Camera recommendations?

Sparky312

Sparky312

Member
What would you guys suggest for a basic entry-level camera for taking pictures of my tank/corals? Not looking to spend an arm and a leg, but upgrade from my iPhone. I know nothing about photography so looking for input on brands, essential features and things to look for when I shop. Color, detail, and value are what I want

Thanks!!

Also if you have good links/pages/websites to help me get started that would be cool. I'm going to try to educate myself on this but if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be awesome. I'm trying to photograph corals close-up and capture detail and color, so what would you recommend to a beginner?
 
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Any entry level dslr camera would do the trick .. Its more of a skill than equipment based ..


Sent from my iPhone
 
tinman said:
Any entry level dslr camera would do the trick .. Its more of a skill than equipment based ..


Sent from my iPhone
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You take lots of nice pictures! Skill based in terms of using the camera? How much does photo-manipulation software play into it, generally speaking?
 
agree with tinman, if you are just starting out any of the entry level dslr will be better than an iphone. I used to use Canon equipment in the days of film but i recently bought a Nikon dslr and i am loving it, still cant use most features but im learning. My sister bought a Nikon D3300 and she likes it a lot for a starter camera. If going to dslr glass and a good eye can be more important than the body.
 
Sony Dslr---> Too much money --> Best rating camera as of today (I don't know about editing software)
Nikon Dslr---> Good Price ---> Best lens --> Editing Software is good but you need to pay for better one from Nikon.
Canon Dslr---> Nice price ---> Good lens --> Free very nice editing software (come with DSLR camera only)

other can't go wrong with Minolta, Fujifilm or Olympus.

Go with entry level DSLR, you will love it when taking picture of tank and corals in Raw format (need software to convert to jpeg). No point and shoot, these camera for walk around picture better not for Corals.
 
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may i add that the subscription for lightroom and photoshop from adobe is only about $12 a month, if you are serious about pics i think its a cheap price to have both software suites at your disposal. I have not really retouched pictures much but having the tools available is nice.
 
I used dpreview.com when looking for a camera as well, then i went to a store and played with some of the cameras, you have to find the body that fits your needs and budget best. I bought a Nikon D5500 because it had a bigger area for my big hands, some reviews i read had that as a negative when compared to the older D5400, I also liked being able to adjust settings on a touch screen.
 
maidia said:
Sony Dslr---> Too much money --> Best rating camera as of today (I don't know about editing software)
Nikon Dslr---> Good Price ---> Best lens --> Editing Software is good but you need to pay for better one from Nikon.
Canon Dslr---> Nice price ---> Good lens --> Free very nice editing software (come with DSLR camera only)

other can't go wrong with Minolta, Fujifilm or Olympus.

Go with entry level DSLR, you will love it when taking picture of tank and corals in Raw format (need software to convert to jpeg). No point and shoot, these camera for walk around picture better not for Corals.
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Which ones are not good for corals? I'm not sure what you mean by walk around picture
 
im planning on buying a macro lens myself for corals but with the million megapixels you get from dslr cameras nowadays you can do some cropping and get decent close ups. I think im going to end up with a 3 lens setup, a prime, a macro and a decent zoom.
 
Sparky312 said:
Which ones are not good for corals? I'm not sure what you mean by walk around picture
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Point and shoot camera same as your Iphone...Few cameras are good but expensive as Dslr camera. Most of them aren't good for corals serious pictures.
 
Sparky312 said:
Awesome info everybody, thanks. What about macro lens? I read they help a lot with closeups/detail
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Macro lens is an add on and costs as much as an entry level camera if buying new ...scope out the for sale on here and r2r and they pop up sometimes ..

macro lens also needs some additional skill than other lens i think but true i recently aquired a macro 90mm lens and love it .. couldnt believe i took reef pics for this long without it ..
 
Sparky312 said:
You take lots of nice pictures! Skill based in terms of using the camera? How much does photo-manipulation software play into it, generally speaking?
Click to expand...

yes skill based in terms of using the camera and learning how to take good pics .. just like reefing taking pics also have certain elements you have to play with aka lighting, focus, shutterspeed, aperture and last but not the least ISO .. all of these combined will give a good picture ..

difference between a point and shoot and a dslr is that you get to play with all these factor hence being able to control the output ( the picture quality). learning about these and practice itself takes sometime once you get your hands on an slr ..

comming to photomanipulation software .. DSLRs gift of being able to choose all the above aspects is its bane too .. meaning you never, ever get a perfect picture out of camera and almost always have to post process be it a reef pic or a picture of some outside world .. Camera does some work and presents you a nice picture but if you want it as perfect as possible you have to edit.

Post processing of reef pics is relatively easy provided you know what you are doing .. all i do these days is set my lights to 20k ( radions will let you choose the color temperature) take the picture put it in photoshop and change the temp to 20k and done.

here is more ..
here is a pic straight out of camera .. does it look like this to my eye in the tank .. no

VFCtkMi.jpg


after processing .. some might call it hyping but this is how it looks to my eye in the tank .. and i would want to present it this way ..
wHLxbgt.jpg


thats with a normal lens (50mmF1.8 prime lens)

if a similar pic is taken with a macro lens it looks something like this .. more detailed view like you are looking at it under a magnifying glass ..
35_zpshkbgs1zs.jpg


phewwww long post :) hope it helps
 
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Nikon D3300. Best bang for your buck beginners DSLR. I just bought one for my daughter. It's pretty sweet. Throw a 35mm or 50mm prime lens on there, and you're golden.
 
Mr. Thingdoer said:
Nikon D3300. Best bang for your buck beginners DSLR. I just bought one for my daughter. It's pretty sweet. Throw a 35mm or 50mm prime lens on there, and you're golden.
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35mm FTW. best nikon DX lens out there and relatively cheap too if you go grey market or used.
 
so this might be a dumb question but when you guys are taking pics are you doing a top down view or through the front of glass..i can never seem to get a good pic with my cannon
 
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