Using digital cameras to photo fish

[Paul]

As we have just opened up a new forum for advice on howto’s I thought I’d share my meagre experience in respect of taking digital photographs of fish in aquariums. One of the big advantages of using digital cameras is we can see the results almost instantly, and the cost of taking and viewing 100’s of photographs is very low compared to using, and therefore developing 35mm film.

Lighting is the single most important issue in photography in general, and aquarium photography is no exception. All cameras use their metering system to judge how much light is available to enter a lens in any given scene. The camera’s electronics will then use this information to decide on the amount of time to open the shutter and expose the sensor (shutter speed) and how much light to expose it to (aperture). Different combinations of aperture and shutter speed will give you different effects, for example, a slower shutter speed, of say 1/2 second will show moving fish in a blurred fashion, whereas 1/500 second will usually show a moving fish sharply. Therefore the more light available the faster shutter speeds are that can be used, giving sharper pictures. Unfortunately in many aquariums with standard lighting fixtures, there is not always enough light to be able to use these fast shutter speeds.

One option in poorly lit aquariums is to temporarily increase the light available, this could be a strip or spot light(s) placed over the tank for example. Another way is to change settings on the camera. In the old 35mm context this is directly analogous to the ISO rating of film, the higher the ISO number the faster the shutter speeds we can use. We are increasing the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor by doing this, an ISO setting of 200 is twice as sensitive as ISO 100, and an ISO setting of 400 is twice as sensitive as ISO 200. So the higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the camera's sensor is, and therefore the faster shutter speed is. Which is what you want for that fast moving fish. The drawback is that as you increase ISO, image noise increases, in other words the picture will have more grain and not look as smooth.

Another option to temporarily increase the available light and therefore be able to use a faster shutter speed is to use a camera flash. Normally, when you set the flash on your camera to auto it fires in low light situations and will correctly expose the subject. Unfortunately using the on-camera flash when photographing aquarium fish often makes the image look washed out. This is mainly due to on-camera flashes being too powerful to use at distances closer than 30 cm. You may also get the reflection of the glowing flash on the glass, obscuring some, if not all of the fish. One solution here is to use an off-camera flash, attached to the camera via a cable. Placing the flash on top of the aquarium gives a similar effect to your aquarium lights but much more powerful, allowing the use of fast shutter speeds. The drawback here is that not all compact cameras can accept external flash units.

Another way to get faster shutter speeds is to use a lens that lets in more light, in other words a lens with a wider aperture. Of course this can only be used on cameras that allow you to change lenses, most compact digital cameras won’t have this facility. The aperture is rated using the F notation with an F2.8 aperture allowing more light in than an F4.5 aperture.

The next important area to consider is focus. The focal point, in photographic terms, is the area of the image that is sharp, which occurs at a given distance from the lens. Automatic focus cameras alter distances between critical lens elements to hunt for areas of contrast, or focus. This takes time and is not always reliable, and can be ineffective when fish are darting about!. Some cameras have very fast auto focus mechanisms and some don’t. A good option here is to manually focus (or auto focus and focus lock, if available) on an area and wait for the fish to swim into it. Try to position your camera perpendicular to the aquarium glass, to minimise any distortion in the shot too! Using a tripod will help eliminate any camera shake.

Full aquarium shots can be quite easy. A good method to use is to place your camera on its tripod in front of the tank. Switch off or remove the flash and set the ISO rating to 100. Turn the room lights off and shoot. It can sometimes help to use a remote release to minimise camera shake.

Sometimes the camera’s light meter can be confused by the variation of colours and tones that can exists in a tank of colourful fish. If the picture you just took is too light or too dark try adjusting the camera’s exposure compensation.

Another thing to take into account is 'white balance.' This effectively means what ‘colour’ the camera considers to be white. This will therefore affect the rest of the colour range. White takes on different hues under different types of light (tungsten, fluorescent, daylight). For example, if you set your cameras white balance on 'daylight,' then photograph a fluorescent-lit aquarium, the shots will most likely have a green tinge. Most cameras are able to automatically judge which white balance settings to use but as with all automated systems, it can make the wrong decision If you are finding that your colours are not perfect, adjust your white balance settings and try again.

Hope these tips help, happy shooting!

[mikey1566]

Are you david baily in disguise
very imformative advice ,just what i was looking for ,was afraid to ask.
i have an olympus camedia 150 no optical zoom only digital zoom,alslo my pics are very poor is this down to my camera or my tank and lounge lights

[Paul]

Hi mikey, hehe, no I'm not David Bailey, though he is one of our clients!

The difference between optical zoom and digital zoom is that with optical zoom you are making use of the whole of the sensor to capture the image, so the image is far more detailed. With a digital zoom, it takes a sub section of the pre-captured image and then "blows" that up to fit, basically losing information or detail. The end result si that optical zoom gives you a far more detailed and smooth picture whereas digital zoom will give you a more grainy picture.

With all photography the light is the first thing to pay attention to. I don't know that particular model of camera, although I have used some of the camedia's, they seem to be ok for point and shoot mode, for anything more detailed they may not be man enough.

[SweetPoison~]

This is a good thing

[kevinattwyford]

Great thread Paul

Is there anything you DON'T know

More lights for me then!

Kev

[SweetPoison~]

Originally Posted by kevinattwyford

Is there anything you DON'T know



Kev

For real, Though! Good Lawd

[SweetPoison~]

and therefore developing 35mm film.

You can still do this?



The camera’s electronics will then use this information to decide on the amount of time to open the shutter and expose the sensor (shutter speed)

This is not an option on my camera, Paul.....




and how much light to expose it to (aperture).

But this is ~ but you cannot actually select your aperture, but you can select the ISO ~ which stands for what exactly?




Different combinations of aperture and shutter speed will give you different effects, for example, a slower shutter speed, of say 1/2 second will show moving fish in a blurred fashion, whereas 1/500 second will usually show a moving fish sharply. Therefore the more light available the faster shutter speeds are that can be used, giving sharper pictures.

Now why can't the book explain it like this? I am sooooooooo glad I lost it


(kinda)



Unfortunately in many aquariums with standard lighting fixtures, there is not always enough light to be able to use these fast shutter speeds.

See this is not my problem, Paul, because I have a double strip light thingy....64 watts ~ which brings me to my next issue! Due to the 64 watt thing, I have to turn down the ( hang on, gots to check) "Exposure Compensation" or up, not sure which ~ but this depends of how much light I want, (which I NEVER know ) so I adjust it accordingly.... So if it is daylight in here and with the tank brightness.....I just want to pull out my hair sometimes!

Have I confused you, Paul? Cuz I think I just lost myself here...



Another way is to change settings on the camera. In the old 35mm context this is directly analogous to the ISO rating of film, the higher the ISO number the faster the shutter speeds we can use. We are increasing the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor by doing this, an ISO setting of 200 is twice as sensitive as ISO 100, and an ISO setting of 400 is twice as sensitive as ISO 200. So the higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the camera's sensor is, and therefore the faster shutter speed is. Which is what you want for that fast moving fish.

^^This is good to know.....but I must read it like 100x I usually use ISO 200, but I never really knew why...


What I was saying up there Paul was that , because my tank is so bright, at times I never know if I should turn down the settings....O.k.a.y.. I never know if I have enough light for the picture I want to take because the tank is so bright, so do I turn off some room lights? That's it! That is my question....dayum, Marie!





Some cameras have very fast auto focus mechanisms and some don’t.

How do you know if your does or not?



Try to position your camera perpendicular to the aquarium glass, to minimise any distortion in the shot too!

umm....that would be..........same level as the tank? Be nice.........lol!




Full aquarium shots can be quite easy.

uh huh....sure. Not for me!



A good method to use is to place your camera on its tripod in front of the tank. Switch off or remove the flash and set the ISO rating to 100. Turn the room lights off and shoot. It can sometimes help to use a remote release to minimise camera shake.

Really.....I shall try this ~ don't have a tripod but hey....




Sometimes the camera’s light meter can be confused by the variation of colours and tones that can exists in a tank of colourful fish. If the picture you just took is too light or too dark try adjusting the camera’s exposure compensation.

This is about my best area here! Now aren't ya proud? lol! Hell, I am ~


Check this out Paul:




Shooting Mode: Manual
Tv ( Shutter Speed ) : 1/50 ( I can not choose this for myself ~ there is no option???)
AV (Aperture Value ) : 2.8 ( same here )
Exposure Compensation: 0
ISO Speed: 200
Focal Length: 5.4 ( My best pics are in the upclose mode...but I put the picture size on L, do you know what I mean? I can not shoot far away shots )
White Balance: Daylight


On each picture I take I have this info ^^^ that shows what my settings were during the picture ~ so if it was a good pic or what I wanted, I copy those exact settings....BUT ~ like I said, I can not choose my OWN Shutter Speed or Aperture, for some reason ~ but I think that the Exposure Compensation selects the Shutter and Aperture??

Or am I just begin blonde?




Another thing to take into account is 'white balance.' This effectively means what ‘colour’ the camera considers to be white. This will therefore affect the rest of the colour range. White takes on different hues under different types of light (tungsten, fluorescent, daylight). For example, if you set your cameras white balance on 'daylight,'

This.......this is the only thing I have down 100%! I have so many choices here ~ I use the "daylight" setting a lot ~



Hope these tips help,

Hell Yes! Still glad you opened this section? People are gonna think "that Marie is never going to go away!"

[Steve B]

ISO/ASA/DIN Film speed.

The International Organization for Standardization ISO

What camera have you got? digital I take not film.
Only the more expensive digital cameras give you the options.

[SweetPoison~]

Originally Posted by Steve B

What camera have you got?
Only the more expensive digital cameras give you the options.

Well I have a Canon PowerShot .....I forget the number ~

This thread is about digital....right? Not film Not sure where the film part came in....lol!

[Steve B]

Okay it's tooooo early in the morning to be told off!
I have the Canon EOS 1N film camera digital equivalent £4000 $8000 so sticking wih it for a while.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by SweetPoison~

no kidding

and therefore developing 35mm film.

You can still do this?

yep and I do sometimes

The camera’s electronics will then use this information to decide on the amount of time to open the shutter and expose the sensor (shutter speed)

This is not an option on my camera, Paul.....

Not every digital camera will have this feature, many compacts don't.

and how much light to expose it to (aperture).

But this is ~ but you cannot actually select your aperture, but you can select the ISO ~ which stands for what exactly?

International Standards Organisation - The ISO rating tells the "electronics" how much light it needs for an exposure, the "electronics" then work out available light, aperture and shutter speed as best it can. Again some cameras will not have the ability to specify aperture. Again with some you can tell it to work out the aperature for a given speed you dial in and vice versa.

Different combinations of aperture and shutter speed will give you different effects, for example, a slower shutter speed, of say 1/2 second will show moving fish in a blurred fashion, whereas 1/500 second will usually show a moving fish sharply. Therefore the more light available the faster shutter speeds are that can be used, giving sharper pictures.

Now why can't the book explain it like this? I am sooooooooo glad I lost it


(kinda)

Unfortunately in many aquariums with standard lighting fixtures, there is not always enough light to be able to use these fast shutter speeds.

See this is not my problem, Paul, because I have a double strip light thingy....64 watts ~ which brings me to my next issue! Due to the 64 watt thing, I have to turn down the ( hang on, gots to check) "Exposure Compensation" or up, not sure which ~ but this depends of how much light I want, (which I NEVER know ) so I adjust it accordingly.... So if it is daylight in here and with the tank brightness.....I just want to pull out my hair sometimes!

Have I confused you, Paul? Cuz I think I just lost myself here...

Normally its up to "over" expose and down to "under" expose.

Another way is to change settings on the camera. In the old 35mm context this is directly analogous to the ISO rating of film, the higher the ISO number the faster the shutter speeds we can use. We are increasing the sensitivity of the camera’s sensor by doing this, an ISO setting of 200 is twice as sensitive as ISO 100, and an ISO setting of 400 is twice as sensitive as ISO 200. So the higher the ISO setting, the more sensitive the camera's sensor is, and therefore the faster shutter speed is. Which is what you want for that fast moving fish.

^^This is good to know.....but I must read it like 100x I usually use ISO 200, but I never really knew why...


What I was saying up there Paul was that , because my tank is so bright, at times I never know if I should turn down the settings....O.k.a.y.. I never know if I have enough light for the picture I want to take because the tank is so bright, so do I turn off some room lights? That's it! That is my question....dayum, Marie!

Try it without room lights, then the cameras light meter is measuring just the light from the tank. You may find you can get good pics at 100 ISO and that will give a better depth of field (generally speaking) than ISO 200. With my old camera, a traditional 35mm SLR, I most often used ISO 200 film as it was the best compromise.

Some cameras have very fast auto focus mechanisms and some don’t.

How do you know if your does or not?

Generally compacts are slow and slr's are faster, a lot depends on the lens, lens mechanisms and processing power.

Try to position your camera perpendicular to the aquarium glass, to minimise any distortion in the shot too!

umm....that would be..........same level as the tank? Be nice.........lol!

facing straight at the tank and not at an angle to the glass

Full aquarium shots can be quite easy.

uh huh....sure. Not for me!

Try the method below use a chair if you don't have a tripod.

A good method to use is to place your camera on its tripod in front of the tank. Switch off or remove the flash and set the ISO rating to 100. Turn the room lights off and shoot. It can sometimes help to use a remote release to minimise camera shake.

Really.....I shall try this ~ don't have a tripod but hey....

Sometimes the camera’s light meter can be confused by the variation of colours and tones that can exists in a tank of colourful fish. If the picture you just took is too light or too dark try adjusting the camera’s exposure compensation.

This is about my best area here! Now aren't ya proud? lol! Hell, I am ~

yep

Check this out Paul:




Shooting Mode: Manual
Tv ( Shutter Speed ) : 1/50 ( I can not choose this for myself ~ there is no option???)
AV (Aperture Value ) : 2.8 ( same here )
Exposure Compensation: 0
ISO Speed: 200
Focal Length: 5.4 ( My best pics are in the upclose mode...but I put the picture size on L, do you know what I mean? I can not shoot far away shots )
White Balance: Daylight


On each picture I take I have this info ^^^ that shows what my settings were during the picture ~ so if it was a good pic or what I wanted, I copy those exact settings....BUT ~ like I said, I can not choose my OWN Shutter Speed or Aperture, for some reason ~ but I think that the Exposure Compensation selects the Shutter and Aperture??

Or am I just begin blonde?

slightly blonde

If the settings cannot be adjusted other than ISO then you have to work with what you have. White balance has a dramatic effect and the exposure compensation basically allows you to tell the camera to allow more or less light through than it would if left to its own calculation.

Another thing to take into account is 'white balance.' This effectively means what ‘colour’ the camera considers to be white. This will therefore affect the rest of the colour range. White takes on different hues under different types of light (tungsten, fluorescent, daylight). For example, if you set your cameras white balance on 'daylight,'

This.......this is the only thing I have down 100%! I have so many choices here ~ I use the "daylight" setting a lot ~

Hope these tips help,

Hell Yes! Still glad you opened this section? People are gonna think "that Marie is never going to go away!"

Well I hope she never goes away

[SweetPoison~]

Originally Posted by Steve B

Okay it's tooooo early in the morning to be told off!
I have the Canon EOS 1N film camera digital equivalent £4000 $8000 so sticking wih it for a while.

Okay....I wasn't really telling you off was I? So, Steve, YOU have a film camera right?

[SweetPoison~]

Thanks Paul! I am going to take some pictures with all the lights off excpet the tank light

[topbreeder]

Paul

One question for you. Is there an auto-focus system that is not fooled by the glass? Problem being that my system judges distanc to objective and focuses. I then have to lock focus and shift the cmera toward the objective to compensate for the distance between the fish and the glass or I get fuzzy pics. This extra step eliminates getting some really good pics and disturbs the objective, ie, the fish. I have tried to get good pics for a long time but my success is limited.

Larry

[Paul]

Hi Larry,

A lot depends on on the glass and how clean it is, I took some lovely photo's of water spalashes the other day It also depends on the camera and what options you have with it. Some use a zoning systems, some just use the centre of the target area. Changing the f-stop will change the depth of field and give you more lattitude for focussing, ie the fish can be within an inch or so of the ideal focus point (more in some cases) and still look in focus. The better the light in the tank the better the chances are that the fish will the focus point rather than the glass! Reducing the light in the room helps too. DSLR's tend to be better at this than compacts, though I have seen some excellent pics taken with compacts.