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What camera? (1 Viewer)

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Seaworthy Aquatics

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Looking to get into photographing my tanks and haven't the slightest idea where to start. I have a fair amount of tanks and would like to be able to photograph and post pics and my phone camera just doesn't do it well enough. What type of cameras do people use for coral photography and where is a good place to start? Appreciate the help!
 

gm357

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In my experience, I would look into a midrange dslr within my budget. There are a few no brainers like the D5 or D6 class which you don't need if you're not a professional. You'll quickly get overwhelmed since everyone's personal preference will lead you in different direction.

It's really about the lens, technique and software. IMO.

There are a few forums that have entire sections dedicated to photography for you to make an informed decision.



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frankc

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In general I would agree with a mid-range DSLR and a good macro lens, although it is somewhat dependent on how thick the tank glass is. I have an awesome macro lens, but the thickness of the glass makes it impossible to get good macro shots in most cases. So for very close coral pics, I use a waterproof point-and-shoot camera in the tank to avoid the glass. I use an Olympus Tough TG-820, but I got it 8 years ago so it's probably called something different by now.
 

Luman01

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If your phone and phone mounted filters ain’t doing it a dslr is a great choice! I will try to be as unbiased as possible but I am a canon lover. The perfect setup for what we all want in a coral photography is a full frame sensor with at least 18 megapixels (more the better) paired with a 100mm Macro lens with an orange or yellow gel filter( the 2 colors depends on what light spectrum you run). But that setup does cost money. So for a beginner I’d recommend a the Canon Rebel sl3 ( I have the sl2) the kit Lens is eh but I’d invest in the glass( Lens) any macro Lens will work but best is 85mm prime or 100mm prime (prime means it’s only has 1 focal length so it doesn’t have a zoom) my top 2 recommendations for lens under $600 are the Tonkina 100mm macro f2.8 @$399 and the Sigma 70mm Art macro lens @$469. Both these brands are really good glass that doesn’t break the bank. Now if your curious the best Macro Lens it’s the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro L series Lens thats at $899. The best canon macro lens!! But it’s expensive 😂. As far as filters I can’t really recommend one I haven’t tried out anyother ones than my K&F brown filter.
Here’s why I reccomend the sl3 it has a 24 megapixel sensor it is aps-c which btw adds a 1.6x crop on all lens, it records 4K which even tho I know your asking for photography but the video will be sweet, you could always steal some frames from a video.

So even after all that still do your research to see what brand fits you. Nikon isn’t bad, Sony is actually pretty good but the body’s and Lens are kinda pricey. Hope this helps lol. Happy Reefing!
 
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Seaworthy Aquatics

Seaworthy Aquatics

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If your phone and phone mounted filters ain’t doing it a dslr is a great choice! I will try to be as unbiased as possible but I am a canon lover. The perfect setup for what we all want in a coral photography is a full frame sensor with at least 18 megapixels (more the better) paired with a 100mm Macro lens with an orange or yellow gel filter( the 2 colors depends on what light spectrum you run). But that setup does cost money. So for a beginner I’d recommend a the Canon Rebel sl3 ( I have the sl2) the kit Lens is eh but I’d invest in the glass( Lens) any macro Lens will work but best is 85mm prime or 100mm prime (prime means it’s only has 1 focal length so it doesn’t have a zoom) my top 2 recommendations for lens under $600 are the Tonkina 100mm macro f2.8 @$399 and the Sigma 70mm Art macro lens @$469. Both these brands are really good glass that doesn’t break the bank. Now if your curious the best Macro Lens it’s the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro L series Lens thats at $899. The best canon macro lens!! But it’s expensive 😂. As far as filters I can’t really recommend one I haven’t tried out anyother ones than my K&F brown filter.
Here’s why I reccomend the sl3 it has a 24 megapixel sensor it is aps-c which btw adds a 1.6x crop on all lens, it records 4K which even tho I know your asking for photography but the video will be sweet, you could always steal some frames from a video.

So even after all that still do your research to see what brand fits you. Nikon isn’t bad, Sony is actually pretty good but the body’s and Lens are kinda pricey. Hope this helps lol. Happy Reefing!
There is definitely more too it than I expected so really glad I asked here and thanks for all the help! It sounds like we have a old Canon laying around from my mothers old art studio so I'm going to try to go out there and dig it up and go from there. Hopefully I can at least get some practice and a feel for it before I splurge on anything and hopefully it's just the lens. Thanks for the pointers and I'm sure it won't be long till I'm asking more!
 
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Seaworthy Aquatics

Seaworthy Aquatics

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So I was able to dig up a Canon Rebel T3i with a 55mm macro lens. Sounds like its not quite as good as an sl3 and I can see the need for a better lens so I'll have to look into the recommendations. Really had no idea where to start and everyone was a big help as I have a decent plan forward now. I'll have to mess around and see what I can take, which already seems way better than my phone, and go from there!
 
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Just to snap quick updates and track, or are you looking to actually get into amateur photography?

I took a lot of classes. I recommend Lana Kelley with Everyday Photography if you're going that route. Lana Kelley, Photo Instructor
I learned a lot online (including from Dennis-d2mini/d2creative); but I really locked a lot of it down with Lana through several classes. They were fairly priced too.
 
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Seaworthy Aquatics

Seaworthy Aquatics

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Just to snap quick updates and track, or are you looking to actually get into amateur photography?

I took a lot of classes. I recommend Lana Kelley with Everyday Photography if you're going that route. Lana Kelley, Photo Instructor
I learned a lot online (including from Dennis-d2mini/d2creative); but I really locked a lot of it down with Lana through several classes. They were fairly priced too.
At first it was just for update and tracking, but I'm enjoying it so I may have to look into the classes after I mess around a bit.
 
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