What camera's are you using?

[StartingATank]

I want to get a camera to take pictures of my aquarium, but what cameras are good to use? I am looking for a camera <$150 but is a pretty good camera for taking pictures of the Reef under blue lighting.

 

[boacvh]

If your budget is tight for the camera, I would suggest getting the orphek lenses for the phone first and try that. I take all of mine with my pixel phone and won a pic of the month so quality is pretty good imo. You can check my build thread and see if that might be enough quality for you before you spend it on a camera. 150 id say probably would be tight for a really good camera

 

[exnisstech]

Phone with filters or manual white balance is easiest unless you want to print.
I'm using a pixel 8 pro but I see many awesome shots from many different phones.

A few samples

Some helpful info below.

Your Guide to Aquarium Photography #5 - Taking Better Pictures with Mobile Phone Cameras

In our previous article in this Your Guide to Aquarium Photography series, we looked at the differences between using DSLR cameras and mobile phone cameras for aquarium photography. This week, we will continue that discussion by answering the question: How can I take better pictures with my...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Hunna’s Stunnas]

Less than $150 is pushing it. I got my Olympus TG-5 off marketplace for $200 a few years ago. I got extremely lucky in that the camera had less than 200 shutter clicks, and she delivered it to my work. You may be able to find that same model for your price point, now that the TG-7 has been out for a while.

The TG series should be the standard for the hobby imo. It’s waterproof up to 50ft and has a built-in microscope mode eliminating the need for any additional housing or lenses (you still can).

 

[LowkeySkyler]

I’d say editing is the biggest stand out for good photos. I use Lightroom and white balance with my sand since it’s white. Honestly comes out great. That and just some playing around with the sliders.

 

[StartingATank]

If your budget is tight for the camera, I would suggest getting the orphek lenses for the phone first and try that. I take all of mine with my pixel phone and won a pic of the month so quality is pretty good imo. You can check my build thread and see if that might be enough quality for you before you spend it on a camera. 150 id say probably would be tight for a really good camera

I'll look into this, thank you. But would it work for an apple phone?

 

[boacvh]

I'll look into this, thank you. But would it work for an apple phone?

Yes, they work for the iPhone too. I have both phones, my wife has an iphone. My pixel takes better pictures IMO but the iPhone takes pretty good ones too

 

[StartingATank]

Yes, they work for the iPhone too. I have both phones, my wife has an iphone. My pixel takes better pictures IMO but the iPhone takes pretty good ones too

Would this be the lense: https://shop.orphek.com/collections...oral-lens-kit-for-smartphones-and-dslr-camera

 

[Hunna’s Stunnas]

I’ve gone through 4 different clip-on lenses for phones so far, including the Orphek, and I prefer my current SeaTorch one the most so far. I also have an iPhone.

 

[BonnieB]

So I’ve been using my iPhone pro max and lenses and that has worked for me pretty well…

But since I gave my regular camera to one of my boys who is interested in photography also, I did invest in a new one and am working on learning to take marine shots. The photography forum here is awesome for learning with both a real camera and a phone camera!

 

[boacvh]

Would this be the lense: https://shop.orphek.com/collections...oral-lens-kit-for-smartphones-and-dslr-camera

Yes. Or similar set. There are a few brands. Just read reviews and pick the one you like most

 

[Biokabe]

Honestly, if your budget is less than $150, your phone will probably take better pictures than whatever you can get at that price point. You definitely aren't going to find a new camera at that price point that can outperform modern phones.

If you do want to get a standalone camera, be prepared to spend a decent chunk of change even for a used camera, or be prepared to spend a lot of time looking for a good deal. If you do want to look for one, mpb.com is a good site to use. It's where I picked up my camera, a used Nikon D5500. It does outperform my phone when I have it set up correctly, but I spent $300 for the camera and another $150 for the lens. It's also a lot more work to set up both the camera and the individual shots; that's the drawback of being able to manually set the characteristics of your shot in a really fine-grained way. And that can be quite the drawback; there's a lot to remember about how to get shots set up, and if you go without taking pictures it's easy to forget what you used to do to get good pictures. I finally pulled out my camera to take pictures again today (I went more than a year without doing so for a variety of reasons), and the pictures were... well, absolute garbage.

On the other hand, most modern phones are constantly being tweaked through updates, and the automatic mode is getting better than ever on most phones. My current phone (a budget TCL20 or something like that) can take shots that are... probably 80% as good as the "acceptable" shots from my camera. On the other hand, I don't need to think about shot composition when I use my phone. Just pull it out, point it at the thing and take a picture. And for most of what I want to do that's good enough.

I don't regret my purchase and would do it again; it is incredibly satisfying to get that really good shot with the camera. But for most of what I do, my phone is much more useful.