# Aquarium- what lens to use



## alexturton (Sep 25, 2015)

Heading a sea life centre at the weekend. Need advice on what gear to take. 

debating over 

24 f1.4 ii

And 

24-70 2.8 ii. 

Plus I'll take my 100 macro. 
All On 5d3. Not taking a flash. 

Any views/experience of aquarium shooting?

Thanks in advance. 
Al


----------



## bluemoon (Sep 25, 2015)

100 macro is the way to go. Make sure you use the hood and butt it against the glass to eliminate the reflections. This will yield crystal clear images. For times when you do get a reflection in there, new dehaze option in Lightroom will help.

Images get distorted if the glass is curved, so stick with flat glass unless you are stepping away from the exhibit.

pierre


----------



## mrzero (Sep 25, 2015)

I've read about folks using rubber hoods and pressing up against the glass to eliminate reflections, but I doubt you have any for the L lenses. I've also read about folks taking a piece of black paper or flexible foam (craft store) and hand-rolling it in a cone around the lens, which sounds better to me. I'd take the 24/1.4 for reaction shots in the low light.


----------



## Meatcurry (Sep 25, 2015)

Wouldn't a polarising filter clear the reflections?


----------



## Dekaner (Sep 25, 2015)

Rubber hoods are helpful and often screw on like a filter.

Bring a small rag - I was shocked how many smudges and fingerprints are on the glass.

Show up early - when it gets crowded it can get awkward if you're stationary at an exhibit trying to get a shot.


----------



## rfdesigner (Sep 25, 2015)

The 1.4

If you had a 1.2 I'd take that.

If they have a "deep sea" section with animals like the nautilus then you will need all the aperture you can muster, very low light!

I just looked up an image of a nautilus my 30D really struggled with: 1/10th sec F1.8 ISO3200 exposure comp -1... flash would have been deeply inappropriate.

I'd also take the 24-70 for normal light


----------



## midluk (Sep 25, 2015)

Meatcurry said:


> Wouldn't a polarising filter clear the reflections?


It can be almost removed with a polarising filter when you shoot at an angle of about 57° (Brewster's angle) to the glass. Under normal conditions there always will be some reflections remaining. Deviating from the 57° the filter will help to a lesser degree and when shooting perpendicular to the glass will have no effect. So the glass pane has to be big enough to allow shooting the fish under the 57° angle and it will also not work equally well for the whole field of view, especially when using small focal lengths.
And the filter will reduce all unpolarized light also by about 2EV.
So I would definitely pack a polarising filter, but it is more a last resort solution when you can not prevent the generation of reflections in the first place.


----------



## cold_penguin (Sep 25, 2015)

Some exhibits are small and you're close to the subject, so the macro will be quite useful. It may also be too long in some cases. The 24-70 will probably be the most useful. And you should take a monopod, if they're allowed in (they have been at the three I've been to).


----------



## Pookie (Sep 25, 2015)

Owning all the lenses you have mentioned and I have used all of them at various aquariums here in California... Monterrey Ba Aq, Shed, Seaworld. I've tried the 14L, 24L, 35L, 50L, 85L and even 200L f/2. The one real winner is the Siggy 15mm Rectilinear fisheye, it seems to correct tank distortion very well when pressed to glass and can give perfect detail. It also over exposes so in dark situations it is really perfect. My only word of caution is to gaff any hood to prevent scratching tanks when up close. The 135L has a nice MFD that focuses very well in aquariums too. All shot on a 5D3 or 1DX.

Smudges should not be a major problem as you will be focusing beyond the glass, unless it's a particularly bad one. Lenses at 1.2 or 1.4 sound good but the DOF will be so small not much will be in focus unless you have some distance in a large tank.











The 135L does quite well too...


----------



## Zeidora (Sep 26, 2015)

Another vote for hood against glass. Make sure that sensor/focal plane is perfectly parallel to glass as otherwise you get distortion and blur. I like a range of focal lengths to help with framing. Having hood against glass limits your framing options, but changing lenses will give you different field of views. I've mainly used 100 mmM occasionally a 50/55 or a 35. Haven't taken the 180M to the aquarium yet. The MPE 65 can be fun for organisms attached to the glass.

I like to use flash on TTL synchro cord quite a bit, and hold flash also close to glass, pointed at subject.


----------



## TeT (Sep 26, 2015)

mrzero said:


> I've read about folks using rubber hoods and pressing up against the glass to eliminate reflections, but I doubt you have any for the L lenses.....



Collapsible Rubber hoods that come attached to clear filter are available in many sizes and cheap and work very well. Because they are collapsible they allow you some small room to manipulate your angle and still keep rubber on the window. Some are deeper than others, the shallow ones will obviously let you get closer to the glass...


----------



## lol (Sep 26, 2015)

Think most things have been covered. Keep perpendicular to the glass where possible otherwise you get refractive effects, particularly with big apertures. Wear a dark top so at least you're not contributing to bright reflections when you can't get close to the glass.


----------



## Halfrack (Sep 26, 2015)

For killing any reflections http://www.lenskirt.com/


----------



## alexturton (Sep 30, 2015)

thanks for the responses guys.

I went with 24 1.4, 50 1.2 and 100L macro. Had a blast.

Got some lovely pictures of my little girl @ the aquarium.






https://flic.kr/p/zbpN7a

I did shoot some fish too


----------

