So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a bank.

Mrsalt

Mrsalt

Active Member
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Ok so I'm at a point of frustration, my iPad sucks at taking tank and coral pics. Everything is just too blue and does not come through in true colours that I see . So I'm thinking I'd like a camera and lens preferably macro so I don't have to stand the other side of the room to get close ups of polyps etc.

Any advice would be great as I'm a complete novice on this front.

Thanks in advance :)
 
glennf

glennf

Well-Known Member
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

Samsung phones take decent pictures with white balance set to cloudy.

Beside that there are apps available which can correct the white balance on you tablet or phone camera

Canon eos600 and nikon d7100 camera's have extended features to correct white balance.
But the expensive camera's are worthless if you don"t understand how they work..

The best settings is to use P setting, no flash, manuel focus and use white balance shift setting.

greetings, GlennF
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

Checkout this link... canon or nikon are good choices - I like canon - eos are good value - shoot in Raw Format & post process with photoshop essentials ($90)

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/c...a-bundles/eos-rebel-t5-digital-camera-bundles

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_elements&loc=en

I don't have one... but If you have the budget... this macro lens is where to put the $$$, but it's twice the price of the camera
http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_100mm_f_2_8l_macro_is_usm
 
Snid

Snid

Active Member
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

If you are looking to really get into making some great photographs, It's really almost as important to have a good lens as it is a camera body. In fact, many photographers would argue that the lens itself is the most important factor. With any of the higher end new Canons or Nikons, it's hard to go wrong. Look into possibly getting a polarizing filter as well, to reduce/eliminate the glare/reflections on the front of the aquarium. There are also now some really affordable microscope attachments for DSLRs that would allow you to get some close ups on the cellular level, which could be good for disease identification or what have you.
 
Mrsalt

Mrsalt

Active Member
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Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

Ok so I've got my hands on a cannon 700d with 18-55mm lens. I've had a bit of a deal on it for £500. I went for this model as I can do a bit of filming with it too. Next few months I save up for a decent macro lens for those extra close shots. So far I'm loving it and have re ignited my ole photo passion and took loads of pics of he family. :)

So now I'm looking into photo software and the obvious one is photoshop. But my question is do I really need all that it brings, and I see its a monthly subscription instead of a outright purchase and download. Do you guys all use it and what's your thoughts? Is it worth it? Does it link with photo bucket etc as I hate working in one program and then having to mess around saving it hear and uploading it there...

Also back to the camera is it best to work with raw picture files?
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Mrsalt

Mrsalt

Active Member
PREMIUM
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

Wow thanks Glenn, that's some great links there. Plenty to read up on now and practice :) I can't wait to post a decent pic of my tank over the coming week.

Another quick question ? Do you sort your picture out and then upload to photo bucket to enable it to post on a thread or is there a photo bucket kinda thing within the photoshop essentials?
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

You are very welcome ! Look forward to seeing your new pics !

I just in photobucket when uploading... select the ones I want to upload, usually just a couple at a time

If this is your 1st dslr, another key shoot lots of pics, maybe 25 at one time of the same shot, then select the best one to work with post processing.
 
Mrsalt

Mrsalt

Active Member
PREMIUM
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

:) ok I'm going to blitz the tank with pics and spend some of my evenings playing arround lol. Thanks once again :)
 
K

Knight waters

Member
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

Cannon. would be ur best choice for the camera body. With cannon there ra huge selection of lenses that r made by other companies that will work with them and r cheaper than the cannon brand. right now I'm using. a Fuji. camera that takes great pics. I paid 200 for it. Dose not have interchangeable lenses but has great features. I'll get u the specs on it if u want.
 
Snid

Snid

Active Member
Re: So what's a good dslr camera and lens for taking decent pics without raiding a ba

RAW files are really only good if you have the means to view and edit them with something like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop/Bridge. Large JPGs are usually good enough for posting on the web. I myself shoot RAW, but I edit them in Photoshop.
 
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