Bridge Camera for fish (cichlid) pictures?

[tankNZ]

I agree with that!

 

[robbins.photo]

But isn't the aperture on the olympus EPM2 too small on the smaller lenses for "action shots" of the fish? And I don't want to submerge the camera, my aquariums are on the small side for now. I have a 4' by 1' 55 gallon, and a 3' x 1.5' 40 gallon and a small 36" x 12" 20 gallon. These are the footprints of the aquariums, as I don't have the heights memorized.

There are too many choices lol. What is the advantage of mirrrorless? I asked a few people and they said to get the SX50 or the Canon Rebel ti, but these are just my friends who enjoy learning about photography.

What if I just blow the budget, get a canon t5i with the stock 18-55mm lens and see how that goes and eventually get a macro lens when I'm done paying off that bad boy lol.

Well if your going to blow the budget you might as well forgo the stock lens and get a prime of some sort, much faster glass that will give you much better lowlight abilities. Also you wouldn't have to blow your budget as bad as you might think. Take a look at a used Nikon D5100 (body only) and maybe a 50 mm 1.8 1.8 AF-S G. I recommend the Nikon over the Canon because they have much better high ISO/low noise than Canon, and in this situation that's a big deal.

Here are a couple of aquarium shots taken with a DSLR - these are with my D5200 and an 85 mm 1.8 AF-S G:


20140308_876 by robbins.photo, on Flickr


20140308_971 by robbins.photo, on Flickr


20140308_965 by robbins.photo, on Flickr

You could probably put together a D5100 and 50 mm 1.8 for a little less than $500, maybe less if your careful and watch some ebay auctions.

Those are some awesome photos. And me careful? you must have the wrong guy!!!! haha I have a hard time not buying everything that is shiny and cool! lol But thank you very much for your advice. I will continue researching a bit before I pull the trigger. Thanks for recommending Nikon as every review I see now they talk about it's better low light performance. I will post back when I am ready to buy or shortly after I do buy. It's so hard to sit back and learn all this theory about photography and not have a snazzy DSLR to test it out on...OK well maybe not hard, guess I just have to work on my patience a bit .

And for the rest of the comments, thanks for the advice but I really think I want to start out on an DSLR because I am a nerd, and I like anything techie.

Well you can most likely get by just fine with something like a d3200 and a 50 mm 1.8 g. That should easily be below 600 if you buy used or refurb. I'd check keh for the lens, i got a 50 mm from them for 150 as i recall.

The other camera body I'd look at would be a d5100, it will also be in the right price range. It has a 16mp sensor rather than a 24 like the 3200 but it has an articulating screen which could come in pretty handy for shooting your tanks at home.

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[BillM]

You can get the 3200 right now for $500 with the 18-55 MM lens

D3200 Nikon HDSLR Camera | Digital SLR Camera from Nikon

Or a refurb'd 5100 for less with the same lens

Refurbished Nikon D5100 DSLR | The New Nikon DSLR | 1080p HD Digital Video Camera

 

[philipgonzales3]

I think I am going to go pick up a D5200 with the 18-55 mm lens today and then buy the 50 mm 1.8 g lens from amazon as I have a 100 gift card to cover half. Is this the right lens?Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR FX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras:Amazon:Camera & Photo

I know it is over budget but still lol.

 

[robbins.photo]

Where are all the Professional Photographers. I wish I was the only one- I might get some work Visit my site http://www.bacphotography.fsbusiness.co.uk

Yup. But look at it as a long term investment. When you figure how many hours of enjoyment you get out of it and figure it that way, well not a lot of hobbies work out cheaper really.

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[philipgonzales3]

are you quoting someone from this thread? lol because I could not find that post. well anyway I picked up the D5200 with 18-55 VR kit lens and also a 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G lens as well for a 100 bucks for the extra lens. I have found a lot of the settings and even took some photos in manual mode where I controlled the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, manual focus and what not. I went from taking a picture that was black, to figuring out how to make the picture look like a picture. I of course have a long way to go but at least I have the equipment to get the job done. I will be grabbing the 50mm f/1.8 lens as soon as my amazon gift card comes in lol.

 

[robbins.photo]

are you quoting someone from this thread? lol because I could not find that post. well anyway I picked up the D5200 with 18-55 VR kit lens and also a 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G lens as well for a 100 bucks for the extra lens. I have found a lot of the settings and even took some photos in manual mode where I controlled the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, manual focus and what not. I went from taking a picture that was black, to figuring out how to make the picture look like a picture. I of course have a long way to go but at least I have the equipment to get the job done. I will be grabbing the 50mm f/1.8 lens as soon as my amazon gift card comes in lol.

Congrats. I think you'll really love the 5200, its a great camera.

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[philipgonzales3]

are you quoting someone from this thread? lol because I could not find that post. well anyway I picked up the D5200 with 18-55 VR kit lens and also a 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G lens as well for a 100 bucks for the extra lens. I have found a lot of the settings and even took some photos in manual mode where I controlled the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, manual focus and what not. I went from taking a picture that was black, to figuring out how to make the picture look like a picture. I of course have a long way to go but at least I have the equipment to get the job done. I will be grabbing the 50mm f/1.8 lens as soon as my amazon gift card comes in lol.

Congrats. I think you'll really love the 5200, its a great camera.

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Thanks, and thanks for all the help.