# aquarium photography



## cornhusker (Nov 19, 2005)

I have a olympus c-740 uz camera that i would like to attempt to take pictures of my tanks.pictures i've taken outside come out great.but inside trying my hand at aquarium photos,i'm not satisfied.pictures come out looking kinda fakey.i'm using a try pod.i know this may be asking a lot,but if anyone out there has taken good pictures with this camera,please instruct me on the right settings and then i may be able to work on from there on.in other words somewhere to start. thank you,cornhusker:smile:


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

I'm not familiar with that camera, but I can give you a few tips that help me. Do not use the flash, turn off all other lights in the room to reduce reflections, using just the aquarium lights to expose the shot. to reduce blurry pics increase your film speed (ISO number) to say 800 to 1000 it will allow you to shoot with a higher shutter speed. Tripods can be helpful, you can also try holding your breath and leaning against something solid (chair, table or wall) try to experiment with your settings, try manual with a low F number & a shutter speed of around 60th of a sec. I'm sure folks with more experience will chime in here.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

I've used my wife's 750uz with fairly good results. What are you trying to do? Can you post examples?


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## cornhusker (Nov 19, 2005)

I am trying to get a allmost a full view of my tanks in good clarity.my lens may not be able to do this. i've been trying to take photos using the auto setting.i think i need to go to the manual setting and try to get that right.and i also may not have a good enough camera to take the kind of pictures i would like to have.i've seen so many fine photos on these websites.any kind of info would help. thanx,cornhusker


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

For the full tank shot using a tripod is a definite help. You also need to make sure that the room is as dark as possible and you're using just the tank lighting for the picture (NO FLASH!).

If your lights aren't inside a hood, make sure that the camera can't see the lights directly. You may be able to get away with adjusting camera position, zoom, etc. to keep the camera from seeing the lights. You may have to use something to block the light. Bottom line is you want all of your light coming from inside the tank.

At this point, set it to automatic and take the picture.


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## bristles (Mar 7, 2006)

Cornhusker,
For full tank shots this is what I do, use a tripod so that camera is dead center (not of to one side or pointing up or down) most cameras have a zoom, you want to use the widest angle setting it has (this will give you better depth of field) does this camera have a aperture priority setting (usually marked as "A" not auto) with the camera in aperture priority take multiple exposures with different F stops or F numbers. and compare how they look (a higher F number will give you better depth of field) remember to set your ISO (film speed) to a higher number say 800 to 1200, Also remember to fill your viewfinder completely with the aquarium's image. Hope this helps, seeing a good photo of your aquarium is quite rewarding & well worth the effort.


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