Is there a noobie friendly camera / lense combo for coral photo?

[m0nkie]

Hello. I'm looking for some help on getting a camera/lense. I have a 560gal tank and corals are growing nicely. But I don't like the photos I get from my samsung phone. Over the years I have tried many samsung phones along with the orange coral filter. Photos have been just ok. The corals up front can look decent but anything that requires zoom look terrible.

any suggestion on an easy to use camera setup? I am completely new to photography, so if there's a 1 combo setup that doesn't require switching things around or adjusting too much, that would be perfect. Easier. I will be using this for coral photography and maybe some other collectible figures. I don't think I'll take it out on vacation or any other use.

I have seen many camera filters that allow the filter to go into the water. I'm not sure that's the best option. Those are for corals that can be removed and put into a photo box. or only top down shots. I'm trying to take better photo from up front.

thanks!

some of my nem photos

 

[Cichlid Dad]

GoPro and under water lens kit from Amazon.

 

[Red_Beard]

You might have to check out the port hole from avast marine and a dslr camera.

Top-Down Porthole, Extra Long

Take great photos of your aquarium from the top down, the way corals are meant to be viewed! This handy lens housing mounts directly to the barrel of your DSLR lens, allowing you to (carefully) dip the housing in the water and get tack sharp photos without annoying lightbulb reflections or...

www.avastmarine.com

 

[Hunna’s Stunnas]

Look into the Olympus TG line. They are waterproof up to 50ft without a housing and have a built-in microscope mode. I’ve been taping an orange lens from a clip on for a phone, and the pictures need minimal color correction after. Here are a few recent ones with my TG-5 I got used for $200.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

While I personally have never had an olmypus tg camera, I must admit they produce some incredible photos. I would recommend one of those, or if you have a powerful enough phone, get a pair of orange clip on filters. There’s a couple people on here who take some nice pictures using just an iPhone and a orange filter lens

 

[legendhua]

Olympus TG6 is a good and easy-to-use choice.
Easily shoot both above and below water.
As long as you can master the custom white balance, you can generally take good photos.

taken with TG6

Pictures
P3250037 草莓蛋糕 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P3250032 榔頭珊瑚 鈕扣 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P3250058 綠長支 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P3250030 澳洲糖果腦 鈕扣 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P7070055 全景 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P6240026 甜甜圈 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

P4080113 皇冠 by legendhua, 於 Flickr

 

[BeanAnimal]

Look into the Olympus TG line. They are waterproof up to 50ft without a housing and have a built-in microscope mode. I’ve been taping an orange lens from a clip on for a phone, and the pictures need minimal color correction after. Here are a few recent ones with my TG-5 I got used for $200.

Very beautiful photos, nice work on composition. Question. Some of them are sharp, but oddly soft at the same time? It is as if the AF struggles a bit in macro mode with such a shallow depth of field. Do you fight with it sometimes, trying to get sharp where you want it? I know nothing about its AF system or focus points.

Again, wonderful photos! Just nit picking the AF a bit (not you at all) and to be clear given the price point and features AMAZING. I don’t think anybody could go wrong getting it for shots like these.