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F16 is super narrow. I’d experiment but found f8 to be good.
Optimal aperture will vary based on the lens used, and I frequently go well beyond f16 to get great depth of field. Here are some of my shots taken at f29 using a 200mm Nikon macro lens.
Plate coral:
Garf Bonsai:
Acan:
Bizarro Cyphastrea:
Pink Spotted Discoma:
so i have the Cannon 100mm macro and any time i go over f10 it gets REAL dark and increasing my iso just makes it super grainy, something im missing?
You need a longer exposure to compensate for the aperture. I shoot my macro photos with a tripod since the exposure times could cause motion blurring.
I shoot with Canon, also 100mm Macro, and use the "aperture priority" mode. That let's you set aperture, and then auto compensates everything else to keep from getting that dark look. Looks good, just turn off all your pumps etc, use a tripod and try to shoot straight through the glass (perpendicular). Keep shooting!!so i have the Cannon 100mm macro and any time i go over f10 it gets REAL dark and increasing my iso just makes it super grainy, something im missing?
I shoot with Canon, also 100mm Macro, and use the "aperture priority" mode. That let's you set aperture, and then auto compensates everything else to keep from getting that dark look. Looks good, just turn off all your pumps etc, use a tripod and try to shoot straight through the glass (perpendicular). Keep shooting!!
I hear what you’re saying. I‘ve worked with manual as well, I’m just trying to give some tips that helped me take better pics (including the suggestion to kill flow in the tank when shooting so you can get clearer shots with higher f-stop). I don’t think there is any “one” way, but I’ve learned lots of tips from the great folks on R2R that helped me really get better.May I suggest you learn manual mode first? Aperture mode sets your bokeh and with a macros lens you want F8 to keep everything in focus unless you are layering shots. I dont suggest a macros lens unless you are a pro and know how to use it. They are very expensive and highly technical to properly use them. You can get great pics out of a normal f2.8 glass. It might make more sense to shoot speed mode because you have flow blowing your corals and you need to stop the action. Also, you want a speed fast enough to not blur like OPs photos display. Make sure your ISO is less than 2000 with 400 or less being preferable. Again... learn to shoot manual first. If you dont you may as well be shooting Auto.