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First slr photos

afroturf

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2007
Messages
127
Location
Nottingham
Well my camera arrived today, its a canon 1000d which I think is the most basic slr they sell. Any how thses are a couple of pic I took of some of my gobies

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I'm not sure wether to be happy with them, I have no knowledge of slr so it was all done on auto. These are the kind of photos I'd like to be taking only better. They were taken on the standard 18-55mm lens that came with the camera and without a flash just aquarium lights 2 x 24w t5 and a 150w hqi.

I was looking at buying a flash before a macro lense but think I might buy the lense first what do you think? also what tips could you give on improving the quality of my photos and what easy to use photo editing software can you recommend.
 
Well i'm well impressed! They are better than i've done and i've had an SLR for a couple of years now! The only thing i would say is make sure the tank glass is clean, either that or do it in photoshop. :D
 
Excellent shots - I'm impressed with the Auto mode. Any luck with any moving subjects yet?

Try shooting in Av (aperture priority) next time, where you set the aperture (and depth of field) and the camera automatically sets the shutter speed. Set the ISO to as low as possible whilst maintaining a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake/freeze fish movement. 1/100 - 1/200 sec is usually ok.

Once you've mastered Av, try M (manual) when you control aperture and shutter speed.

As you can see, there's no real need for flash, especially if you have decent light above the subjects.

I would personally go for some better glass first. The Tamron 90mm macro is very highly rated and good value, if you're interested in close-up work. You'll notice a massive difference in IQ and sharpness and it also makes a great portrait lens with its f/2.8 aperture being ideal for blurring backgrounds.
 
Very good indeed, those shots look very sharp ;) if thats the first effort I look foward to see what is coming!!

Looks like a very good start camera if it can produce shots of that quality, guess I will have to invest in a new camera soon enough!!

Congrats and keep the photos coming :clap: :clap:
 
Hi Afroturf,
i like you am trying to get my head aroung slr stuff,i got myself a book called the dummies(dont laugh)guide to cannon 450d and its priceless, i should think you can get one for your camera too,amazon have them at half price £9.99 instead of £20,
nice pics mate, regards john.
 
Well I think you've all been very generous with you view of the photos.

George, I've had a go with the Av setting and think they have produced some better quality shots. No real luck with moving shots, tried to take some pics of the Tanichthys micagemmae (Vietnamese minnow) that are in the same tank but didn't get any well focused shots. These were taken in Av and the camera was setting the shutter speed to 1/20-1/40 so maybe using the manual setting with a faster shutter speed will make an improvement.

I decided to go for a new lenses as it needed to be as cheap as possible I decided to go for a Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 apo off ebay, a couple of people have It on here and seem fairly impressed with it just can't wait for it to arrive.

John, Cheers for the tip on the book decided to purchase 1 too obviously the 1000d version hopefully it should arrive in the next few days.

My brother came round over the weekend and decided to give me a masterclass on using photoshop, he uses it on a daily basis for his job after 5 mins i felt :woot: it amazing how much you can improve the photos. After he left I had ago and immidiatly forgot every thing he told me.

Any way here are a couple more photos shot in av and with some tweeking on photoshop. hope you can see an improvement.

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Sorry there both of some more gobies I don't have many plants, all my tanks are rather rocky, although that will all change soon as I'm getting a tank built by a sponsor on here with a view to it being a planted tank I do have some C. affinis off TGM which is beautiful might get some shots of that to please all you plant lovers.
 
Crackin' shots there, for sure. :D

And you'll only get better too, which is quite an achievement considering your high standard so soon. Your new lens will release a load more creative potential too.

Try cranking up your ISO to 800+ to get 1/100+ sec. or faster shutter speeds to capture moving fish.
 
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