What's your best DSLR lens for fish..... EVER?

Broder

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Just scored a Nikon 50mm f1.8 AFD lens yesterday for my cropped sensor Nikon D7000. I took some pics last night and frankly, I'm blown away by the quality. All the more because the lens cost a whopping R800, which included a CPL and a rubber hood. I already have the 35mm and the 105mm, the former being just that bit too wide and the latter quite cropped. The 50mm alows you to sit back just enough not to scare the fish, but still fill the frame. At f2.8 there is enough depth of field to get side on fish in focus, and the lens is unmatchable in sharpness from this aperture upwards.

Some pics, although I haven't spent much time with the lens yet, and they will get better.

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the nifty fifty cant be beaten as an overall lense. cannons 50mm is also a stunning lense and is the next on my list, also apparently the entry level is as good as the redline L series in the 50mm (well almost) and is a cheap good lense.

great dof on the top pic, love the eye and gill plates in focus, awesum pic.
 
The fixed 50mm f1.8 lenses from nikon/canon are BRILLIANT!!! The quality you get for such a price is INSANE!!! it is my favourite lens in my collection...
+1
I'm totally sold on primes. I think that most people don't buy the nifty fifties because it's hard to believe that you can get the same quality as from a lens costing 20 times as much.
 
i've got the canon 50mm 1.8 as well and I love it. but... i've always battled with aquarium photography, mainly because i can't focus on the fishes' eyes fast enough.

what shutter speeds are you normally using? and are you using bounce flash or just the available light?
 
i've got the canon 50mm 1.8 as well and I love it. but... i've always battled with aquarium photography, mainly because i can't focus on the fishes' eyes fast enough.

what shutter speeds are you normally using? and are you using bounce flash or just the available light?
I do lanscape and macro photography as well, but I agree with you that aquarium shots are the most difficult. You can use flash, but that's a different ballgame altogether. It's also expensive to do it well.

I use available light at about ISO500-800. That lets me shoot at f2.8 and a speed of about 1/200th of a sec. I usually underexpose by about a third of a stop at least, as the fish are always a bit lighter than the background.

Shoot lots and lots is all I can say. I discard many before I get a keeper.
 
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