Macro Fish Photography and the E-300

[tomcat]

Now that I finally got the FL-36 flash, I can test out how the E-300 perform in taking macro fish photos using the Zuiko Digital ED 50mm f/2.0 Macro lens. For comparison, I also brought along my Canon 20D/Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX Macro/550EX flash setup and took some shots as well. All were taken in RAW format.

Though I just had time to process a few of the shots, I am very impressed with this macro lens. It appeared to be a little sharper than the Sigma 105mm Macro lens and it's coating seemed to be much better as there were some shots that were very difficult to take with the Sigma lens because of internal reflections from the glass walls in some tank set-ups. The ZD lens somehow managed to take them. The FL-36 flash also worked very well in this setup and gave very good exposure even though I had used it in FP mode all the time.

Example of a macro shot taken:

Freshwater Hatchet Fish
1/250s f/11.0 at 50.0mm ISO100 with Flash

In my excitement, I had forgotten to set the ISO higher (as I usually do with the 20D) and took most of the shots at ISO 100 last night. This actually resulted in my flash having to fire at full blast for most of these shots given the settings that I had used.

I did managed to take a few at ISO 200 and I find that the E-300 performed very well with hardly any difference in noise between ISO 100 and 200 (at least in those shots I had taken). In fact, exposure seemed to be batter at ISO 200 as the flash can reach further at ISO 200 than at ISO 100.

Example of a shot taken at ISO 200:

Uaru fernandezyepezi
1/320s f/10.0 at 50.0mm iso200 with Flash

I didn't have time to processed any of the 20D shots for comparison but will post them later for those who are interested though I think not many people here are really interested in fish pics.

One very obvious difference between the 2 setups is ... the weight ! :bigeyes:
The E-300/ZD 50mm/FL-36 combo is SOOOOO MUCH lighter than the 20D/Sigma 105mm EX/550EX setup.

 

[chii]

Nice pics

btw wat distance did u shoot from & was there any issue with the fish tank reflecting light?

cheers

 

[kross]

well, i'm interested in fish pics....

post the 20D pics.... i'm interested. ;p

 

[tomcat]

Nice pics

btw wat distance did u shoot from & was there any issue with the fish tank reflecting light?

cheers

The distance would depend on the actual size of the fish. If the fish is very small, say about 2cm and you want to fill the frame with it, then you would have to move in up close to the front wall of the tank to take the shot. If the fish is larger, you would have to move further back.

I usually have no problems with reflections from the glass walls. After shooting fishes for some time, you would learn how to take flash shots of fishes without incurring any reflections problems. This is not to say that the reflection problems automatically goes away but you would know how to position yourself and to recognise the those situations that could give rise to reflection problems and so take the necessary action to avoid or minimise them.

But there will still be some tank set-ups that are reflection-prone with reflections coming from the internal walls especially and playing havoc with the camera's exposure meter no matter what you do. Those are the tanks that I would avoid taking photos of.

 

[Evilmerlin]

Wow! Impressive!!

I'm assuming that the a bounce card was used to avoid the reflection and soften the flash?

 

[serene]

HI Tomcat

The fishes look very lifesize. ;p They are well taken. My goldfish tend to move very vigourously whenever I try to take any photos. The lighting looks good too.

 

[chii]

The distance would depend on the actual size of the fish. If the fish is very small, say about 2cm and you want to fill the frame with it, then you would have to move in up close to the front wall of the tank to take the shot. If the fish is larger, you would have to move further back.

I usually have no problems with reflections from the glass walls. After shooting fishes for some time, you would learn how to take flash shots of fishes without incurring any reflections problems. This is not to say that the reflection problems automatically goes away but you would know how to position yourself and to recognise the those situations that could give rise to reflection problems and so take the necessary action to avoid or minimise them.

But there will still be some tank set-ups that are reflection-prone with reflections coming from the internal walls especially and playing havoc with the camera's exposure meter no matter what you do. Those are the tanks that I would avoid taking photos of.

I see.. will experiment

 

[tomcat]

Wow! Impressive!!

I'm assuming that the a bounce card was used to avoid the reflection and soften the flash?

No, I don't have the luxury of using bounce card or studio tank set-ups etc. Just shoot-and-run from whichever tanks I am taking photo of. This is because these fishes are in my friend's fish shop. As with any fish shop. the fishes are in rows of tanks several tiers high with very little space between rows. There is just no space to put any bounce card which in any case might be more harmful than useful as they could become an additional source of unwanted reflection with so much glass surfaces around.

 

[Merciless_Knight]

Truly impressive, I think I must try out liao.

 

[Evilmerlin]

These are all direct flash shots?

You must share your techniques!! Even more impressed!

 

[tomcat]

HI Tomcat

The fishes look very lifesize. ;p They are well taken. My goldfish tend to move very vigourously whenever I try to take any photos. The lighting looks good too.

Thanks. And yes, fast moving fishes are a pain to photograph. Most of my shots that came out well were those of slower moving fishes. Sometimes, you could get really nice shots of fast moving fishes captured in full motion but this depends a lot on luck (you happen to snap the shutter at the right time and the fish just happened to pose nicely at that time ) and on the use of fast shutter speeds to freeze any motion.

This is where the FP mode of the flash becomes indispensable as it allows you to take high speed macro shots of moving fishes.

 

[tomcat]

well, i'm interested in fish pics....

post the 20D pics.... i'm interested.

Here are a couple of 20D shots taken at about the same time just for visual comparison.

This is one taken by the 20D of the Freshwater Hatchet Fish which I posted at the start of the thread for the E-300.

Freshwater Hatchet Fish (Canon 20D)
1/250s f/10.0 at 105.0mm ISO 400 with Flash
I think I like the 20D version better considering that it is taken at a higher ISO than the E-300's. :think:

Another set of shots of a Puffer fish :

Tetraodon subati (Canon 20D)
1/320s f/10.0 at 105.0mm ISO 400 with Flash

Tetraodon subati (E-300)
1/320s f/10.0 at 50.0mm ISO 100 with Flash
I prefer the E-300 version for this set. :dunno: