# Nikon D80 / 18-200 / 55-200



## bluedot (Aug 5, 2004)

HELP!!

I have managed over the years to snap two or three photos
of my Mbunas, worthy of publishing in a magazine. ACCIDENTALLY!

Can not reproduce settings.

I have a Nikon D80 with two lenses, an 18-200 and a 55-200.

All I can remember about the great pics I took is that it was with the flash off.

Can anyone make suggestions as to other camera settings specific to this camera?
I know nothing about photography.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Do you have copies of the photos - unedited?


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## Aquamojo (Jan 4, 2003)

Turn the flash on and use the 55-200 lens. Step back and zoom in. Angle the camera so it is SLIGHTLY pointed at an angle to the tank. This will help "bury" any flash flare on the tank.

Put the camera on manual. Set speed to 1/60th of a second. (Check to see if that camera will flash sync with a higher shutter speed. If it does, start with THAT shutter speed). Take your camera OFF automatic ISO and set it for ISO 400. I don't know what the speed of your lens may be...but put that at the biggest aperture (F3.5, 4.5?) And take a picture.

Look at the photo. If the picture is too washed out, go to the next highest aperture (F5.6). Repeat that until the image is properly exposed. The alternate would be to adjust the flash. You can do this manually on the camera. If you don't know how, refer to your manual. Your best exposure is the one that works. Digital makes it easy to re-shoot. Shooting without a flash invariably will force you to pick a higher ISO and give you more noise in the photos.

The faster the exposure (1/125th as opposed to 1/60th) will give you less ambient light in the tank...giving a darker background on the interior of the tank. You could drop the shutter speed down to 1/30th of a second, but risk getting motion blur.

Hope this helps.

Mo


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## bluedot (Aug 5, 2004)

Spyder, unfortunately, no. I don't have a raw file.

Mo...I will give that a shot this week, and let you know how it turned out.
What I do remember about the great pics I took was that the flash was off.
The tank is very well lit. Even the bad pics I took now, the problem is with the
fish being blurred.

I think messing with those settings you suggested will do the trick. I'll have to get
a manual for this camera. I think part of the problem, is not knowing how to make those
settings changes. I'll have to write stuff down. I have taken pics of my kids splashing about
at the beach, and managed to capture the water splashing, crystal clear, where even the
drops of water appear to have been frozen in time in the air, perfectly focused. Again, by accident.

I think using the camera often enough, maybe I'll get better at it.

THANKS for input guys!


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

This link may be helpful.

Try increasing the ISO to 800 ISO and setting the camera on shutter priority mode. Use gradually faster shutter speeds starting at 1/60. You should resolve the blurring issue quickly. If the aperture is becoming too large though you will lose depth of field and have difficulty maintaining focus. If that happens increase the ISO to the next level and try again.

Getting to know your camera and just practicing with it will undoubtedly get you to the point where great shots are not entirely an accident.


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## bluedot (Aug 5, 2004)

OK. Here comes a total photography noob question. 

I managed to make those settings changes Mojo. But when I press the button
down half way, it focuses, but the focus is all over the place. Won't stay focused
long enough for me to shoot the photo. Seems every time another fish comes
into the picture, the auto focus goes wild again. Should auto focus be off?

Also, I'm confused. The main command dial, supposedly allows me to make two
changes Shutter speed and Aperture. I have the speed at 400 like you said. But
the aperture settings seem to go from 4.2 through 22. Is that possible? 22!!??
I set it to the lowest setting. But the pictures are almost "black"


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

You should be able to adjust your focus points. I do it the old school way of having just centre focus. The following may be helpful:

http://www.all-things-photography.com/focus-points.html

Going to manual focus is also an option.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

bluedot said:


> Also, I'm confused. The main command dial, supposedly allows me to make two
> changes Shutter speed and Aperture. I have the speed at 400 like you said. But
> the aperture settings seem to go from 4.2 through 22. Is that possible? 22!!??
> I set it to the lowest setting. But the pictures are almost "black"


f22 is not uncommon. It's unlikely you will ever use this setting for taking photos of your fish. The range is determined by your lens not your camera body.

If your images are too dark at a shutter speed of 1/60 on shutter priority, you need to increase the ISO. Your lens is fairly slow (since the widest aperture is f4.2 so you will definitely need to try a higher ISOÃ¢â‚¬Â¦or use a faster lens (something with the widest aperture being f1.8 or more is considered fast).


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## RayQ (Sep 26, 2007)

Upping ISO won't be good with a D80. I think that Mo is pointing you in the right direction for shooting Nikon. I also agree with him on the lens choice, I had a 18-200 attached to my D90 and was never happy with the detail that I achieved. Keep practicing, the more you fool around with it, the more you will understand why you are getting the results you are getting.

Ray


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## bluedot (Aug 5, 2004)

Ok. Thanks to all the great advice, I have some descent photos. 
Added a new tank under "My Tanks".


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

If you are having a hard time focusing on the fish (moving too much), try focusing on an object or substrate approximately the same distance from you as the fish (to keep them both within the same depth of field). F-numbers closer to 0 will have a smaller depth of field and it can be tricky to get fish to match the object you focused on.

I like to keep my shutter speed around 200, my ISO 200, and I will adjust my aperture (f-number), flash intensity, and white balance to get the results I am happy with. Sometimes the ISO will have to be moved up, but I try to avoid going above ISO 400 with flash.


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## hampton (Oct 18, 2011)

i would turn the auto focus off, you just never know what you will get with it on. I would also invest in a tri pod. it is very hard to hold a camera still i use a remote sometimes with my camera.


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## bluedot (Aug 5, 2004)

Yes. The pics I took were with the tripod.


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