How to take pics of zoas
 

I have a Stylus 770SW... how do I take good pics of my zoas?
Thanks!

try this link...

[url]http://www.zoaid.com/index.php?name=FAQ&id_cat=2[/url]

Dream

Jason,

I really like taking pics from the top down. It seems to be the easiest way to get a consistent shot (IME).

I place the frag I want to photograph near the surface of the tank and turn the powerheads off. Once they open up I take pics from different heights and angles using the macro mode.

[IMG]http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d168/ficklefins/color_change.jpg[/IMG]

I can never get it right when taking pics through the glass.

thanks for the link, i'll check it out.

fickefins, your pics are much better then my first attempts:

[IMG]http://www.traccentral.org/Portals/0/PTForum_Images/168_Coral%20-%20zoa%20049.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.traccentral.org/Portals/0/PTForum_Images/168_Coral%20-%20zoa%20045.jpg[/IMG]

Those frags are on your sad bed. Place them high in your tank, on a frag rack or on top of a pwerhead. Your camera may be able to focus better that way.

Keep in mind I'm not a camera person, I just know what works best for my point and shoot camera.

I get much better pics if I turn off the flow. I'm no great photographer, but I can at least see how things look when I take pics that way :)

Also try to not zoom in at all if you can. Macro mode does best when zoomed out all the way. You can crop afterwards to get the zoom you want.

It looks like photos are out of focus and that they are zoomed in way too much and the camera is selecting a high ISO value to compensate with the lower lighting (most tanks are dim in a camera's eyes). The higher ISO level can lead to what is called Noise, and it looks like little blocks in your pictures.

Couple tips that may help:

make sure your ISO is set as low as possible while still retaining a 1/30 shutter speed

always try and use a tripod

shut off pumps 10 min before shooting

turn off lights in the room to reduce glare

shoot as straight on at the subject as possible to reduce distortion through the glass

use the self timer on the camera set to 2 sec (as low as you can on your camera) to reduce shake

set the white balance to either "cloudy" mode or if you can set it manually aim at something white in your tank, make sure it fills the frame (all white) and set the WB.

Top down is a great way to see new colours in your corals (need some sort of top down box)

HAVE FUN, try new things!

Scott

thanks for the tips!

I was in your same situation. Best bet is to create a frag holder that you can put the frag up rather than always holding them up. Or better yet get a SLR camera and a macro lense but that pushing it and expensive!