Taking pictures of my Reef Tank help

[Empire]

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

 

[nmoody]

Macro lenses can be expensive, a cheaper alternative is extension tubes. You lose some light with them but I assume the tank has light which might work. I have the Kenko ones which work well for me.

 

[Designer]

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

How close to the coral do you think you need to be? Most macro lenses can focus very close.

Have you made some photographs of your coral using any other kind of lens?

 

[Space Face]

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

How close to the coral do you think you need to be? Most macro lenses can focus very close.

This^^^^

If you are looking at a dedicated 1:1 magnification or above (true) Macro lens the working distance will likely be too short without getting wet.

It's been a while since I kept tropical fish but when I took pics I used the original 18-55mm kit lens I had (rubbish) and then the Canon 24-105mm f/4L when I got it. I'd consider something in this range.

The hardest thing I found was getting the light right shooting through the glass. I was never really happy with my results and on camera flash was hopeless. That said, with the advances in IQ with high ISO settings and off camera flash etc, better results than I got are certainly possible may be easier to get than I found them. Good luck anyhow.

 

[Original katomi]

Clean the glass on both side of the tank
You may want to think about a polariser filter to reduce glare off the glass and, see , thro the water
Your tank light will prob have a lot of blue in it you will prob need a few test shots to get white balance right
Shoot in raw or raw and jpg to give your self the best chances post processing
With temperate fish I found I needed a shutter speed of 250th sec to stop motion of the fish
Hope this helps

 

[Strodav]

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

Take some shots with your current equipment. Try different lighting setups, different apertures, different distances, and if you are getting glare or reflections off the glass change the shooting angle or try a cpl. Post the better shots here and ask how they can be improved. Don't run out and get new glass until you are absolutely sure what you need.

 

[Timppa]

Probably overkill (specially price)
But...
Venus Optics launches 'weird but revolutionary' macro probe lens

 

[Empire]

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

How close to the coral do you think you need to be? Most macro lenses can focus very close.

Have you made some photographs of your coral using any other kind of lens?

I’ve used the standard lens but would like to get closer. Glass to coral distance is probably 15 inches maybe 20.

 

[Designer]

I’ve used the standard lens but would like to get closer. Glass to coral distance is probably 15 inches maybe 20.

So if you really got "closer", then your camera and lens would be in the water. I suspect that you would get a better image by simply cropping the shots you already have. Or even use a somewhat longer lens and then crop.

In reading about other photographers taking photos of their aquariums, that one very important aspect is the lighting.

Will you post one or two photographs that you have made using your current lens? I would like to see what you've done, and with your permission, somebody can edit your photos to give you an idea of what can be done.

 

[Empire]

alright! I'll take some pictures tonight. i'm using an amber gel filter adapter for my iphone to wash out the blue right now.

Hello - I have a reef tank that I'd like to take pictures of. I have a Canon T6i with the standard lens. I'd like to get close ups of coral. I suspect I need a macro lens but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions? Any members here have a reef tank?

How close to the coral do you think you need to be? Most macro lenses can focus very close.

Have you made some photographs of your coral using any other kind of lens?

I’ve used the standard lens but would like to get closer. Glass to coral distance is probably 15 inches maybe 20.

 

[Empire]

i bit the bullet and purchased an used macro lens. very happy i did. took some photos last night. first time using this so please provide feedback.

IMG_1870 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1862 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1861 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1856 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1855 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1851 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1850 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1845 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

IMG_1826 by Praveen Suchdev, on Flickr

 

[Designer]

Great shots! Are these showing the true colors? Very typical of a macro lens, your depth of field is very thin. Congratulations on the new lens!

 

[Empire]

i'm using an orange/amber filter (please excuse me, i really dont know what these are called) which helps remove some of the blue effect from my lights.

 

[Designer]

i'm using an orange/amber filter (please excuse me, i really dont know what these are called) which helps remove some of the blue effect from my lights.

You should try setting your white balance to cut out more of the blue light. Your orange/amber filter is not absorbing all of the blue light.

 

[Space Face]

The colours of the reef look very nice but the shallow dof has killed these imo. I'm really struggling to see anything of interest that's in focus. What lens did you get?