How to take a pic from above the tank?

[Eduardo]

Maybe this question was already answered, but I could not find the answer, so I will ask it again. How you guys do to take a good picture of your open tank from above? I have a open tank and I like to take some pictures of my SPS from above but unfortunately I couldn't get a good pic yet. For references I am using a Olympus C-3020.

Thanks,
Eduardo

[gregr]

hello Eduardo-
what was wrong with the photos you took? perhaps if you how you took them it would be easier to figure out how to improve your technique.
one suggestion is to try manual focus- it could be that the camera is being fooled by the movement on the surface. also, if you're not using a flash your shutter speed might be too slow to handhold- in which case a tripod will solve your problem.
good luck,
greg

[gregr]

that was supposed to read "perhaps if you DESCRIBE how you took them "...
got to use the preview reply button...
greg

[dennisV]

Make a glass box with the top open (sort of like a mini-tank) or take a glass with a clear bottom or even.. a scuba mask.
Put the bottom in the water. take a pic with the lens in the box.
It's like a front window of a tank, but on top.

[Eduardo]

Greg,
I am using a tripod with no flash, I will try today with a higher shutter speed and with manual focus also. I attached a pic with the problem that I am referring to.


Dennis,
Thanks for the advice, unfortunately my tank is very small and the SPS are too close to the surface.


How do I with the lamp glare?, Should I take the photo with flash and no lamp? Should I use a polarized len?

Thanks,
Eduardo

[gregr]

it looks to me like maybe all that went wrong was the focus was a little off.
the problem with the higher shutterspeed is that the camera will have to use a bigger aperture (smaller fstop) so your depth of field will be decreased. do you remember what the settings were for that shot (fstop and shutterspeed)? if there is a lot of current moving the corals around that could be why it appears out of focus. if possible try turning off the powerheads for the photo. since [i assume] you want a lot of depth of field (everything in focus) i would suggest a small aperture- around f8 or so. if you have the camera set to aperture priority it will figure out what shutterspeed to use. it will probably be a long one so if the camera has a self timer (short delay) using that will help- your finger won't jiggle the camera when you take the picture.
as for the reflections- if you can't get rid of them by moving the lens around then try turning the lights off and using the flash on the camera, but i've found that sometimes just moving the camera an inch or so in one direction gets rid of the reflection. it may be that the flash is not powerful enough to cover the whole shot- it's worth a try though. i use a flash for all my aquarium pictures.
good luck,
greg

[Eduardo]

Greg,

Thanks for the advice, I think I got an improvement :cool:, look at the picture (f8.0 1/40, no flash, ISO 200 and unsharp mask applied with Corel PhotoPaint). I will keep practicing.

Eduardo