DIGITAL SINGLE-LENS-REFLEX (DSLR) cameras will give
you the best results when taking photos outside. Prices
start at around $600. (All the pictures in this article were
taken with a variety of Canon DSLRs.) Here are some tips:
n Get a padded, waterproof bag to protect your DSLR, then
add more padding to the bottom of the bag. A digital camera is a computer. You wouldn’t leave your laptop on the
bottom of a skiff while bouncing along, right?
n A stabilized 15-85 mm lens will run $700. It will handle
anything in and around the boat. If I had only one lens, it
would be this one.
n If you buy a separate telephoto, don’t go beyond 200 mm.
If a fish is too far away for the 200, you’d best wait till it
gets closer, anyway.
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n If you’re after jumping fish, don’t use a polarizer; it’s the
kiss of death for action shots because it cuts 2. 5 f-stops
from your exposure level, and will cut your shutter speed
if you leave the aperture alone.
n Learn your “pro modes.” The “P” setting allows you to
set the ISO and JPEG quality while the camera balances
the aperture and shutter speed. Use this setting if you’re
using fill-in flash, which is very helpful in grip-and-grin
shots or backlit situations. All of my jumping fish shots
are taken in “Av” or “A” (aperture priority), which allows
me to set the lens aperture and ISO and lets the camera
decide the shutter speed. My ISO will usually be at 400
and I’ll set the aperture at f- 8 which will give me a shutter speed well over 1/1,000th on a normal sunny day.
Coincidentally, f- 8 is also the sharpest focusing aperture
on most zoom lenses.
