Camera Question

[The_Orca]

What's up fellow reefers
I'm in the market for a new Digital Camera. So I can take good clean closeups of my tank. Right now I have a Nikon Cool pix 4300 and When I take pictures of everyday things it looks great but when it comes to my tank it looks like sh$t. I don't quit understand. The setting that Mr.x and a few other users were putting there Camera's on, Mine doesn't have it. So it's time to invest in a new Camera. Suggestions please!!!!

 

[Len]

You need a camera that has a macro setting. Your 4300 has that setting (either called Macro or Close Up) and should also have adjustable white balance to adjust to your tank's light.

This is a nice thread about taking tank pics: http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=29264

If you want a new camera, I recommend the Fuji F31 or Fuji F40.

 

[mr_X]

used or new? this camera is awesome:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC ... dZViewItem

what price range? i used to have a nikon coolpix 5700 that took pretty good photos.

how about this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC ... dZViewItem

 

[bubblepuffer]

go to " www.dpreview.com ".. go to the camera forum, there is where all the Professional photographer hangout at.. will give you opinion, suggestion and stuff.. It's a cool place where I learn my digital SLR.

 

[_Adrian_]

depending on your price range theres alot out there.
i personaly had very very good luck with sony products as far as A/V.

Currently have a Sony Digital Alpha SLR and love it, too bad my 3yo daugher decided to push on the reflector when i was changing lenses

ohh boy.... luckily i know the regional rep and he said he'll take care of it for me.
anywho...
pick out your price range, go out to a best buy or circuit city and get a feel for the cameras in your price range and pick the one that your most comfortable with.

i have a separate camera for quick shots, but for scenery and portraits and stuff i use my SLR.
i have a couple of pics that i snabed with my SLR at my buddies store of some corrals that came out absolutely amazing with nothing special besides the lens that it came with.
i wish i could upload it. but a 10MP pic is ~3Mb, but i dont think its gonna go through.
i will try and upload them to photobucket... but im pretty sure they are also limited to 1200X1600
PS: here's a link...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra100/

 

[mr_X]

digital slr cameras require some photography experience. they most certainly take the best pictures, but have the least "point and shoot" qualities.

 

[bubblepuffer]

It's depend on what you want or need. If you are very interested in Photographing and Macro. Families and friends photo, something for the memories and money is not big issue and I think invest in a good Digital SLR for something long term to keep and most ppl can keep it for the life time. One good thing for SLR is that you got many choices of Lenses, Macro Lenses, Flashes and other accessories.

If you want something, quick and fast that just shoot and forget it, then go for a normal Digital Camera which maybe will last for couple of years then you decided time to upgrade to another model. There is also couple good Normal Digital camera that is water proof and you can deep into your fish tank or take picture inside your reef tank.. not sure your fish will like it or not.

Every brand of Camera, got their Pro and Cons .. so you need to choose carefully what is important to you on a Camera to go for that Brand. Don't forget for good picture.. Tripod and Good Light source is very important. Get a steady and versatile tripod that you can carry it anywhere you go or even can use for defending yourself, incase there is a bear show up while taking picture the wild =) Myself I like Manfrotto tripod, I use the Manfrotto 190XPROB with the horizontal center column feature. Which allow me to remove the center column tube of the Tripod and set it up as Horizontal which is the best feature for tank and Macro shot.

 

[rfosgategt]

digital slr cameras require some photography experience. they most certainly take the best pictures, but have the least "point and shoot" qualities.

i disagree completely with statement. i switched from a canon powershot a75 to rebel xti and i had no problems learning how to take pictures. the menu is the same and with a slr WYSIWYG.

the slr gives 5-6 premade settings just like a pns and a auto setting. to zoom you twist the lens as apposed to pushing a button, and if your want to get fancy you have your custom setting with apeture and stuff like that

you will never get a shot with a pns like you will with a slr. any picture that you see on this forum i would venture to say is slr when you say to your self wow that is a great picture.

now the cost diffrence is huge...but you dont have to buy slrs as often.

if you want to have fun taking pictures and want high quality pictures a slr is easy to step into.

also some local camera places may offer free classes to learn how to use your slr, ritz camera for one, the are nation wide offer classes in most major cities.

 

[mr_X]

you disagree? then why are you mentioning picture taking classes? you certainly don't need those with a point and shoot camera :?

 

[rfosgategt]

nor do you with an slr...but to get better at photography and for free why not take up the offer?

kinda like if someone had the choice between a freshwater setup and a saltwater setup, and the saltwater setup came with free classes to learn more about the hobby.

you can't say that freshwater is better than saltwater(to each there own), but you can say saltwalter has a lot more fun stuff to learn about.

the guy asked for help and someone should never tell anyone that somthing is too hard to learn or requires more "experience", or no one would ever switch from a freshwater tank to a saltwater tank or from a pns to a slr.

 

[mr_X]

well, maybe you just picked up an slr camera and took flawless pictures from day one,but they certainly require setting adjustments, whereas PnS cameras are made to be mostly automatic. a point and shoot camera is called a point and shoot camera simply because it's just that. if slr cameras were point and shoot, they'd be in the same catagory. :?
my advice is: if you don't want to learn intro photography, get a PnS camera.

 

[mr_X]

the guy asked for help and someone should never tell anyone that somthing is too hard to learn or requires more "experience", or no one would ever switch from a freshwater tank to a saltwater tank or from a pns to a slr.

i never said anything was "too hard". however, it most certainly does require more experience. :roll:

 

[bubblepuffer]

It's your choice of PnS or SLR. PnS let you take picture and sometime the outcome will be different from what you see on the LCD or the viewfinder. Only way to find out is through your computer.

SLR let you control what you want the camera to do for you for your picture. You can set also set the dial to automatic which basically will be PnS. You can set to also set to manual setting, if you want more control of the Camera, like manual focus for Macro shot and stuff like that.. The good thing about SLR is what you see on the view finder is what you will get. The camera itself is like a long term investment that something you will keep for long long time. It's very versatile toy. Myself I finally upgraded to Digital SLR after using PnS for 6yrs.. I LOVE IT especially with lensbabies addon

Taking shot from a fish tank is very tricky. If you going for PnS Camera, if possible look for the one with Horseshoe for External Flash. The tank light is no good for any Camera. A good Flash and Good steady Tripod is very important.

 

[ChrisRD]

I'm going to move this thread into the appropriate forum where more of our photographer types might notice it... :wink:

 

[Len]

The more affordable dSLRs are very P&S friendly these days. You can set it for pretty much full auto and shoot as if you were using a point-and-shoot camera. Don't like SLRs intimidate you. It costs a little more, but the quality is worth it. It's also not that hard to learn unless you want to get very advanced

 

[Anonymous]

I've owned several PnS cameras and just one DSLR I would trade in all my PnS's just for one DSLR any day :lol: My D80, if I chose to, has an excellent PnS mode. I prefer to do the work myself as I can have better control over it, but I don't have to. I've seen some insane shots from my friends on their D80's and none of them have any camera experience so to speak

 

[bubblepuffer]

I think more and more people into dSLR, as you can almost do anything on it and not stuck with non-upgradeable PnS only Camera. Many of the economic or average dSLR can keep for many many years.. many option for Lens and gadget that make your picture beautiful. Digital Dark room =) with the control of your own hand and your mind to get what look good for you or others. Many dSLR let you connect the USB/Firewire to computer or Laptop and let the Camera on a Tripod infront of your tank and just control the Camera from your computer and take picture from the computer.. all those Flash, wide angle, Macro lens and teleport lens you can choose from.. Myself I mostly bring my dSLR with me anywhere I go, some trip I might bring PnS, if the situation is not suitable for big camera..

You can also look into Olympus or Panasonic 4/3 dSLR with Liveview feature.. it's like PnS with Liveview on the LCD.. so instead of using the viewfinder you can just view on the LCD for taking picture. Olympus is good for Impressive color output, Canon is good for Lens selection and good lens and many other brand name that you can look into. I owned both Olympus E500 and E1 and I love my E1 for any kind of trip.. it can go under rain, mud, dusty area, drop to ground, run under water tap for cleaning or even let you dog pee on it....

 

[Anonymous]

Hasselblad is the camera that all others strive to be, IMO. For a mere 43K 8O you can own the Rolls Royce of the digital camera world.
http://www.adorama.com/HSCF39MSH2K.html

 

[Anonymous]

I owned both Olympus E500 and E1 and I love my E1 for any kind of trip.. it can go under rain, mud, dusty area, drop to ground, run under water tap for cleaning or even let you dog pee on it....

Ever have trouble with the camera forgetting that the lens was there, refusing to focus until you remove and reinstall the lens. Sometimes I just want to throw my E-1 into heavy traffic.

 

[bubblepuffer]

I didnt have problem with that.. but I do know that some people having issue with the contact from the E series. some caused by user error when installing the lens, press the release button at the same time causing over locked issue on the contact.