# 1/100 shots. congo tetra



## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

"1/100" should be a new photo series.

I'm a novice with the camera. specifically my wife's canon rebel xsi and our single EF-S 18-55mm lens.

anywho; i managed to get a single decent shot after speaking with a photographer friend online, who gave me a better run down on the different settings in a few sentences each, instead of the paragraphs upon paragraphs one finds online.

well, without further ado, and with a belly full of brine shrimp










i think my next attempt will be with a lower iso, decrease shutter, and higher fstop. i think for this i was at 800 iso 1/30 speed F10


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## rustbucket (Oct 15, 2011)

Nice you settled on the congos!! Boy do you have a beauty there, and by his fins he still looks to be quite young.

That is an awesome picture. My pics are generally 1/1000 and still not that good. I need to get a better camera.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

thank you. i was a little apprehensive getting congo's because most photos of them don't really do them justice... but they're a real pain in the butt to get a picture of.

but they're absolutely gorgeous. I've 12 of them right now, and am tempted to round that number to 20. i've 9 five banded barbs 










that i want about 20 more of.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

A faster lens with a wider aperture (2.8 or lower) helps and a flash above the tank. If you can't do that just throw a lot of light over the tank this way you can use a faster shutter speed.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

houseofcards said:


> A faster lens with a wider aperture (2.8 or lower) helps and a flash above the tank. If you can't do that just throw a lot of light over the tank this way you can use a faster shutter speed.


i've two buildmyled light fixtures above the tank. i think that'd be enough; i'm assuming the problem is me and my lack of skill behind the camera.

my buddy recommended a fixed lens 50mm 1.8


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

scapegoat said:


> i've two buildmyled light fixtures above the tank. i think that'd be enough; i'm assuming the problem is me and my lack of skill behind the camera.
> 
> my buddy recommended a fixed lens 50mm 1.8


That 50 1.8 will help alot since it will allow you to use a faster shutter. Your pic above at 1/30 is too slow to get a crisp shot. You were at F10? You could open the F much more to increase the shutter speed and/light.


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

F10 was the last setting i saw on the camera this morning. i may have changed it afterwards. My lights go on at 4pm, so i'll be taking shots once again with some changes to the settings.


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

The 50 f1.8 will not focus close enough for a good shot without extension tubes. You also want more depth of field with a higher f stop to get everything in focus. Looks to me your set up will work fine with more light.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

devilduck said:


> The 50 f1.8 will not focus close enough for a good shot without extension tubes. *You also want more depth of field with a higher f stop to get everything in focus.* Looks to me your set up will work fine with more light.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 4


Well light is pretty much everything. Having a larger F-stop is nice, but it's not necessary for a single fish shot. Many times without a flash or very strong light you need a wide aperture to get the shot.


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## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

houseofcards said:


> Well light is pretty much everything. Having a larger F-stop is nice, but it's not necessary for a single fish shot. Many times without a flash or very strong light you need a wide aperture to get the shot.


it mostly depends of how close you are to the subject and focal length of the lens; if you use dedicated macro lens (100mm), and you are 10 inches from the subject and your F is at 2.8 you may get only 1/8 of and inch of fish in focus, but if you are using standard lens (35mm -50mm) and are 3 feet from the subject you will get whole fish in focus at F 2.8 , but you ll need to crop the image alot...


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

kubalik said:


> it mostly depends of how close you are to the subject and focal length of the lens; if you use dedicated macro lens (100mm), and you are 10 inches from the subject and your F is at 2.8 you may get only 1/8 of and inch of fish in focus, but if you are using standard lens (35mm -50mm) and are 3 feet from the subject you will get whole fish in focus at F 2.8 , but you ll need to crop the image alot...


Well yeah I understand that, but for the most part a fast lens allows many more useable pics since not everyone is going to use flash or have adequate light for a larger F number.

Single fish shots are usually fine with a wide aperture anyway since the fish is usually shot perpendicular to the camera. I've taken shots at 2.8 using 60-80mm right up against the glass and the whole fish is in focus.


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## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

yeah if the fish is 100% perpendicular to the camera it should be in focus, but it makes the picture kind of boring in my opinion. Here is a shot at F9 not even half of the 2 inch fish is in focus ...


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

I would say 95% of single fish pics the fish is perpendicular to the camera. These are just a few fish pages from Dr Fosters & Smith Live Aquaria. They're using these pics to obviously sell fish.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=830+887
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=830+834


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## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

yeah and now, honestly answer yourself two questions :
do they show you the fish ?
do u like those pictures ? 
to me it is yes and no ...


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## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

now go here : http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/photography/56496-some-barbus-shots.html 

do those show u fish ? and do u like em ? except 1 where the fish is 100 % perpendicular i love em

again this is only my opinion ...


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Thanks for attaching those pics. Pretty much all of those pics the fish are perpendicular to the camera, but I'm not really sure what your trying to prove to me. I'm not arguing against a higher F number. Obviously a higher F number will allow you more depth, but the FACT is, a wider aperture will allow you to get pics you couldn't get at all unless your adding a flash or heavy light. BTW those pics from that link were taking with this equipment:

Camera used: CANON 350D
Lenses: EF 50 mm/f2.5 Compact-Macro and EF 50 mm. f/1.8 II
Ext. flashes:Canon Speedlite 430 and 580EX

1.They were taken with a flash, which is not what we were taking about. With the flash off course you could use a higher F number. Light is no longer an issue.

2. Most of those pics you linked are of multiple fish which again was not what we we were talking about.

3. Were taking with a fast lens, which is pretty much the lens the OP was thinking of getting.

This was taken right from the stickie in this forum on aquarium photography:



Chlorophile said:


> Beginners Guide to Aquarium Photography
> A Brief Guide by Chlorophile
> 
> *For the most part in aquarium photography you want a lower ƒ-stop, especially if you don't have a flash or a high-light tank. *


http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=165372

Which is pretty much all I was saying.


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## kubalik (Jul 8, 2011)

my bad , i was thinking we were discussing fish photography in general. yes with 50mm 1.8 your fish shots will be nice and sharp at f 2.8 .


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## scapegoat (Jun 3, 2010)

I have to read and digest everything. I also caught this shot of my sacrimontis male. which, is way more interesting than the congo. but, with the congo, i was only trying to get a shot to show off it's color to friend's and family.

also keep in mind that i'm referencing images hosted by facebook. I can produce better quality jpgs


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