Does bowfronts mess up the picture?

[OnoIgotICH]

I recently took some shots of corals/fish in a bowfront tank, it turned out out of focus. does the bow really mess it up is it just bad photography skills?

[this is me]

Yes, the curvature of the glass cause a lot of distortion.

[OnoIgotICH]

Is there a way to get by that?

[this is me]

Don't shoot too close to the tank. Give it at least a foot from the camera lens. I've shot bowfront tank before and trying to do macro is just not happening.
There is always the side glass which is not curved, you can do macro on that side of the tank.

[redline]

I've found it better to shoot as close to the tank as possible and point directly at the crest of the bow. The farther you are from the tank the light refracts at an angle as it passed through the bow front making the pictures more distorted

[reef_doug]

I changed from a 172g bowfront to a 180r. Best move, even for simple viewing. Also went w/ acrylic.

[Phyl]

You could also try a top down box. Then you wouldn't have the curve of the glass getting in your way!