help me with lens addvice for nikon 5100

[dilligaf29]

got me a nikon 5100 dslr used. i have no clue where to start with the lens. the one that it has( 28-200 lens) works good but i cant zoom in on my corals without it being blurry my guess not the right lens for the application .the lens works great for taken everyday pics. if some one could point me in the right direction wold like to zoom in and get some nice shots or even any advice about lens or a good site where i can read about the difrence between them


thanks braxton

 

[JohnK]

Can you post a pic of what you are able to get now?

Glass can cost a LOT, so before you start spending let's make sure you've got the basic shooting down. Fish tanks can mess with cameras until you know a few tricks.

To start;
-Shoot straight through the glass, no angles, angles mess with cameras and focus a lot
-Make sure the tank glass is good and clean
-Turn off the flow in the tank
-experiment with turning the lights off in the room around the tank
-Don't try to get too close with the camera itself, it probably needs at least 12" + to focus properly, you can always zoon and crop to get closer.
-Experiment with your depth of field by using the aperature priority setting. Big aperature/small number =s wider depth of field (focus).


I haven't fiddled with that particular lense, but IME you can get pretty good tank pics with just about any "kit" lens. Until you get really good with the camera, it's usually the user not the lense that's the limiting factor (I say that only based on my own personal exp, not taking a jab at you )

 

[delta]

Back up a bit. Your minimum focusing distance is supposedly 1.3 feet @200mm for that lens. At 200mm and a crop you should be able to get a pretty good shot.


But it is not a macro lens. The be and all end all macro lens for a Nikon is the 105mm but it will set you back about $750.00. But for about $200 you can get a 50mm f1.8 Af-s lens not a macro but you can get a very clean sharp image and crop it.

 

[dilligaf29]

here is a pic i just took 1.5 feet away from tank i could be doing many things wrong i watched a couple youtube tutorials but i just cant get it to focus m,uch at all fwiw im a total noob when it come to cameras my last one was my iphone

 

[JohnK]

Have you tried manual focus? It almost looks like the camera picked up that reflecton of the desk lamp and focused on that instead of the tank.

Also take another step back to 3' away and see what happens.

 

[delta]

here is a pic i just took 1.5 feet away from tank i could be doing many things wrong i watched a couple youtube tutorials but i just cant get it to focus m,uch at all fwiw im a total noob when it come to cameras my last one was my iphone
View attachment 97527

you want to be in AF-S(synchronous)mode and single spot focus. SO on your camera on the back press Info and the screen will come up with your shooting information. look for one of these three things AF-A, AF-S, AF-C you want AF-S for now. ANd make sure you are not in manual focus on either the camera body(next to the lens on the camera body AF/M small lever) or the lens itself. IF you are getting multiple focusing points showing you are in the wrong mode

I would also make sure there is no visible reflections on the glass like you have in this shot, that is not going to make this any easier. The reflection looks to be in focus

Also time to break out your camera manual and learn about your camera controls. mainly focus and how to change each setting if you have a good working knowledge then this will be much easier

 

[dilligaf29]

i wish i had the book i bought it with out one =(.thanks for all the great info guys helped me alot. seems i have the cam stuck in manual mode cant get it to swith to AF-A, AF-S, AF-C i cant even highlight the m on the screen to change it but i can change everything else i also dont have a button on front to switch from m-af amd i cant seem to change it on cam

 

[delta]

take it out o auto mode and put it in mode A (aperture priority) then you should be able to change the settings.

set the aperture to f8 and the iso 800 to start as well as the changes I mentioned earlier

Also your lens is a tamron you shoujd have said that. your minimum focusing distance is probably longer than I specified

 

[delta]

here is the manual http://cdn-10.nikon-cdn.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D5100_EN.pdf

 

[dilligaf29]

thanks for the manual.
i took that pic in mode a not auto .no matter what mode im in i can not change it from mf . ive looked everywhere in the settings no luck ill goona go read the manual btw i dont like this lens

 

[this is me]

What is the exact model of that Tamron lens? I can look it up to see if it has an internal focusing motor on it to use it with the D5100. The D5100 does not have a focusing motor that drives the lens. It needs a Nikon AFS lens or equivalent if using third party lens.
Do you have another lens to try?

You should also be able to spin the focusing ring on the lens. Stand in one spot and spin the lens until the picture you see in the viewfinder is focused.

 

[dilligaf29]

tamron af 28-200mm 2.1m(6.9ft) 1:38-5.6 somedot 72 not sure if that what u looken for . only have this lens it cam on the camera .i have tried to focus it manual with the lens twisting it just dont seem to get that great of a pic could be they cam setup or could totaly just be me noob here .im kinda leaning toward it being the lens just not that great to take pics anycloser than 5 feet with out blurryness

 

[delta]

Lets back up here

Can you take a regular picture (Not a fish tank image) from 10 feet away with the lens? remember there should be two rings on the lens, a focusing and a focal length ring.

Go take a picture of anything stationary but stand 10 feet away and see if it will auto focus.

Also try both ring and see if you can manually focus the camera until you see a sharp image in the frame. If the proportions are changing when you rotate the ring it is the focal length ring. If that is the case move to the other ring for focusing.

let us know how you make out.

 

[dilligaf29]

so i did like u said took some random pics 10 to 15ft away and got use to manualy ajusting it and getten some good pics .so i deciided to try on the tank again made sure no other lights where hindering the photo in background. i get good results about 12ft away but still cant zoom all the way in like i want to .is there a lens i can get for a few hundred where i can stand like 5 feet away and zoom in .still stuck in manual focus is there any way to rest camera to factory settings ?

 

[delta]

Read the manual and find out how to reset the camera.

Do you know anyone that shoots Nikon locally that would walk you through some of this?

 

[this is me]

so i did like u said took some random pics 10 to 15ft away and got use to manualy ajusting it and getten some good pics .so i deciided to try on the tank again made sure no other lights where hindering the photo in background. i get good results about 12ft away but still cant zoom all the way in like i want to .is there a lens i can get for a few hundred where i can stand like 5 feet away and zoom in .still stuck in manual focus is there any way to rest camera to factory settings ?

Like I said before, if the lens you're using doesn't not have an internal focusing motor, the camera will not be able to focus it. What is the model number of the lens?

 

[delta]

Save yourself/us some trouble and make a call to Tamron and ask them if they can check the serial number 1-800-827-8880 and cross reference the lens. Specifically ask if it is an internal focus lens. They will be able to instrcut you in where the information is located on the lens. A few minute phone call will clear this all up.

At a certain point there is only so much we can do here

 

[higorc]

Back up a bit. Your minimum focusing distance is supposedly 1.3 feet @200mm for that lens. At 200mm and a crop you should be able to get a pretty good shot.


But it is not a macro lens. The be and all end all macro lens for a Nikon is the 105mm but it will set you back about $750.00. But for about $200 you can get a 50mm f1.8 Af-s lens not a macro but you can get a very clean sharp image and crop it.

I have been looking for a Macro lens for a while now... couldn't see my self spending so much money for the 105, so lately I have been looking at the AF Nikon Micro-Nikkor 60 mm F/2.8. Manual focus, but I can live with that. Do you guys think that's a pretty decent lens for Macro shots? At around $200 for an used one, it's not that much.


Thanks
Higor

 

[delta]

I have been looking for a Macro lens for a while now... couldn't see my self spending so much money for the 105, so lately I have been looking at the AF Nikon Micro-Nikkor 60 mm F/2.8. Manual focus, but I can live with that. Do you guys think that's a pretty decent lens for Macro shots? At around $200 for an used one, it's not that much.


Thanks
Higor

Personally I wouldn't buy it and as far as recommending a manual focus for tank shots, no way. As soon as you point it at the tank you are going to want to photograph your fish and while you can do it, it isn't the best case scenario by any stretch

If you watch a site like B&H (reputable) right now they have a 60mm f2.8 micro afs lens for $410 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801051202-USE/nikon_2177_af_s_micro_nikkor_60mm_f_2_8g.html

It is a used lens but they are a reputable company to buy from. I think you might see how important that is as this threads unfolds

 

[wrassefan]

http://lifehacker.com/5815742/basics-of-photography-the-complete-guide

I think you need to understand the camera first and how to take pics before you can troubleshoot what you are doing right and wrong...this may help. There are other great sites out there to help you understand your nikon.

as for the lense...you do need a lense with the internal motor in it to work correctly in autofocus. Some 3rd party as well as the nikkor lenses won't work.