, I think I shoot, around 800-1600 ISO and white balance is manually set prior to shooting. shoot the pictures in the largest format you can so you can scale them down slightly afterwards, so they are a bit more crisp

White Balance is the hardest part of taking a reef tank picture. It is so far into the blue that the camera may not even be able to go far enough, which means fixing it the rest of the way in post processing.

Always take pictures in the largest format the camera can, storage is cheap.

No reason to set your ISO at 800-1600, all you are doing is adding noise to the image. A reef tank has boat loads of light, you should be able to get a fast enough shutter speed to get a clear image via a tripod.
ISO 400 at most if you have a lower quality lens.

Originally Posted by cav~firez22

I wouldnt bother with UV, but definatly get a good Polorized filter. and as for whit balance, if you shoot in raw, then dont worry about it, do all your adjustments in photoshop or lightroom

I agree, don't bother with a UV, unless you are taking pictures above 6500 feet you'll never see the difference. And some say to protect the lens, but keep in mind you are degrading the image with every piece of glass you put in front of it. And an impact that wouldn't mark your lens would shatter the UV filter and now you have lots of glass to scratch the lens, glass scratches glass easy.

A polarizing filter is great to have if you shoot outdoors with water or sky in the image. But for a fish tank... not so useful.



You almost always have to do post processing.

[Slick Fork]

Use a tripod and aperture priority mode to get the depth of field you want. Depending on lighting and your camera you can be between ISO 400-800 (1600 on mine) before you see any real "noise" in the image.

UV and polarizing filters aren't really useful in fishtanks, at least I haven't found them to be.

As for white balance, I shoot in RAW mode and then adjust on my computer when developing the shots.

Biggest tip though is just shoot and shoot and then shoot some more, it doesn't cost you anything but your time and practice is the only surefire way to get to know your camera!

[kobelka]

Thanks. I did also end up getting an 85 mm macro lense. That is nice. When shooting in raw is there a certain program you use when adjusting pics on your computer?