Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I usually use the Nikon 775, because it is so easy to use. No manipulations needed for a decent pic, except may the macro button. But, he is even more a photography dunce than I, so I took on our newer Nikon 4800.

I've been playing with the white balance, trying to perfect the color. No luck yet.

The only real pit fall to the 775 was the over-enhanced reds. While the animals I took pics of looked better for it, it wasn't "real". However, so far, all other colors were much more true to form than with the 4800. I'm sure I'll figure the 4800 out eventually..with help from all you photography wizards.

True coloring of animal. Pic taken by Brandon Weik or Summit Retptiles.

775 shots: (nothing touched except macro - if you get too far away, macro is pretty forgiving and pic still turns out acceptable.)

the green coloring of the blanket is perfect and with no red to enhance, I think the face is pretty true to color.

4800 shots: (this time I used the white balance setting of speedlight (not sure what this is for or what it is supposed to do. Macro is not forgiving w/this camera, if you get too far away.)
This pic was taken during the day in his darker phase. Noticably less red, but amplified yellows. Green background is much brighter than should be. Pics w/ 775 show accurate background color. This pic is an exception - I believe it was taken with white balance on cloudy, but not 100%.

Speedlight setting. Still not perfect. Too much yellow.

4800 takes better, more defined, macro shots than the 775. But, can't compare to the high end models.


Probably the most accurate pic taken this photo shoot. Didn't change settings, so not sure why it has a bit less yellow. Still not perfect though

Does anyone else use this camera?? If so, what white balance setting do you use indoors to get accurate pics of your boas? I've not messes with any other settings but white balance and macro...if you have other advice on other settings, I would appreciate suggestions.

thank you
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edit: oversized logo [8/5/05] - I made it smaller...or is any pic here too big?

Regarding white balance: When using flash, there is a flash white balance setting that is fairly standard. Its hard to mess up white balance when using flash unless there is some 3rd party light coming through really strong (not often at all).

I would try some different backgrounds. I am not a big fan of that green one because it seems that from some angles it reflects lots of light in certain areas. My favorite backgrounds are wood (preferably non-glossy to reduce reflection), leaves, anything natural looking, and even some carpets work okay.

Some tips for macro shots: Use as little zoom as possible. This will reduce camera shake and it seems to yeild much better results with P S cameras. Hold the camera as steady as possible (the more steady you hold it the sharper the picture will be). The correct way to hold a camera is to use your body as an anchor with your elbows (as a pose to holding your elbows out which creates more camera shake). Sometimes when I get shots angled from the ground I will actually use the floor as a place to prop the camera (in my hands of course). That works well for headshots and body closeups.

If you have any questions feel free!

Hope this helps!

-Ryan

It seems I have no choice but to use the flash...pics are extremely blurry and orange w/o one. I don't have a tripod.
But, I will see if I can cover the flash a bit with something..see what that would do.

As far as white balance...I don't know of a flash white balance? My camera white balance settings are: speedlight, auto, PRE white bal. preset (not sure what this is??), daylight,incadescent (takes a bad pic in my room), flourescent, and cloudy. Cloudy and speedlight have taken the best inside so far.

It also allows me to switch the ISO to auto, 50, 100, 200, 400, but I don't know anything about ISO, so haven't played with that yet. It is pre-set to 100.

Would you use the best shot selector? Can't help but wonder if it is a waste of battery or if it will get me a better pic. Perhaps I will try this sometime too.

yes, the green blanket has a shiny factor. But, I don't have any other solid colored blankets at the moment. I prefer a blanket, as I take pics of the snakes in my armchair. This way, even if they crawl, say up, the background will still be there. I think I would like to get a black cloth/blanket to use. If I can find one that doesn't reflect the light.

So far, I have never used the zoom...I think my zoom is the W/T button? At least that is what it appears to do. It is always set as far W as possible. I hope this is right.

Thank you for your response Ryan!
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