Suggestions for a camera for taking butterfly photo's

[Neil Jones]

In article <36D6F1EE.DB649C1 at ibm.net> litjens at ibm.net "Mark Litjens" writes:

> Can anyone suggest a good lens/camera body combination for taking
> photo's of butterflies please.
> 
> For instance is it worth using a digital camera or SLR, though i guess
> it might be difficult getting close enough using a digital camera.
> 
> Thanks, Mark

I don't think the actual camera body is that important. I use a Pentax
myself but the lens is a 90mm Tamron. This has interchangable mounts
so when my Pentax broke just before a foreign trip once all I needed to get was
a cheap Practica with a screw thread (Remember those)
Most of my friends who photograph butterflies use this lens.

You can see some results  on my checkerspot gallery on my web page.
The Spanish Fritillary (Eurodryas = Euphydryas desfontanii) was taken with
the Practica. I use flash,a very cheap flash just stuck on the top of the
camera. I ran a roll of film through after first getting with some test shots.

As for digital cameras it depends what you want them for. The resolution
is not any where as near as good as conventional photography.
You could also try a video camera. I have a small device called a snappy
that plugs into the printer port of my PC and enables me to take stills
off video. It means that for web page stuff where resolution doesn't
work I have a digital camera. What is more the Snappy is battery powered
and fits into the back of a laptop so I can digitise in the field if I want to.

-- 
Neil Jones- Neil at nwjones.demon.co.uk http://www.nwjones.demon.co.uk/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn Bog
National Nature Reserve