Pics of some recent frags

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by HollyG

DANG! That "Purple Cross" caught my eye!! I really want a piece of that!!! Super nice!!! Send me some pieces when you frag it!! :P

Thanks, but probably won't be fragging it for a while. I think the Purple Cross (Acropora Austera) is pretty common, though. I'm sure you can get there on the Island.

[HollyG]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Thanks, but probably won't be fragging it for a while. I think the Purple Cross (Acropora Austera) is pretty common, though. I'm sure you can get there on the Island.

haha sweet! It's definately a nice acro!

[Reef Pilot]

Trying out a new camera, an Olympus TG-2. Lots of features and capabilities (eg. super macro feature, and good underwater to 50'). Happy with the colour in the pics, but I don't like the AF. Has many different modes of AF, but was not adequate for some coral shots. And if you can believe it, this camera does not have a manual focus!! Here are some pics.

I am seriously thinking of returning the camera...

Dendro, probably the best pic.


Setosa, OK, but focus a little off.


ORA Green Birdsnest. Again, not the best focus.


Lokani. This focus is really bad. Tried everything, but no go.


Here is the pic of this same Lokani taken a few months back with my old Sony vid cam using the still pic option. While not great, it still shows more detail than the new Olympus.

[kien]

I have found that the macro setting on some point-and-shoots struggle with close up focusing. Try pulling the camera back a bit to see if the focus improves. Also, are you photographing these under full lights ON? Or evening lower light settings? Some of these photos look like they were captured with a really high ISO which suggest to me that the tank had a lower light level.

[Reef Pilot]

It was the ones closest to the front of the glass that came out best. The Lokani was further back. I tried a lot of different settings, incl macro, super macro, aperture priority, and some preset scene ones they give you. But this was the best I could do.

I just can't believe they don't have a manual focus.

[Reef Pilot]

Another possibility is the camera is focusing on the glass, which is why the closer ones turned out better. I haven't cleaned it for a couple days, and might be some bits of algae on it.

This camera can be put underwater, and maybe that would make for better focusing, too. But I didn't want to do that, if I was contemplating returning it.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by kien

Also, are you photographing these under full lights ON? Or evening lower light settings? Some of these photos look like they were captured with a really high ISO which suggest to me that the tank had a lower light level.

I did these with full lights on. The bright coloured ones were with flash on, too. With flash off, they were more subdued.

[typezero]

Nice collection of corals for sure!

[daniella3d]

I see in your photos that the autofocus is probably not the problem but shake is what is causing the blur. Motion blur. Try using the camera with better light and it will produce sharper pics. The more magnification you use and the more motion blue you can get, so keep that in mind.

Try not using the flash either because that does not produce very good pics.

here are a few of mine. when taking pics of corals, shut down your pumps so that the flow will be not so strong and this way it will be easier to keep the camera steady. Using a higher F number will give you very slow shutter speed, so try to avoid that as well. I am very happy with the Olympus TG-2, it's a wonderfull camera for the aquarium.

[Reef Pilot]

Well, I sure can't argue with the quality of your pics. I was trying to shoot through the glass. But I had it on a tripod, so motion blur shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I need to try some more underwater shots.

I was planning to return it this morning and look for another camera, but maybe I should give it another try.