I have a large tank. Will a 90mm lens work for me?

[lavoisier]

I am upgrading from my phone to a real camera! I have a 600g DT-8' long and 4' wide. Will a 90mm lens work for me? If not what size will I need?

Would this be a better lens?

Tamron AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD IF Macro Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Model A001NII)​

 

[maroun.c]

90 mm is a great lense yet will be a bit short for macro shots in a 4' wide tank. I use the 105 mm and its great up to 2.5' in the tank.
I just got the 70-200 and hoping it'll be good for aquarium as its got a 1:4 magnification ratio i believe. Yet the closest focusing distance at 140cm would make it tricky for aquarium shots.

 

[Specific Ocean]

I am upgrading from my phone to a real camera! I have a 600g DT-8' long and 4' wide. Will a 90mm lens work for me? If not what size will I need?

Would this be a better lens?

Tamron AF 70-200mm f/2.8 Di LD IF Macro Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Model A001NII)​

if it’s a 90mm macro lens, go for that. They tend to have minimum focus distances less than 12” whereas the 70-200 lenses tend to have minimum focusing distances of 2-3‘.

also, what camera will you be using?

 

[lavoisier]

90 mm is a great lense yet will be a bit short for macro shots in a 4' wide tank. I use the 105 mm and its great up to 2.5' in the tank.
I just got the 70-200 and hoping it'll be good for aquarium as its got a 1:4 magnification ratio i believe. Yet the closest focusing distance at 140cm would make it tricky for aquarium shots.

I'll probably need something that will work for 3.5' Any suggestions? I am a newby but trying to learn before I buy something at the entry level!

 

[lavoisier]

if it’s a 90mm macro lens, go for that. They tend to have minimum focus distances less than 12” whereas the 70-200 lenses tend to have minimum focusing distances of 2-3‘.

also, what camera will you be using?

I thought I would find a lens that will work well for me at an entry level (@$700) and then pick a camera that works for it.

 

[Specific Ocean]

I thought I would find a lens that will work well for me at an entry level (@$700) and then pick a camera that works for it.

90-105mm is your best bet. Stick to the fixed focal lengths.

don't worry too much about how deep your tank is. You can also crop into your image. Sure, you'll lose some detail but nothing that will take away from the image. If you get a camera rig that has a high megapixel count, you'll be able to crop without worrying about loss of detail.

also, when you get a hang of photography, learning to photo stack is a good tool to learn. allows you to get the best detail in an image

 

[Specific Ocean]

Photography is my passion so if I go off on tangent, my apologies.

I used to do macro photography years back but now I do portrait and fashion in my studio.

Being that I'm back into this hobby, I'm going to start it up again

 

[lavoisier]

90-105mm is your best bet. Stick to the fixed focal lengths.

don't worry too much about how deep your tank is. You can also crop into your image. Sure, you'll lose some detail but nothing that will take away from the image. If you get a camera rig that has a high megapixel count, you'll be able to crop without worrying about loss of detail.

also, when you get a hang of photography, learning to photo stack is a good tool to learn. allows you to get the best detail in an image

Thank you, this is very helpful. My head has stopped spinning! I will look for a 90-105mm lens.

 

[AZMSGT]

The best lens for this type and distance IMHO is a long telephoto macro like the Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM

Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM | Canon Online Store|Canon Online Store

Macro Lens

shop.usa.canon.com

It's unique in the Macro world as it's made to allow the photographer to be much further away from the subject matter. I have one and love it.

However, that might be less practical for you. Just keep in mind the closer you can get your subject to the glass the less distance you need for your lens. So if you can move your corals close to the tank glass for photos you can photograph macro levels cheaper... Hope that makes sense.

 

[lavoisier]

Thanks for all your input. I went with:

Amazon product

and:

Amazon product

I bought them used and will build up my skills and experience before I upgrade down the road.

 

[maroun.c]

if it’s a 90mm macro lens, go for that. They tend to have minimum focus distances less than 12” whereas the 70-200 lenses tend to have minimum focusing distances of 2-3‘.

also, what camera will you be using?

70-200 minimum focusing distances are around 4.5' i believe except the last version of the Nikon one which is at 3.6 '

 

[maroun.c]

I'll probably need something that will work for 3.5' Any suggestions? I am a newby but trying to learn before I buy something at the entry level!

The camera u go with will have a say as a cropped sensor body (DX for nikon) will multiply ur focal range by 1.5 so the 90 becomes 135 mm whereas a full frame body won't have that magnification.
I just got my 70-200 2.8 E (last version from nikon) minimum focus distance is around 3.5' which means I need to be far from front glass to shoot (my tank is 34 inches front to back) so ur tank might make it easier yet its still a bit too tight even on 70 (my camera is full frame)
I'm sure it'll.work great for closeups as its a very sharp and high quality glass, yet I feel my 24-120f4 still gives me better flexibility for tank shots, yet at the price of some sharpness and overall less image quality compared to 70-200.
One zoom lense I really want to try for tank photography which im sure will do great isnthe 24-70 2.8 but again that's one pricey lense.

 

[Specific Ocean]

70-200 minimum focusing distances are around 4.5' i believe except the last version of the Nikon one which is at 3.6 '

ah could be. I ditched Nikon (after 10 years) and went to Sony. Don’t remember all the specs.

the 70-200 I have is sits just above 3’

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks for all your input. I went with:

Amazon product

and:

Amazon product

I bought them used and will build up my skills and experience before I upgrade down the road.

Congrats on ur purchase, let's see some shots with them, would still advise a wider zoom lense for full tank shots and more flexibility.

 

[Specific Ocean]

The camera u go with will have a say as a cropped sensor body (DX for nikon) will multiply ur focal range by 1.5 so the 90 becomes 135 mm whereas a full frame body won't have that magnification.
I just got my 70-200 2.8 E (last version from nikon) minimum focus distance is around 3.5' which means I need to be far from front glass to shoot (my tank is 34 inches front to back) so ur tank might make it easier yet its still a bit too tight even on 70 (my camera is full frame)
I'm sure it'll.work great for closeups as its a very sharp and high quality glass, yet I feel my 24-120f4 still gives me better flexibility for tank shots, yet at the price of some sharpness and overall less image quality compared to 70-200.
One zoom lense I really want to try for tank photography which im sure will do great isnthe 24-70 2.8 but again that's one pricey lense.

The 24-70 is a beautiful lens. I still have my holy trinity. 14-24, 24-70, 70-200

 

[maroun.c]

ah could be. I ditched Nikon (after 10 years) and went to Sony. Don’t remember all the specs.

the 70-200 I have is sits just above 3’

Indeed nikon has 3 versions of the 70-200 the VR- VRII abd the E. Both earlier versions are at 4.6 ' for minimum focus distance abd the E is at 3.6'

 

[maroun.c]

The 24-70 is a beautiful lens. I still have my holy trinity. 14-24, 24-70, 70-200

They had a 20% discount on nikon lenses at distributor shop in Dubai last week, scored the 70-200 was close on pulling the trigger on the 24-70 but that was too much money

 

[Specific Ocean]

They had a 20% discount on nikon lenses at distributor shop in Dubai last week, scored the 70-200 was close on pulling the trigger on the 24-70 but that was too much money

nice! What do you normally shoot? Landscapes?

I love the compression the 70-200 gives

 

[maroun.c]

nice! What do you normally shoot? Landscapes?

I love the compression the 70-200 gives

Aquarium shots, macros, bit of sports photography abd want to do a bit of birding if 70-200 allows.
For tank photography you want a zoom range that allows you to track fish easy and capture events that happen closer than u had planed for, like a wrass flashing.... for this a zoom lense is preferred over fixed lenses, although fixed lenses have a much better image quality usually. I still play with 50mm 1.4 and 105 2.8 whenever I want quality shots abd have the patience with zoom by moving back and forth. One lense i miss which would be great for portraits and for fish closeup shots and bit being as tight as the 105 would be the 85mm.
For zooms tamron has a nice lineup at affordable prices. I just watched couple reviews on tamron 70-200 vs nikon 70-200 abd at nearly half the price its a well worth it option. Cheaper zooms in the range if 18-200 3.5_5.6 might be a good option but with lower performance. Lenses in the 24-702.8 or if they have something close to 24-120 f4 would make good choices at affordable prices (sorry not familiar with Sony lenses)

 

[lavoisier]

Congrats on ur purchase, let's see some shots with them, would still advise a wider zoom lense for full tank shots and more flexibility.

My lens comes tomorrow but my camera won't be here till middle of February. I'm sure I'll need a second, more flexible lens as well, but that must come down the road. Again, thanks for all the input. It was invaluable.