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Shrimp Macro Photography


DETAquarium

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Hey ShrimpSpot!

 

So I am venturing to the world of photography, though I have taken many decent macro shots with an iPhone I really wanted to step it up a bit. I purchased my first DSLR- Canon Rebel SL1 which came with the standard 18-55mm lens. I have read a ton on Aperture, ISO, and Shutter Speed and the importance of controlling the amount of light per shot taken. As I continue to learn and practice I prefer it be on the right path. Our family photographer recommended me purchasing for my first macro lens a Canon 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro lens. Unfortunately she isn't to familiar with our shrimp hobby and taking pictures through aquariums.

 

All that being said I need your input on hardware such as a macro lens, external flash, and accessories you use to help formulate a stunning shrimp picture. Please post what hardware has worked for you, maybe a sample of a picture, and any "beginner" tips for me.

 

I really appreciate all of you!

 

DETAquarium 

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I don't know too much about canon specifics so I can't help there :( BUT a few things to keep in mind.

With any fixed/macro lenses you will probably be physically moving towards and away from your tank rather than focusing. No sit and zoom :). Before getting a macro make sure to keep in mind your depth (width of tank) you are working with as well. A 50mm will definitely work but you will need to be physically much closer to your subject if say you had a 100mm. (I may have mixed that up but I'll stay with it until corrected haha). Also a 50mm will get more surroundings in the shot as a higher mm will be more subject fixed. Although that just depends on what kinda shots you want :)

Also I know I already mentioned it in my thread but an external flash will be your friend. I use a cheap one haha and actually bought a pane of glass to set on top of my tank to rest the flash on. Not fool proof but has been working ok. Flash from above is 1000% better than straight on.

Also make you're as perpendicular to the tank glass as possible. The tank will distort your photo at any angle, closer you get the more it becomes apparent.

But the most important of all. Have fun :)

-Duffy

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a sliding base plate on your tripod is also damn useful when using a fixed macro..

 

experiment/play around with your external flash from different angles if you have the space available and don't shy away from back lighting from time to time..

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Ok. I have a question about picture quality. There is a setting on my DSLR as most of you probably have that you can change the "Picture Quality", it looks like the Pixels/Size of the picture. I exported a picture from my DSLR last night for the first time, it came out a 4000 x some correlated number, and it is a couple MB. What should I set this setting to simply for Facebook/YouTube Pictures? Something like 720 x XXX or ?

 

Thank you all for your help along my DSLR journey. OH! Here is a sample, I know a bit grainy, but I am working on that:)

 

post-127-0-06568500-1449233966_thumb.jpg

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Hey DET I'm not sure if you've seen this or not but this site has great tips on settings and how to get the shots you want for your specific camera and lenses

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/rebel-sl1.htm

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Hey DET I'm not sure if you've seen this or not but this site has great tips on settings and how to get the shots you want for your specific camera and lenses

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/rebel-sl1.htm

 

Thank you! Perfect that helped me point out my question: What image size should I export? Obviously I don't need the RAW sizes I would assume for Facebook or YouTube, should I simply just edit size in Photoshop?

 

As that article lists:

 

Image sizes

LARGE and RAW: 5,184 x 3,456 pixels (18MP) — exactly the same as the $6,800Canon 1D X!

MEDIUM: 3,456 x 2,304 pixels (8 MP).

SMALL 1: 2,592 x 1,728 pixels (4.5 MP); 2,304 x 1,728 if captured while shooting 640x480 video.

SMALL 2: 1,920 x 1,280 pixels (2.5 MP).

SMALL 3: 720 x 480 pixels (350 kP).

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For now since you are new to DSLRs, shooting in the biggest file size before RAW should work just fine. You can always change the file size later.

 

I would encourage shooting in RAW though, unless you don't have any software to do any post processing on the pictures (although it sounds like you have photoshop). RAW allows edits of your photo without "damaging" the original file. You can still do those things with a .jpg etc, but it will decline the quality of it. Maybe every now and then you can shoot in RAW and mess around with the pictures so you can get a feel of it.

 
Also for the grain/noise. If you have your external flash then you can set your ISO as low as it can go. The lower the ISO you have the less grain you will have, but you also need more light on your subject, hence the external flash. You will also have to look up your camera specifically, but normally there should be an option in settings to reduce noise in low iso/light settings and you'd want to use that too.
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Thank you Duff! Do you have any recommendations for an external flash that would work with my Canon Rebel SL1? Should I use an attachment or some sort of a external flash that uses say a trigger?

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Thank you Duff! Do you have any recommendations for an external flash that would work with my Canon Rebel SL1? Should I use an attachment or some sort of a external flash that uses say a trigger?

Your welcome. Hope it helps! Since I am cheap I use a super inexpensive flash I found on Amazon haha. Not sure if mine would work for canon though. I'll look it up in a bit for a reference.

One thing that has worked well for me is getting a physical attachment that connects the flash and camera. I had a wireless one for awhile but I noticed that the flash wouldn't always go off (distance related) or wasn't synced very well. Now my wireless connector was cheap, but I have found the wire connection to be 100x better, for me anyways. The only issue I'm having with mine is I wish the cord was flat and not coiled up.

Edit: looked up the flash I bought. Don't know how to link a webpage through the app, but it is the NEEWER TT560 Flash Speedlight. Says it works for any style of camera. It's not fancy in any way, but I've had it for just over a year and for $30 I have liked it. I need to look for one that can clip on the side of a tank or jerry-rig something for it. Setting it on top of a sheet of glass scares me sometimes haha

-Duffy

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Thank you! Perfect that helped me point out my question: What image size should I export? Obviously I don't need the RAW sizes I would assume for Facebook or YouTube, should I simply just edit size in Photoshop?

 

As that article lists:

 

Image sizes

LARGE and RAW: 5,184 x 3,456 pixels (18MP) — exactly the same as the $6,800Canon 1D X!

MEDIUM: 3,456 x 2,304 pixels (8 MP).

SMALL 1: 2,592 x 1,728 pixels (4.5 MP); 2,304 x 1,728 if captured while shooting 640x480 video.

SMALL 2: 1,920 x 1,280 pixels (2.5 MP).

SMALL 3: 720 x 480 pixels (350 kP).

The majority of my uploads are (3872 x 2592 = 10.04MP , 2,694KB) I don't resize my pics.

 

"I don't always use a flash. But, when I do"  I use a  Wansen flash trigger with a Godox flash

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I read on an article from 2013 that my Canon Rebel SL1 does not have a wireless flash control. Is this something to be concerned? Not 100% sure what that means, but does it prohibit me from using external flashes separate from the camera?

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I use 200mm/F4 Nikkor Micro lens.

 

the focus length determines your working distance.

 

the longer the focus length, the greater working distance you get. it's very important.

 

So personally i will suggest 100mm/F2.8 as  standard shrimp macro lens.

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for wireless flash trigger, you can't find anything cheaper than this one. works great for me.

You just need find the Canon version.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EK5NEQ8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

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for wireless flash trigger, you can't find anything cheaper than this one. works great for me.

You just need find the Canon version.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EK5NEQ8?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

James would this device solve my problem that the Canon Rebel SL1 does not have a wireless flash control? For cost wise, I was thinking of buying the Canon 60mm/F2.8.

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James would this device solve my problem that the Canon Rebel SL1 does not have a wireless flash control? For cost wise, I was thinking of buying the Canon 60mm/F2.8.

 

It support any standard external flashlight.

 

Don't worry about TTL mode, I only use manual mode to control the output power.

 

the problem of 60mm is working distance.

You only have 3 1/2" from shrimp to front of your lens.

 

Canon 100mm gives you 6" working distance.

 

My 200mm Nikkor gives me 10.2" of working distance.

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Ok. I did it, I purchased the Canon 100mm F/2.8 Macro lens. I started out with wanting a $225.00 lens and see what you all made me do:) 

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For those of you using Canon DSLR, what flash do you use and/or recommend?

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First DSLR Macro Shot with the 100mm F2.8 Lens. I know I need to work on lighting, but this was free hand, no tripod.

 

Tell me what you think.

 

post-127-0-09766800-1449884990_thumb.jpg

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WOW! Very nice shrimp. Whats the story behind that one?

 

Thank you! This is a line of Tibee I created at the beginning of this year. A cross between a Blue Bolt and OEBT.

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  • 3 weeks later...

If I were to have a DSLR, tripod, external flash, and external trigger........would I able to achieve decent macro shots with the use of an "extension tube" rather than a macro lens?

 

Aside from losing the ability to auto focus (which is pretty huge), are there any other drawbacks to using extension tubes I'm not considering?

 

What is the "budget" Canon macro lens?........the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens?  http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-STM-Lens/dp/B00X8MRBCW/ref=sr_1_4?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1451761417&sr=1-4&keywords=canon+ef+macro+lens

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I need some help for you Canon DSLR users. What would be my best option for a lighting source, and/or external flash? This will be my next purchase and if necessary I will put the money needed to buy a decent one. Give me your recommendations, tell me your do's and don'ts.

 

As always, I appreciate your help!

 

Thoughts on this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HK0A6LQ?psc=1

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