Pictures with new lens [Archive] - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

sphelps

05-20-2008, 03:27 AM

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0003-2.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0009.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0002.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0062.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0054.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0049-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0077.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0085.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0087-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0088.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0090.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0029.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0079.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0036-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0087.jpg

Marlin65

05-20-2008, 03:32 AM

Very nice you can't just put that and not tell us what new lens.:cry:

sphelps

05-20-2008, 03:41 AM

Very nice you can't just put that and not tell us what new lens.:cry:

Sorry, it's a Sigma 150mm Macro (http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3283&navigator=5) for my Nikon D70.

christyf5

05-20-2008, 03:46 AM

WOW! :eek: Awesome shots!! :biggrin:

CLINT

05-20-2008, 03:47 AM

Those are amazing.I am going to have to get a macro lens for my canon now.Ill let the wife know who to blame.Thanks for sharing.Clint

Snappy

05-20-2008, 03:56 AM

Great pictures Steve

Jason McK

05-20-2008, 04:05 AM

Amazing. Both the corals and the photography

J

sphelps

05-20-2008, 04:18 AM

Thanks for the comments, I'm still getting a hang of the new lens, some pictures are bit blurry but I haven't broken out the tripod yet.

sphelps

05-20-2008, 04:20 AM

Great pictures Steve

Hey Greg, thanks! The first picture is a nice coral I got from you :biggrin:

michika

05-20-2008, 04:30 AM

Very nice photos!

Lance

05-20-2008, 04:32 AM

Sweet macro shots, and your corals look really healthy too.

ElGuappo

05-20-2008, 04:37 AM

Wow.....

sphelps

05-20-2008, 04:37 AM

Sweet macro shots, and your corals look really healthy too.

haha, yeah the ones I let you folks see. I've actually been having a lot of trouble lately with a few of my colonies. I've recently made way to many changes at once. Changed salt, lighting and did a complete filtration overhaul. Things are back on track again now though, some things are just a little smaller than before :cry:, but more room for new ones :biggrin:

Snappy

05-20-2008, 04:46 AM

Hey Greg, thanks! The first picture is a nice coral I got from you :biggrin:
Sweet, picture's a little too close for me to tell which one? Plus I can't remember what all I sent you.:wink:

Diana

05-20-2008, 05:31 AM

yayaya nice pics! nice lens! we have the nikkor 60mm macro for our D70, pretty good but not that good! it looks like you have a good amount of light to work with too. awesome!

sphelps

05-20-2008, 02:04 PM

it looks like you have a good amount of light to work with too. awesome!

Having a max aperture of 2.8 helps.

sphelps

05-20-2008, 02:29 PM

Thanks again for all the comments, I'll try to get some more shots with this lens. I got some pictures with my previous lens for now.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0080.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0082.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0089.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0038.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0039.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0071.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/013.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/008.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0003-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/DSC_0025_edited.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/DSC_0027.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/DSC_0016_edited.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/DSC_0006-1.jpg

Chaloupa

05-20-2008, 03:41 PM

Excellent pics! We've been looking at that lens and a couple of others....great to see it in action! thanks....gorgeous corals and fish too...

Diana

05-20-2008, 04:10 PM

Having a max aperture of 2.8 helps.

Yeah ours has f2.8 too, but just cant seem to get the shots that bright. Then again, I'm usually shooting under PC lighting (ick).

:P
-Diana

sphelps

05-20-2008, 04:41 PM

Yeah ours has f2.8 too, but just cant seem to get the shots that bright. Then again, I'm usually shooting under PC lighting (ick).

:P
-Diana

Have you tried increasing your iso?

ElGuappo

05-20-2008, 06:32 PM

Have you tried increasing your iso?

this is the best advbice i recieved as a complete moron (as far as cameras go)
mine is point and click and this made a HUGE difference.:mrgreen:

Delphinus

05-20-2008, 07:45 PM

What ISO setting are you using?

sphelps

05-20-2008, 07:53 PM

What ISO setting are you using?

Not sure if you're asking me or ElGuappo but I change mine all the time, usually anywhere between 320-1000. I generally play around with multiple setting until I get something I like.

ElGuappo

05-20-2008, 08:15 PM

Not sure if you're asking me or ElGuappo but I change mine all the time, usually anywhere between 320-1000. I generally play around with multiple setting until I get something I like.

I change mine aswell. angle and room lights will alter whats needed.

Delphinus

05-20-2008, 08:28 PM

Interesting, thanks for the tip. :)

VFX

05-20-2008, 08:59 PM

Nice pics! :)

Do you use any filters like polarisers etc. on your lens?

I tried out the 105mm Sigma Macro... great lens but left me wanting something longer. The 150mm looks perfect!

.

kaboom

05-20-2008, 09:10 PM

Kool fish you got there, mind sharing what your "fu man chu" is eating and how you got it to start eating? Likewise with your pipe fish.

sphelps

05-20-2008, 09:11 PM

Nice pics! :)

Do you use any filters like polarisers etc. on your lens?

I tried out the 105mm Sigma Macro... great lens but left me wanting something longer. The 150mm looks perfect!

.

I have various filters but I never used any of them for the posted pictures. I've used them before and found them to serve little purpose for aquarium photography. They are however really nice outdoors.

I like the 150, I to also got a chance to use a 105 but also found it wasn't quite enough. The 150 is a really nice macro lens, there is a 180 to but that's probably just overkill.

Jason McK

05-20-2008, 10:11 PM

I know how he is getting such great shots. There is no water in the tank.

Man that is so crystal clear

What lightin are you using. Just the tank lights or something else?

J

sphelps

05-20-2008, 10:31 PM

I know how he is getting such great shots. There is no water in the tank.

Man that is so crystal clear

What lighting are you using. Just the tank lights or something else?

J

I'm currently using a combination of t5s and MH. I have 6 39W T5s in total all with individual ice cap reflectors, bulbs include KZ purples and coral lights as well as one ATI blue plus. I also run a 250W DE metal halide in a Lumenmax III, currently using a XM 10K but switching to a 14K Phoenix. The XM is a terrible bulb (IMO), I chose it because it had a very similar spectrum to a previous bulb I used (EVC 10K SE 400W) but they aren't even close, might have to do with my ballast (ice cap).

Pictures where all taken using tank lights only, except for the lionfish which I believe I used the flash to get that lighting in the eye.

But you are right I drain the water out of my tank before taking pictures :mrgreen:

Jason McK

05-20-2008, 10:52 PM

I thought so LOL.

I can never get such overall tonal range. Usually my highlights or my shadows are blown out.

Sorry for all the questions but...

Are you shooting in RAW and then correcting the image in Lightroom?

S.D

05-20-2008, 11:14 PM

Gorgeous corals!

Fabulous pictures, well done!

Thank you for sharing...keep them coming! :wink:

Sarina

sphelps

05-21-2008, 01:31 AM

Are you shooting in RAW and then correcting the image in Lightroom?

Nope, I'm using highest quality jpeg format. Basically straight from the camera to photobucket, occasionally I'll use Photoshop to correct the color or light and sometimes increase sharpness.

Jason McK

05-21-2008, 01:41 AM

sphelps

05-21-2008, 02:13 AM

That's awsome. I really think the D70 was one of the best DSLRs built. Even the D70S can't pull off pics like that. And the sweet piece of glass helps.

I would love to pick your brain some day on photo techniques

again brilliant pics

J

Thanks, I wouldn't mind answering any questions you or other members have about anything including photography, however I'm far from an expert, still learning. I really like my D70 but one day I hope to get a D300 or something along those lines just so I can top some of my Nikon buddies :wink:

sphelps

05-21-2008, 04:08 AM

A couple new ones

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0007-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0006-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0008.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0014.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0019-1.jpg

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a174/sphelps/Corals/DSC_0021-1.jpg

Diana

05-21-2008, 04:22 AM

I usually have it set around 400 ISO..... graininess really bugs me so I try to keep it low (or um high?). Next time I'll play with it a bit more and see what I get. Great pics! :D

sphelps

05-21-2008, 04:47 AM

Kool fish you got there, mind sharing what your "fu man chu" is eating and how you got it to start eating? Likewise with your pipe fish.

I started him with live Zebra Danios and Ghost shrimp then got him eating whole krill. Now he eats pretty much anything, I can even use a stick or forceps to individually feed him and the other guys in that tank. The pipefish just eats bugs :question:

S.D

05-21-2008, 06:31 AM

Wow, fabulous pics and gorgeous corals! You have a beautiful collection.

I noticed that you mentioned one day maybe picking up a Nikon D300, it's a terrific camera! We have a couple of Nikon D200's that my husband and I use. We opted for two D200 for when we go out shooting....we've enjoyed them very much.

Keep the pics coming....they're amazing! :biggrin:

Sarina

sphelps

05-21-2008, 02:01 PM

Sorry, it's a Sigma 150mm Macro (http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3283&navigator=5) for my Nikon D70.

I've been corrected, I have the D70s, not D70. Thanks Dad :biggrin:

sphelps

05-21-2008, 02:03 PM

Scythanith

06-15-2008, 05:56 PM

sphelps

06-15-2008, 07:50 PM

Looking good Steve! Try playing around with your exposure +/- a little and see if you like the difference. Get the tripod out as well and get the ISO lower, it makes a world of difference with the macro!

Can't wait to see what your new toy can do!

Scott

I have been playing with the +/- setting, finding a little on the plus side lightens up the picture a little allowing for a quicker or sharper shot.

I hate using the tripod, what I find works quite well is resting the lens shade right against the glass which always gives you that perpendicular angle and supports the camera.

I did post some pics with the 300 here (http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42707)