Butterflies of the World - Lifecycle, Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation, Photography, Butterfly Holidays, Photo Galleries, Book Reviews and more.........
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterfly photography PAGE 1
 
PAGE 1 - Digital cameras and lenses
PAGE 2 - Film cameras and lenses
PAGE 3 - Shooting techniques by flash or daylight

Digital cameras

Choosing a camera body

For most people, the best choice for butterfly photography is a digital SLR camera. These have many advantages over compact or "bridge" cameras, e.g. the viewfinders are larger and brighter, making it easy to track the subject from a distance; and the lenses are interchangeable, enabling you to fit proper macro lenses that will focus from infinity all the way down to life-size.

All of the budget or "prosumer" digital SLRs from Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Canon or Sony are perfectly capable of producing high resolution close up images of butterflies suitable for producing A4 size prints. A few months ago there was little to choose between them in terms of specification, but now the gap is widening, and some models offer valuable features that cannot be found in their competitors. Nikon for example offer wireless flash photography and high flash synchronisation speeds, and Sony offer a model with a tilting "live view" screen which is extremely useful for shooting from very low or high viewpoints.

Be wary however of choosing a camera purely on the basis of specification. Features such as weather-proofing, good handling characteristics, build quality, focussing speed, metering accuracy, and clarity of viewfinder image are far more important than things like depth-of-field preview, high frames-per-second rates, or myriads of "scene modes".

Timing your purchase

Digital cameras are evolving rapidly as manufacturers compete to constantly offer new and more advanced models. Most current DSLRs offer a resolution of between 10-12 megapixels, but by the end of 2008 it is likely that 15 megapixel models will enter the prosumer market. Features such as tilting live-preview screens will soon be a standard feature. Metering systems will become more accurate, autofocus will become faster and more "intelligent", and prices will drop as DSLRs become as "essential" as a mobile phone.

New advanced models are always on the horizon, so there is a great temptation to delay purchases and wait for something even "better". It often makes a great deal more sense however to buy an established model. If a camera has been on the market for a year or so, it can be virtually guaranteed that any early design faults will have been ironed out. Another advantage of buying late in the model's market life is that shortly before the introduction of a new model, the remaining stock of the outgoing model will be sold at substantially discounted prices.

Lens compatibility

When deciding on camera brand, be sure to check lens compatibility. Some of the latest Nikon bodies are not fully compatible with earlier Nikon lenses as they use electronic rather than mechanical linkages. To the best of the writer's knowledge all Canon DSLR bodies are fully compatible with all autofocus Canon lenses. Sony cameras are fully compatible with all Minolta autofocus lenses as well as Sony / Zeiss models.

The independent manufacturers Tamron and Sigma each offer 2 sets of lenses - those designed for 35mm film cameras ( these also fit DSLRs, but there may be compatibility issues with certain metering functions ); and those designed specifically for DSLRs with APS-sized sensors. The latter models are usually fully compatible with all functions, but always check the compatibility charts on the manufacturer's websites.

Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia, Sony A100, 18-70mm zoom set at 70mm at closest focus

Zoom lenses

Standard kit lenses, typically 18-70mm zooms, offer a reasonable working distance, and focus close enough to fill the picture with a medium sized butterfly such as a Peacock or Marsh Fritillary. Many manufacturers also offer longer zooms such as 18-125mm or even 16-200mm. These have the advantage of being suitable for a huge range of subjects - butterflies, birds, sports, portraits and landscapes can all be covered with a single multi-purpose optic. This can be left permanently fixed to the camera, preventing the ingress of dust, which can play havoc with the image sensor.

Macro-lenses

If you are more serious about butterfly photography, and want to be able to photograph eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, anatomical details etc, you will need a proper macro lens, i.e. one that will focus continually from infinity down to life-size without having to resort to fiddling with switches or adding supplementary lenses / extension tubes.

Peacock Inachis io, 18-70mm zoom, cropped image

The major manufacturers, Nikon, Canon etc, produce 60mm macro lenses which are fine for the more approachable species, but most butterflies are quite nervous, so ideally you need something longer, such as the Sigma 105mm, Tamron 90mm or Canon 100mm. These provide a comfortable working distance, are light and easy to manoeuvre, and have a wide maximum aperture of F2.8, which results in a bright crisp viewfinder image.

To get real close-ups, you need a macro lens that will provide a magnification ratio of 1:1 or greater. These pictures were taken with a 105mm macro lens at closest focus distance
( 0.22m ), and enlarged sections were made from about a quarter of the image area.

Even longer lenses are available, such as the Sigma 150mm and 180mm lenses, but these are heavier, considerably more difficult to hold steady, and slower to focus. There are certainly occasions when they can be useful to photograph a distant butterfly, but if you approach your subject carefully there should be no difficulty in getting sufficiently close with a 90mm or 105mm macro.

Eurybia albiseriata hiding under a leaf at knee-height. A photo such as this would be impossible with a 100mm or longer macro lens - you would need to dig a hole and stand in it to get enough distance between you and the butterfly! This was taken with an 18-70mm zoom set to about 30mm, and illuminated by the built-in flash of my Sony A100. A camera with a tilting live-preview screen, such as the Sony A350 would make shots like this even easier.
 

My gear : People often ask me what equipment I use to produce the images used on this website. Some of the early images were photographed with a Nikon D40 and Nikon 18-70mm zoom, but most were produced with Sony cameras. I currently use a Sony a700 body, with an a100 body as a back-up. Most shots are taken using fill-in flash supplied either by the integral flash or by a Sony twin-macro flash unit. The majority of photos are taken with a Sigma 105mm macro lens, although I also use an ancient Sigma 180mm F5.6 macro for less accessible species such as hairstreaks.
 
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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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