hmmm help with big fishes

Hi all

OK I'm off to Coral bay (near Exmouth) for a weeks diving -this time of year its whalesharks, mantas and dugongs plus the normal reef critters - I have only a 60mm lens for my D50 with the flat port - I am using a single Z240 too

any suggestions on how to get decent shots of the bigger critters ( as above) if they do come across my screen -should I just try for close ups of the face , eyes etc or try to capture as much of the animal as possible ??

cheers Dave

Eye shots and head ons I'd say. I have some great manta stuff with my 60mm. Shooting the eyes and inside the gills.

A 60mm lens with large creatures is just going be frustrating. I've tried it, and you have to shoot from too far away form the subject to get a sharp picture. And a macro of a whale shark's eye seems lacking to me. If I was diving with a whale shark, and a 60 mm lens, I'd leave the camera on the boat and just enjoy the free dive.

A 60mm lens with large creatures is just going be frustrating. I've tried it, and you have to shoot from too far away form the subject to get a sharp picture. And a macro of a whale shark's eye seems lacking to me. If I was diving with a whale shark, and a 60 mm lens, I'd leave the camera on the boat and just enjoy the free dive.

Get out the credit card and get the Tokina 10 - 17 or 11-16 and a dome port - or maybe borrow one from one of your fellow divers - if you cannot get the shots of the big guys then are you really there.

Good luck.

Andy

Do you have any other lenses besides your 60

I used a 35mm lens years ago in a flat port on my F3 whilst waiting for a port for my 17mm.

There are certainly some cheaper options to go for if you have budget restraints

Eye shots and head ons I'd say. I have some great manta stuff with my 60mm. Shooting the eyes and inside the gills.

wow sound interesting...mine to share yr photo????

Do you have any other lenses besides your 60

 

I used a 35mm lens years ago in a flat port on my F3 whilst waiting for a port for my 17mm.

 

There are certainly some cheaper options to go for if you have budget restraints

If u got budget get sigma 17-70...no budget nikon kit lens 18-55.......

any suggestions on how to get decent shots of the bigger critters ( as above) if they do come across my screen -should I just try for close ups of the face , eyes etc or try to capture as much of the animal as possible ??

I agree with the others. Using the 60mm lens, which is a great lens, when shooting mantas is a case of not using the best lens for the subject. If you can get the Tokina lens along with a dome port, I think you'll be more successful at getting the shot you want.

That being said, I was on a dive once and saw a Manta right in front of me. But all I had on my camera was the 60mm lens! I decided to go for it anyway and got the following image:

I'll let you be the judge of whether it works or not

In short, the 60 is not the best lens for the job, but if it's all you got, then try for some interesting shots of parts of the animal. And hopefully, you'll also get some nice macro opportunities on your dives.

Ellen

Hi Dave,

Whilst the 60mm is certainly not the best lens for the job you should get some shots. The shots below were taken in the Maldives last year on the way back from a morning's diving. Wasn't expecting any mantas to show up and only had the 60mm with me. The biggest issue was that I couldn't use flash as I had to be too far away to fit anything in frame, so it was natural light only. In hindsight I probably could have bumped the ISO up a little as many of the shots were slightly blurred - I was just too excited being in the water with these amazing animals!

Enjoy the trip!

Graham.

Graham and Ellen have shown some good examples of what you can achieve with the 60mm. I think they're interesting because they're a bit different. It will be more challenging to get shots with your 60mm compared with a 10-17mm or whatever but think how good you'll feel when they come off.

Graham and Ellen have shown some good examples of what you can achieve with the 60mm. I think they're interesting because they're a bit different. It will be more challenging to get shots with your 60mm compared with a 10-17mm or whatever but think how good you'll feel when they come off.

here are a few shots I ended up with from the trip - it was a fantastic trip too -

I know this isn't the forum for it but why didn't I get a black background with this shot ? I was shooting IMHO- (the exif data has been scraped) f11 + 1/180 with the 60mm shooting up in 1 mt (3 ft) of clear water no strobe