Best settings to take pictures with

[ndz98]

I've got a canon rebel xsi and I have never taken photos of my coral before with it. What pull be the best settings to use to get good close up pictures?

 

[ndz98]

I don't have a tripod either.

 

[ndz98]

I've got a canon rebel xsi and I have never taken photos of my coral before with it. What pull be the best settings to use to get good close up pictures? I don't have a tripod.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Hey! Just try few settings and making new photos look at the results. You will find the best one.
I would recommend an ISO of 400 or 800. Turn on the High ISO Speed Noise Reduction feature in the menu. Use TV mode. Set a shutter speed of about 1/200 or even faster ;) .

- Andrey
"I'm really new here. And I'm from Russia"

 

[ndz98]

Hey! Just try few settings and making new photos look at the results. You will find the best one.
I would recommend an ISO of 400 or 800. Turn on the High ISO Speed Noise Reduction feature in the menu. Use TV mode. Set a shutter speed of about 1/200 or even faster ;) .

- Andrey
"I'm really new here. And I'm from Russia"

I can't seem to find the high Iso speed noise reduction feature

 

[ndz98]

Hey! Just try few settings and making new photos look at the results. You will find the best one.
I would recommend an ISO of 400 or 800. Turn on the High ISO Speed Noise Reduction feature in the menu. Use TV mode. Set a shutter speed of about 1/200 or even faster ;) .

- Andrey
"I'm really new here. And I'm from Russia"

Also the picture seems to come out very dark. I am using LED lights if that makes any difference

 

[ndz98]

I can't seem to find the high Iso speed noise reduction feature

Okay I found the high Iso feature but still can't figure out why it's so dark

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

You can fire a flash through the aquarium though and light things inside (be careful with glare in the glass). Try.. sometimes it depends of shooting angle.

 

[ndz98]

You can fire a flash through the aquarium though and light things inside (be careful with glare in the glass). Try.. sometimes it depends of shooting angle.

The only problem with that is that I'm trying to catch the colors or the color under the blue lights.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

I'm trying to catch the colors or the color under the blue lights.

Yeah I see.. it maybe not easy because each light gives own color to things. For example white lights will give you real colors.

 

[ndz98]

It looks like if I decrease the shutter speed it makes the color a little better

 

[philfree]

if things are too dark you have a few options.
1. Your can slow down the shutter speed. This adjusts how long the sensor is exposed to light. However if youre not using a tripod, or are trying to capture fish it may turn out blurry. A good rule of thumb for shutter speed is if you dont have a tripod, set the shutter speed no slower than the double the sensor size. Example, if your camera has a 35mm sensor set shutter at 1/80s

2. Widen the apeture. This adjusts how much light is hitting your sensor. This is a funtion of the lens, and may be limited depending on your lens. However you may affect the depth of field.

3. Adjust and raise the ISO. This increases the sensitivity of the sensor. However it also cause more noise the higher you go, even with a "noise reduction" feature enabled.

This video is a good brief explanation, as well as the other parts of the series..

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Oh cool! Thank you for this post! I think it will really help many people! And you well done! Try it and tell me how it works for you! ;)

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

il help you out since i was in the same boat asking the same question and no one seemed to really help on here. I had to practice on my own and figure out the best settings. to take the clearest shots, i shut down all pumps and circulation, and take shots. to take shots i use the AV mode and set ISO to 100 and F stop to F5.6. white balance on auto using a tripod. Now if im shooting without the tripod I run the same setup though raise ISO to anywhere between 800-1600. If your going to shoot with the camera hand held and the pumps left on definitely shoot with a 1600 ISO. I found these settings to give me the clearest shots.

If you want to shoot them under pure actinics, you can use the same settings as stated except the white balance. Your going to have to set a custom white balance for shooting under actinics.

 

[Reef_a_holiks]

Some of my shots

Just keep practicing, shoot alot of pics on different settings youll find the sweet spot, and start to get a feel for it.