Need help:How to take pic of aquarium


ly1968

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Jun 27, 2011
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Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.

My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks
 

Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.

My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks

Please search. This has been discussed to death.

What setting do you think will eliminate reflection? A cpl might, but dunno what magical setting your camera has.

Get as close to the glass as you can.
 

There is a special setting for shooting aquarium. It is available on all cameras.

Here are the 7 steps to unlock this secret setting;

1) Attach lens to camera body
2) If battery is not inserted, insert battery now. Ensure battery compartment door is closed after that.
3) Switch on camera
4) Get camera lens as close to glass pane of aquarium as you can.
5) Take meter reading and adjust accordingly
6) Set to manual focus
7) Press shutter release button when subject is in focus.
 

Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.
My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks
Your camera is stupid, it cannot differentiate between light coming from the fishes and light coming from reflections. Neither can any filter. CPL filters can help to filter light if the polarization layer is changed. Happens usually only with sunlight outside. Inside it's all the same.
I do remember seeing such a questions in the existing threads here, just recently. Please check it out.
 

Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.

My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks
when the reflection is there, is there, you change whatever exposure setting will not help at all.
you need to move yourself, or switch off the light, simple as that.


FYI, CPL filter cut down 2- 3 stops, that is a lot of exposure lost if you shooting in low light situation,

so if you want to prevent reflection for general scene, angle yourself with the glass panel,

for close up shots, go as close as possible to the glass, eg lens touching the glass.



hope this help.
 

Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.

My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks

Touch the lens with the glass........ Keep adjusting
 

Preferably the room lights should be off to cut any reflections and any nearby tanks might also cast reflections so best to off those lights too. But its something you cannot control. Logic also tells that you shouldnt use flash straight on camera as angle of incident equals to angle of reflection, a tank being flat in front will reflect directly back into your lens.

Polarizing filter can cut down organic reflection but you loss about 2 stops of lights. So best not to use as you need sufficient speed to ensure sharpness if the fishes are moving fast, and reasonable aperture to ensure enough depth of field.

Getting the lens right up to the tank glass will actually cut a lot of reflections but you will spook the fishes into hiding.

So best method is to hide below the tank and when the fishes swim past, suddenly jump out and fire 9 frames per second of consecutive shots until the buffer is filled. If you zoom in, you can actually see the fishes eyes opened wide in shock and fear.
 

Getting the right angle to compose the shot is a key. If not, you will get lots of unwanted reflections all over.

Also choose subjects (fish) that do not travel in high speed, as AF is a challenge to nail focus in that kind of environment.

Based on my previous visit to SEA Aquarium, my X-Pro1 many a times failed to get good shots but the 5DIII with a high speed lens captures wonderful shots.
 

Based on my previous visit to SEA Aquarium, my X-Pro1 many a times failed to get good shots but the 5DIII with a high speed lens captures wonderful shots.

The 5DIII excels in all sorts of situation :)
 

worse come to worse.. attached your lens hood or not (up to you). Then "hold it" or make sure it kisses so close against the glass panel/display.

But some people may find your funny or annyoing tho..since u are so close to the display now...literally glued there. So if you dont feel comfortable or dont want to be involve in these..do it when less people is around or forget it. :bsmilie:
 

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Buy a waterproof camera. Go swim with the fishes.
 

My experience is to use a ultra wide angle and have the front elements be as close to the tank glass as possible.

But on second thoughts, why do you want to take such a shot. Everything is staged. You are on the other side of the glass tank. You can visit another day and have the same shark/ray/whale circling above your head. It is not as if you are diving in the depth of some ocean with unique photos to share.

I think the more interesting shot would be how to photo your family members in the foreground and still see the content of the tank in the background.
 

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Hi guys i am going to River Safari soon & notice there is alot of aquarium type fish tank.

My question is do i need to add on filter to my lens or just play with the setting only in order to prevent reflection from the glass when shooting,thks

Hi,

It is very challenging to get decent result shooting at in public aquarium. I have not been to the RS so I am not familiar with the site condition.

There is no special technique to avoid reflection. Just stand slightly at certain angle to avoid it.

If the surrounding is dark, then it is generally easier to capture a large subject fm a distant with higher ISO and zoom in. Use remote flash (aim at an angle above your cam) if you plan to shoot subject in close up. esp. for smaller-size fish.


Here are some samples that I took in the past.

5Dmk3 + 24-105
zpostY31C7058.jpg

More photos --> Giant Amazon Fish Display Tank at the Underwater World Singapore - Part I

zpostY31C7149.jpg

More photos --> Fishes at the Underwater World Singapore - Part II

Close up with remote flash. Canon 40D + flash
zpostIMG_4677copy.jpg
 

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There is a special setting for shooting aquarium. It is available on all cameras.

Here are the 7 steps to unlock this secret setting;

1) Attach lens to camera body
2) If battery is not inserted, insert battery now. Ensure battery compartment door is closed after that.
3) Switch on camera
4) Get camera lens as close to glass pane of aquarium as you can.
5) Take meter reading and adjust accordingly
6) Set to manual focus
7) Press shutter release button when subject is in focus.

Thks for the sarcastic remark
 

Thks to Octarine,Catchlights,Donut88,sjackal,Obelix,TWmilkteaTW,amiidae for the tips,appreciate :)
 

There's an article in Petapixel that advises a method of minimising reflection. Was published a couple days ago.
 

Keep adjusting your lenses, it will help you out.
 

recently i have to snap a few shots from inside a vehicle.

what i have is a fisheye lens with the hood like in the front..

as many have said..u have to move around the camera to get the angle right. also try to get as close as possible to the glass itself. not bad..managed to get a few good ones. have some reflections can't be help i guess.