So I bought a new camera,......

[Mark75]

I was tired of the terrible blue pictures I was getting with my Iphone so I bought a camera. I thought I would run home and start taking breath taking pictures,...boy was I wrong!

There is a pretty steep learning curve but I "think" I am getting better. I do not have any editing software so hopefully that will help with the colors. My tank is full of pale colored frags right now but hopefully by the time my tank starts looking better I will be able to take some nice photos.

What do you think;

 

[steiger33]

Looks good. Look into getting a orange glass filter lens will make the picture even better.

 

[Rob.D]

Dude, those pics are sweet! What camera did you buy?

 

[Mark75]

Dude, those pics are sweet! What camera did you buy?

Nikon D3300,....I like how sharp and detailed the images are but I cant capture the true colors.

 

[steiger33]

It is hard to capture true color. Like I said I use the orange filter on my Nikon D7200

 

[steiger33]

Oops sorry D7000

 

[CastAway]

I've wondered about that model. Is there a manual white balance, where you use a sample?

 

[Mark75]

The D3300 has 5 or 6 pre-sets starting at 4300k and ending at 8000k, still not enough to over come my 14k tank. You can also do an automatic white balance adjust by shooting a white background under your tank lights but it still will not go over 8000k.

 

[CastAway]

Ahhhh. So I suppose that's where the filters come in. Interesting.

The pics are awesome though!

 

[steiger33]

I've wondered about that model. Is there a manual white balance, where you use a sample?

There is I'm still trying to figure it out though.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Nice work.
I'm in love with Lightroom for post processing.
Monthly subscription if you wind up hating it.

 

[Mark75]

@saltyfilmfolks ,...I just found out I have free access to Nikons photo editor called ViewNX 2, are you familiar with it? How does it compare with other programs?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Load it up and get going!
Definitely give it a shot. its free number one and will give you a good feel for post processing. Like starting off with an easy coral.
its very effective and simple. I haven't used it in a couple years, its probably still on my computer so Ill take a look.
it has its own learning curve but we on this forum seem to enjoy that kinda pain.(ie sps n zoas)
Lightroom for me was much more intuitive and was easier as I a had larger volumes of data to process and has color, texture, exposure, brushes etc.
once you get the basic feel with Nikons stuff you understand the finer detail of color post processing adjustments available in Lightroom and other programs.
or you man never switch. cuz it works.

 

[Mark75]

Okay,...I gave the free Nikon editor a try. I am not sure if it is my lack of knowledge(probably) or the limitations of the editor but I still have trouble getting true life color, seems my colors are either dull or exaggerated.

Here are some examples;

Better than before but it is not this brilliant green in person and the pink is more red.

Better, but does not show the peach color, instead it is brown.

Unfortunately this is the most true to life in color, this is a SSC I got from Dave(Cee) that lost the nice green base. It is growing and a little more pink than peach in person.

This one turned out pretty close in color, the yellow is actually a pale greenish/yellow.

@saltyfilmfolks ,...what do you think? Have any tips?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Only tip is keep going and practicing. You'll find combinations of color temp on camera that come out better than others.
Shoot in raw it'll give you more latitude. Get a cheap gel pack and play too.
Try different lighting combinations as well white blue mix.

The real answers are actually kinda complicated and few want to believe it. Like anything in a bottle a dSlr and post won't solve everything. And there are no quick answers.

Your pics are great though. Keep going.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I posted some links in this thread. check them out. a few here are following some. I think there's a half decent description of the spectral process in the playing with gels thread.

 

[BlueDevil]

These pictures are incredible! Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

 

[Reeflogic]

I have a Nikon D3200 (no macro lens yet) but I seriously need to get with you folks and learn to take better photos!! I'm going to need to research and find an orange filter I guess