by GreatBarrierReef » Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:09 pm
Obet, same tayo cam.. I have some points on taking reef tanks, i'm not that pro but i have some idea that quite work well. Pabackup nlng sa mga pro...
*turn off your pump.. For a better lps shot.
1. Shoot in manual, manual focus and save it in raw.
2. Set your iso to 200-800. ( you can also try higher iso but will suffer to a grainy output)
3. Always shoot perpendicular to you tank.
4. Use LCD screen instead of the optical view finder( which some of the photogs prefer using optical view finder)
Now... Setting your aperture and shutter will depend on what youre built in light meter tells you.It depends on the environment where your tank is placed. if your in a close room or have open windows that will contribute as additonal lightsource in your tank..
Usually, you can first set your aperture f/8 if you want that some of your background ls to be in focus, using lower number like f/1.8 will give you a shallow depth of field meaning all objects that are not in focus will be blurry, a nice efect if you want that. Set your shutter to 1/50 ( IMO standard should be 1/125 but if you cant get this shutter reading because of the less light source, you can lower it down to 1/50, lower than this will result to a blurry shoot because of hand will surely move before the shutter complete its working.. ) Then focus on the ls and try to half press, you'll see at the bottom the light meter reading, if the red bar is on the left side , it means the shot will be underexpose and if its on the right side it will be over expose otherwise it will be on the correct exposure. Over or under expose doesnt mean you will not get a good shot, it depends on what you prefer.
Take your shot. If its too dark, try set the aperture 2steps lower, if its f/8 try to make it f/6 , then try again, until you reach your biggest aperture opening let say f/2.8, now if its dark for you, try to set higher ISO if its 200, 400,800 and so on.. Now after all that adjustment and the shot is quite dark, it's time to adjust your shutter. If its on 1/50 now, you can try if you can stabilize handling it at 1/30 , if its blurry, you have to used tri-pod or placed it on a table chair anthing you can place your cam and set timer to 10sec. I think that the basic setup for a good exposure.
One thing, you can use bulb settings for much lower shutter speed like 30sec, you can use this if you want to expose a subject on a very low light source like under actinic light. Shooting on bulb will give you a better color and dont forget to use tripod for this.. Hth... Pa comment nrin sa mg pro.. Bka may mali... Tnx...
Last edited by
GreatBarrierReef on Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.