Lighting w/o flash?

[mjprather]

This pic was taken with the flash on. I see many awesome pics taken with overhead lamps, but I can never quite get enough light. The shutter speed is always slow enough such that the subject is not sharp enough. Do you guys just pull a bunch of spare lamps and set them up over your tank for shooting?

When I can get a sharp image without the flash, there is a lot of noise. When I reduce the ISO to 50, then the noise isn't a problem, but the shutter speed is.

http://hermes.twilightstar.net/~matt/betta_0735.jpg

Tv( Shutter Speed ): 1/60
Av( Aperture Value ): 4.8
Image Quality: Superfine
Flash: On
Flash Type: Built-In Flash
AF Range Mode: Macro

[Tony7683]

Well Ed (Paradise) has 300 some odd watts of lighting over his, and you see how awesome his stuff is. You can use slave flashes (hotshoe, etc.) if you want, or go the cheapo way like i did and get "hotlamps", which are essentially incandescent spots that are high powered and produce lots of heat (thus the name)

I'm new to this hobby too, but trust me, these guys will improve your picture quality at least 2-300% in the next month or so!!

Tony

[ccplim]

I must say that your picture is consider pretty good despite the fact that you are using flash (not too much shadows).

Tony is right. You need tons of light in order to get a decent shuttle speed with a moderate ISO speed.

re: my lighting, I use a JBJ Formosa w/ 4x 65 W Daylight bulbs compact flourescent. that is 260W plus my second strip w/a couple of reg. flourescents. Gives me almost 300W. With this system, I get very decent shots using 1/125 shutter and ISO 100. Here is an example:

http://aquatic-photography.com/pics/misc/lrd040803.jpg

[Gordeez]

I use some Wal mart Strip lights for mine.
I usually put 2 of on the tank.
They hold 2 Bulbs, Each 40 Watts, which usually gives
me about 160 Watts of light.
I would prefer more lighting power though, but, lack of $$$