help wit camera

[grubsnaek]

i have a nikon coolpix L11.....as far as tank lighting i have 640w of VHO actinics and my three halides bulbs are 14k's. heres the problem, my camera takes an extremely blue pic, and it looks nothing like it does in person...
anybody with this camera that can help?????? would be greatly appreciated...

 

[regina13]

I dont know what settings your COOLPIX has, but my COOLPIX S210 has a fuction under menu called white balance. If yours has that, you can pick the light that you are taking a pic of. I found that if the tank is to blue I have to put it under a setting with a yellow tint to balance the colors.

Hope that helps.

 

[grubsnaek]

ill try, thans reg

 

[nano reefer]

coolpix's blow for tank shots. with the 10k on the pics are yellow, with the halide off its big blue blur. mine sux and i am getting the new sony alpha a200 DSLR.

 

[05xrunner]

Originally Posted by Nano Reefer
http:///forum/post/2648565
coolpix's blow for tank shots. with the 10k on the pics are yellow, with the halide off its big blue blur. mine sux and i am getting the new sony alpha a200 DSLR.
yea that sounds more like not understanding what you are doing or how to take a pic then gear. Go buy any camera and will will get the same results if you dont know how to use it properly. or processes the images properly either.

 

[natclanwy]

Originally Posted by 05xrunner
http:///forum/post/2648725
yea that sounds more like not understanding what you are doing or how to take a pic then gear. Go buy any camera and will will get the same results if you dont know how to use it properly. or processes the images properly either.
+1 on that. I have seen outstanding pictures taken with very low end cameras in fact there is a pro photographer that has some beautiful landscapes using a box camera. I'm not saying there aren't limitations when using some equipment but, part of being a good photographer is knowing how to work with the limitations of your enviroment, gear, and lighting to produce a good photograph.
To the OP try playing with the white balance like was posted above, your camera is supposed to automatically adjust the white balance based on the lighting but some lighting like our aquariums confuse the electronics. IME Higher end cameras do better at adjusting the WB automatically but usually at a steep price and it can be done easily in most post processing software. Photoshop Elements is my favorite program to use and is well worth $80. I'll post some example pics in a minute have to switch computers.

 

[vivioo7]

Originally Posted by 05xrunner
http:///forum/post/2648725
yea that sounds more like not understanding what you are doing or how to take a pic then gear. Go buy any camera and will will get the same results if you dont know how to use it properly. or processes the images properly either.
+2. this pic is with my awesome sanyo ($90 at wal mart)

 

[natclanwy]

I stole these pics from Dennis210 hope he doesn't mind only pics that I could find to use that had the blue tint.

I used Photoshop Elements to correct the white balance and the color they aren't perfect but it should be enough to see what you can do with post processing. The results are much better if you can correct it somewhat on the camera when you take the shot. Another tip is to underexpose your pics about 1-2 stops so that you don't blow out the highlights like light colored corals or other light colored areas.

 

[natclanwy]

Sorry it took me a couple days to get these pics posted I stole them from Dennis210 since he had a couple with the classic blue cast that shows up in aquarium pictures and wanted to make sure it was alright before used them so thanks Dennis

.
I used Photoshop elements to adjust the color temperature and the contrast. The results aren't perfect but it will give you an idea on what you can accomplish with post processing.
Also a good tip is to underexpose your photos 1-2 stops then adjust the exposure during post processing this will help prevent blowing out the highlights like the edges of hard corals and light colored areas.

 

[mkzimms]

definitely look into white balance and iso speeds. my below pictures are taken on a tri-pod with a sony dscw-50 ($130).
taken with automatic settings...

taken with white balance and a low iso speed...

when you take pictures under actinics or very blue VHO's the picture will always be blue because thats the wavelength of light that is hitting to photocell, no way around it. if you can get a good macro shot of something with bright florescent colors it will come out alright but will always be tinted blue.
even the best photographs taken by amazing photographers with high priced top of the line gear under actinics will look blue..

if your really looking for a good picture, you might want to turn off some of the bluer blubs for the picture.