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Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
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If you haven't already done so, please check out Part I of this series as it will help you understand this blog entry better.
Gear Used for Testing
For the second series of tests, I decided to head to the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Here, I was better able to test the Sony against mammals and shoot some water features. Since, I live close to the Smokies, I can make it to the location on a day trip.
After about a 3.5 hour drive, I was on location at Cataloochee, NC. This is an area of the Smokies I often go to, to photograph Rocky Mountain Elk. On this day, however, there were no elk to be found. Not only were there no elk to be found, but no turkeys either. Both, are usually common here. After some head scratching moments, I found myself photographing Cataloochee Creek. That is the great thing about the smokies. There are always opportunities and sometimes you just have to switch to Plan B when you are at a location.
As the testing continued, I noticed I was becoming fairly familiar with the Sony, so finding the right settings was not difficult at all. I have to say though, I missed having the top LCD that I have gotten so used to using on the Canon DSLR cameras. It is nice to just glance down on it and make quick changes. However, you can pop out the back viewfinder on the Sony and kind of accomplish the same task by using the various display options.
I put my Sony A7 III on my tripod, changed to uncompressed RAW and made several images from 20 to 30 seconds of the water. Some images were made using a polarizing filter and some were not. For a lens, I chose the Canon EF 24mm f2.8 set at f22. My ISO was set to 100. Really there was too much diffraction at f22. I would have been better off using f11 and focus stacking.
I thought that overall, the image quality was amazing. It is easy to see why Sony cameras are used so heavily by landscape photographers. I particularly thought the greens were well represented, but I thought the dynamic range could have been a little better. Below is an example of the shots at Cataloochee Creek.
My day was certainly not over at this point, so I loaded everything back in the car and headed over a couple mountains to Cherokee, NC to see if there were any elk near there. I arrived maybe 40 minutes later at this location, but again, found no elk. Such is the life of a wildlife photographer.
So, at this point, I had a choice. I could wait here and see if the elk would make an appearance, or I could make a two hour run over to Cades Cove in Tennessee. Being in a fairly adventurous mood, I headed for Cades Cove. At the same time, the clouds began to move in. This was actually a blessing and would allow me to shoot all day long.
Two hours later, I arrived at Cades Cove and entered the car touring loop. The first pass was quiet, but on the second pass, I found a few whitetail does to try my hand at. I was using the expand flexible spot with lock-on mode for all of the doe shots and my ISO was 1600 plus. Below are two images from that fairly short shoot.
I spent another couple hours here and also photographed some turkeys. I didn't think they were really good enough to put in this blog, I left them out. At this point in the game, it was getting to be later in the afternoon. Knowing that I was now close to five hours from home, I decided it was best to head back up over the mountains.
As I came back into the Cherokee, NC area, I was met with a good surprise. The herd of elk were making their way toward the main road to cross. I quickly made a u-turn and pulled off the side of the road. I knew I wouldn't have much time, so I quickly got my gear together and headed over to the open fields they were crossing.
Almost as soon as I started shooting I noticed an elk calf running to catch up with the herd. I switched on the camera and started shooting. This would be a good test for the camera's tracking. Later, I determined the burst only got about 1 frame sharp out of the series. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. I should also note that I had a good lock on the elk's head, so there was no user error here. Below is the best image and even it is not super tack sharp. It is acceptable sharpness.
I continued to monitor the herd, but it was getting harder as they tried to make the crossing across the road. I managed to get this shot below of one of the bull elk heading for the road.
At this point it was quickly getting late and I really needed to head home. That is, if I wanted to get home before midnight. So, I reluctantly gathered my gear and off I went.
On this second outing with the camera, I certainly became much more acquainted with how it works and felt like I was becoming much more proficient. However, there are still several more tests to come, before I am ready to put my seal of approval on it. Here are the pros and cons from photographing mammals in the Smokies.
PROS
CONS
Gear Used for Testing
- Sony A7 III
- Sigma 150-600 mm C
- Sigma MC-11 Converter
- Manfrotto 3221 Tripod with 3030 Pan/Tilt head
- Canon EF 24 mm 2.8 - Ugly Duckling Collection
For the second series of tests, I decided to head to the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Here, I was better able to test the Sony against mammals and shoot some water features. Since, I live close to the Smokies, I can make it to the location on a day trip.
After about a 3.5 hour drive, I was on location at Cataloochee, NC. This is an area of the Smokies I often go to, to photograph Rocky Mountain Elk. On this day, however, there were no elk to be found. Not only were there no elk to be found, but no turkeys either. Both, are usually common here. After some head scratching moments, I found myself photographing Cataloochee Creek. That is the great thing about the smokies. There are always opportunities and sometimes you just have to switch to Plan B when you are at a location.
As the testing continued, I noticed I was becoming fairly familiar with the Sony, so finding the right settings was not difficult at all. I have to say though, I missed having the top LCD that I have gotten so used to using on the Canon DSLR cameras. It is nice to just glance down on it and make quick changes. However, you can pop out the back viewfinder on the Sony and kind of accomplish the same task by using the various display options.
I put my Sony A7 III on my tripod, changed to uncompressed RAW and made several images from 20 to 30 seconds of the water. Some images were made using a polarizing filter and some were not. For a lens, I chose the Canon EF 24mm f2.8 set at f22. My ISO was set to 100. Really there was too much diffraction at f22. I would have been better off using f11 and focus stacking.
I thought that overall, the image quality was amazing. It is easy to see why Sony cameras are used so heavily by landscape photographers. I particularly thought the greens were well represented, but I thought the dynamic range could have been a little better. Below is an example of the shots at Cataloochee Creek.
 |
| Cataloochee Creek - Sony A7 III, 30 Seconds, 24mm, f22, ISO 100 |
So, at this point, I had a choice. I could wait here and see if the elk would make an appearance, or I could make a two hour run over to Cades Cove in Tennessee. Being in a fairly adventurous mood, I headed for Cades Cove. At the same time, the clouds began to move in. This was actually a blessing and would allow me to shoot all day long.
Two hours later, I arrived at Cades Cove and entered the car touring loop. The first pass was quiet, but on the second pass, I found a few whitetail does to try my hand at. I was using the expand flexible spot with lock-on mode for all of the doe shots and my ISO was 1600 plus. Below are two images from that fairly short shoot.
 |
| Cades Cove, TN - Whitetail Deer (ISO 1600, 1/800, Sigma 150-600, 347mm) |
I spent another couple hours here and also photographed some turkeys. I didn't think they were really good enough to put in this blog, I left them out. At this point in the game, it was getting to be later in the afternoon. Knowing that I was now close to five hours from home, I decided it was best to head back up over the mountains.
As I came back into the Cherokee, NC area, I was met with a good surprise. The herd of elk were making their way toward the main road to cross. I quickly made a u-turn and pulled off the side of the road. I knew I wouldn't have much time, so I quickly got my gear together and headed over to the open fields they were crossing.
Almost as soon as I started shooting I noticed an elk calf running to catch up with the herd. I switched on the camera and started shooting. This would be a good test for the camera's tracking. Later, I determined the burst only got about 1 frame sharp out of the series. This was a bit of a disappointment for me. I should also note that I had a good lock on the elk's head, so there was no user error here. Below is the best image and even it is not super tack sharp. It is acceptable sharpness.
 |
| Cherokee, NC - Elk Calf Catching up with the Herd, Sigma 150-600, f6.3, 600 mm, ISO 500, 1/2000 |
I continued to monitor the herd, but it was getting harder as they tried to make the crossing across the road. I managed to get this shot below of one of the bull elk heading for the road.
 |
| Cherokee, NC - Bull Elk in Velvet, Sigma 150-600, f6.3, 421 mm, ISO 1250, 1/2000 |
At this point it was quickly getting late and I really needed to head home. That is, if I wanted to get home before midnight. So, I reluctantly gathered my gear and off I went.
On this second outing with the camera, I certainly became much more acquainted with how it works and felt like I was becoming much more proficient. However, there are still several more tests to come, before I am ready to put my seal of approval on it. Here are the pros and cons from photographing mammals in the Smokies.
PROS
- The buffer is really great when using compressed raw. I never ran out of buffer when shooting these animals.
- Being able to see the camera lock and follow the animal, even when using the expansion modes was awesome. I call it the dancing green AF points.
- Great image quality when photographing at higher ISOs. By higher, I mean anything between 1600 and 6400.
- Flip up screen was very useful when photographing low level flowers and fungi.
- MC-11 loved my Canon 100mm Macro. It drove the autofocus without issue.
- Great looking greens in the landscape shots.
CONS
- Unable to switch to silent mode because of the potential for distortion from running Elk. That is a big bummer!
- Autofocus seemed to struggle a bit on the running elk, even though it showed locked on. Two of the best poses were missed. This is most likely and MC-11/150-600 issue.
- Single point shooting not as effective as expansion modes with lock-on. This causes focus to grab the noses and not the eyes.
- Animal eye detect is not available at the time of this writing for the MC-11. I put a request in for Sigma to introduce it, but who knows. That would have prevented the issue above.
- It would be nice to be able to shoot uncompressed RAW with a deep buffer.
As you know, my primary focus in photography is birds, followed by mammals, followed by macro and then finally, landscapes. Up until the last four years, I hadn't really wanted to invest time into taking photographs of insects. However, there are times now that I will pick up the camera and see what I can do with these little guys. Make no mistake, however, I am not in love with the creepy crawlies, but you have to admit, they are incredibly designed. The closer you get, the more amazing the detail becomes, and so I try to capture that detail when I can.
The Love of Macro
Macro photography and insect photography go hand in hand. The more you love macro, the more tempted you become to photograph insects and spiders. I do have a secondary love for macro photography in nature, and I crank out a few macros a year to supplement the endless shots of birds I create. You need this love too if you are to be successful with insect photography.
Gear for Insect Photography
Lenses
The most important piece of equipment you will need is a macro lens. Macro lenses are defined as having at a minimum a 1:1 magnification ratio. That means that if you had a one inch sensor on your camera, your lens could take a 1 inch subject and fill that sensor from edge to edge. Of course, this is at its closest focusing distance.
Insects can obviously see the photographer and that makes the insect want to jump or fly away from us. For this reason, if you are serious about insect photography, I recommend a longer macro in the 150 mm to 180 mm range. This will give you a better working distance, and you are less likely to scare the insect. Later, in the techniques section, I will discuss how you can use a shorter macro in the 60 mm to 100 mm range to not scare the insect. If you cannot afford the larger more expensive 180 mm macro, buy a 90 or 100 mm macro.
The Butterfly Lens
There is one specialty lens that I need to mention here, and it certainly bears mentioning. That is the butterfly lens. So you are saying that you looked through the whole B&H catalog and didn't see a butterfly lens? Well, you would be correct, but it is still in there nonetheless.
The butterfly lens was coined by several photographers including the famous bird photographer Art Morris. You can classify the butterfly lens as any long lens in the 200 to 400 mm category that can close focus to at least a 1:4 image magnification.
This butterfly lens was born out of the idea of needing a fast focusing, hand holdable and close focusing lens to follow butterflies from flower to flower and even capture them in flight. The butterfly lens I use is the Canon EF 300mm F4 lens. It has a 1:4 image magnification ratio and works great for this role. The Canon EF 100-400 II has a 1:3.x image magnification ratio and fits nicely into this role.
Camera Bodies
Ah, here is where things get really easy for you. You do not, under any circumstances, have to have a great camera body. Even a Canon EOS Rebel, Sony A6000 or Nikon D3500 will work. This is where I depart from my normal wisdom of needing a pro body. In bird photography, you really need a high end body, but for insect photography, you generally don't.
However, if you want maximum image quality, I do recommend something full frame. This will give you incredible details without suffering from micro-lens diffraction that APS-C sensors often suffer from. A used Canon 6D would be a good inexpensive choice. As with anything we buy, there is always a trade-off. Furthermore, I recommend that your camera have some kind of live view for focusing manually. We will get into the focusing piece of the puzzle in the techniques section.
The Tripod
As with any nature photography, you need a good, steady tripod. Don't waste your money on big box department store cheap tripods. They simply don't provide a super steady rest for your camera. I recommend looking at mid sized tripods from Manfrotto and Enduro.
Cable Release
I recommend using a cable release. For those who do not know, a cable release is a way to release the camera's shutter without actually touching the camera. You simply plug the cable release into the side and press the button on the cable release to fire off the shot. If you do not have a cable release you can use the camera's internal timer. The point is, that you do not want to be touching your camera, when making shots at a low shutter speed. The vibrations from your hands will kill the shot!
Techniques for Insect Photography
This section will most likely get a little lengthy because there are numerous techniques involved in insect photography, so take a deep breath and read on.
Time of Day
As with most nature photography, the morning hours yield the best results for photographing insects. During the morning hours, before the sun has had time to start warming our section of the world, the insects are in sleep mode. The technical word for this cold weather slow down is called torpor. This is the perfect time to photograph the insect. Remember how I said you didn't need a 180 macro? Well, this is where you don't need that big macro. You can get great shots of the critters during this time with a 90 or 100mm macro.
Lighting
Lighting is something that will make or break any nature shot. The best light, in my opinion, for insects is soft sun light coming from a cloudy day. This type of light cast no harsh shadows and softens the image. Also, insects are less apt to come out of torpor, because they don't have the hot sun hitting them. Be aware that you will need to allow for the lower light conditions by adjusting your exposure. More on exposure calculation in a little bit.
Second to overcast days, is direct light. This can be sun light directly over your shoulder or sun light at a 45 degree angle. In the morning, the light will be low to the horizon and provide a softer and warmer tone. This type of lighting is fabulous and quite easy to work with. Just remember, the timer starts when that warm sunlight starts hitting the insect.
The final type of lighting is flash lighting. They make special flashes called ring lights that attach to the end of your macro lens. This flash provides a soft and directional light for very tight macro images. This is a perfectly valid approach, but honestly is my last choice. It might be your first choice and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Note that they also make rigs where you can mount two small flashes on a bracket at 45 degree angles on either side of your lens.
Location
Another great thing about insect photography is it doesn't require that you travel to remote areas of the world. You can find great macro subjects in your own backyard. That is where I recommend you start. As you get better at photographing these insects, start looking for a meadow. The meadow I am talking about is a field with maybe waist high weeds and flowers. This is a great place to find insects in the morning. Remember to watch your lighting and don't forget your tripod.
Look very closely on the backs of leaves and the stalks of the weeds. Insects are masters of camouflage and you can walk right past them. Spiders, although not insects, can have large, dewy webs left over from the night hunt they were on. This can be a great macro. Shoot it with the sun behind it for great backlighting. Obviously flower beds and botanical gardens are a great place for both bees and spiders.
Don't forget there are other places that offer photographers a perfect place to photograph insects. There are butterfly farms that allow photographers to come in and photograph many different types of butterflies. These are great locations for making images and for general practice. Do not overlook these!
Exposure
What a can of worms! You can have the lighting, location and gear, but if you can't tell the camera how to make the image, you will fail. I am not going to go into all the theory on how to create the right exposure. If you are reading this and you don't know about the exposure triangle, I encourage you to do additional research or check out Brian Peterson's book on exposure.
If you just want a non-perfect place to start, this is what I suggest for general exposure that will get you most of the way there. However, please do yourself a favor and learn exposure the right way. Learn how to manually adjust your exposure. Now having said that, here is the quick and dirty way to achieve exposure.
1. If you are on a tripod, set your lens aperture to F22
2. Set your shutter speed to 1/125th of a second
3. Turn on auto-ISO. Consult your owners manual on how to turn on auto-ISO.
Now, do I use the above approach? Only on rare occasions. I have always been a manual exposure guy. The biggest takeaway above is the F22. F22 will allow you to get as much of the image in focus as possible and still, you will only have a few millimeters in focus. Macro work has very shallow depth of field. This is why insect photographers often use advanced techniques such as focus stacking. That is a blog entry for another day.
Focusing and Taking the Shot
1. Switch your lens to manual. Except in the case of chasing butterflies, I always use manual focusing.
2. If you are using a DSLR, put your camera into live view mode so you can zoom in to see where to focus.
3. Zoom in to the eye of the insect and focus. You are looking for ultra-crisp details!
4. Plug in your cable release or set your camera to use the 2 second timer.
5. Check focus one more time.
6. Fire off the shot.
Composition
Composition is a subject that I could also spend many pages of written text talking about, but there are two main points I want to drive home with you.
First, remember your subject. Your subject is the insect and the perch that it is on. If you have a great subject and a great perch you are halfway there. Secondly, watch your backgrounds. In the image below, you can see I have a perfectly clean green background which helps keep the attention of the viewer on the subject. Busy backgrounds keep the viewer from experiencing the image to its fullest. Also note, that a centered image is best for this square crop (IMO).
In the above composition, we see two things going on. First, the subject is placed roughly in the left third of the image, while the lines of the leaf he is perched on draws the eye the rest of the way through the image and then back to the subject. Dividing your image into thirds and placing your image near the intersections of the thirds is called using the "Rule of Thirds." The lines of the leaves represent a concept called "Leading Lines."
Conclusion
This really just touches the surface of the world of insect photography. I could probably write a book on the subject and many who do this daily have done just that. Yes, I know that insects creep many people out and I get that, but give it a try. I think you will find it to be a whole new world within our world.
Announcements:
Check out the latest podcast episodes
I need your help to keep producing content! Consider becoming a patron to my work. Funds received from your help, will go toward keeping the infrastructure in place to keep providing free content. As you know, web site hosting, microphones and recording gear are very costly. To find out more about being a patron and how this can benefit you, head out to my Patreon site : https://www.patreon.com/mattcuda
Individual training, and honest and useful portfolio critiques available. Email me at matt.cuda@mattcuda.com
________________________________________________
My Website: http://www.mattcuda.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattcuda
Newsletter
http://www.mattcuda.com/Home/Newsletter
You may also contact me directly to purchase prints: matt.cuda@mattcuda.com
The Love of Macro
Macro photography and insect photography go hand in hand. The more you love macro, the more tempted you become to photograph insects and spiders. I do have a secondary love for macro photography in nature, and I crank out a few macros a year to supplement the endless shots of birds I create. You need this love too if you are to be successful with insect photography.
 |
| Banded Orange Heliconian Butterfly, Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon EF 300mm F4L |
Gear for Insect Photography
Lenses
The most important piece of equipment you will need is a macro lens. Macro lenses are defined as having at a minimum a 1:1 magnification ratio. That means that if you had a one inch sensor on your camera, your lens could take a 1 inch subject and fill that sensor from edge to edge. Of course, this is at its closest focusing distance.
Insects can obviously see the photographer and that makes the insect want to jump or fly away from us. For this reason, if you are serious about insect photography, I recommend a longer macro in the 150 mm to 180 mm range. This will give you a better working distance, and you are less likely to scare the insect. Later, in the techniques section, I will discuss how you can use a shorter macro in the 60 mm to 100 mm range to not scare the insect. If you cannot afford the larger more expensive 180 mm macro, buy a 90 or 100 mm macro.
The Butterfly Lens
There is one specialty lens that I need to mention here, and it certainly bears mentioning. That is the butterfly lens. So you are saying that you looked through the whole B&H catalog and didn't see a butterfly lens? Well, you would be correct, but it is still in there nonetheless.
The butterfly lens was coined by several photographers including the famous bird photographer Art Morris. You can classify the butterfly lens as any long lens in the 200 to 400 mm category that can close focus to at least a 1:4 image magnification.
This butterfly lens was born out of the idea of needing a fast focusing, hand holdable and close focusing lens to follow butterflies from flower to flower and even capture them in flight. The butterfly lens I use is the Canon EF 300mm F4 lens. It has a 1:4 image magnification ratio and works great for this role. The Canon EF 100-400 II has a 1:3.x image magnification ratio and fits nicely into this role.
 |
| Canon EF 300 F4 L (Butterfly Lens) |
Camera Bodies
Ah, here is where things get really easy for you. You do not, under any circumstances, have to have a great camera body. Even a Canon EOS Rebel, Sony A6000 or Nikon D3500 will work. This is where I depart from my normal wisdom of needing a pro body. In bird photography, you really need a high end body, but for insect photography, you generally don't.
However, if you want maximum image quality, I do recommend something full frame. This will give you incredible details without suffering from micro-lens diffraction that APS-C sensors often suffer from. A used Canon 6D would be a good inexpensive choice. As with anything we buy, there is always a trade-off. Furthermore, I recommend that your camera have some kind of live view for focusing manually. We will get into the focusing piece of the puzzle in the techniques section.
The Tripod
As with any nature photography, you need a good, steady tripod. Don't waste your money on big box department store cheap tripods. They simply don't provide a super steady rest for your camera. I recommend looking at mid sized tripods from Manfrotto and Enduro.
Cable Release
I recommend using a cable release. For those who do not know, a cable release is a way to release the camera's shutter without actually touching the camera. You simply plug the cable release into the side and press the button on the cable release to fire off the shot. If you do not have a cable release you can use the camera's internal timer. The point is, that you do not want to be touching your camera, when making shots at a low shutter speed. The vibrations from your hands will kill the shot!
Techniques for Insect Photography
This section will most likely get a little lengthy because there are numerous techniques involved in insect photography, so take a deep breath and read on.
Time of Day
As with most nature photography, the morning hours yield the best results for photographing insects. During the morning hours, before the sun has had time to start warming our section of the world, the insects are in sleep mode. The technical word for this cold weather slow down is called torpor. This is the perfect time to photograph the insect. Remember how I said you didn't need a 180 macro? Well, this is where you don't need that big macro. You can get great shots of the critters during this time with a 90 or 100mm macro.
Lighting
Lighting is something that will make or break any nature shot. The best light, in my opinion, for insects is soft sun light coming from a cloudy day. This type of light cast no harsh shadows and softens the image. Also, insects are less apt to come out of torpor, because they don't have the hot sun hitting them. Be aware that you will need to allow for the lower light conditions by adjusting your exposure. More on exposure calculation in a little bit.
 |
| Bumblebee - Canon 7D, Tamron 70-300 SP VC, Extension Tubes, Soft Lighting |
Second to overcast days, is direct light. This can be sun light directly over your shoulder or sun light at a 45 degree angle. In the morning, the light will be low to the horizon and provide a softer and warmer tone. This type of lighting is fabulous and quite easy to work with. Just remember, the timer starts when that warm sunlight starts hitting the insect.
The final type of lighting is flash lighting. They make special flashes called ring lights that attach to the end of your macro lens. This flash provides a soft and directional light for very tight macro images. This is a perfectly valid approach, but honestly is my last choice. It might be your first choice and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Note that they also make rigs where you can mount two small flashes on a bracket at 45 degree angles on either side of your lens.
Location
Another great thing about insect photography is it doesn't require that you travel to remote areas of the world. You can find great macro subjects in your own backyard. That is where I recommend you start. As you get better at photographing these insects, start looking for a meadow. The meadow I am talking about is a field with maybe waist high weeds and flowers. This is a great place to find insects in the morning. Remember to watch your lighting and don't forget your tripod.
Look very closely on the backs of leaves and the stalks of the weeds. Insects are masters of camouflage and you can walk right past them. Spiders, although not insects, can have large, dewy webs left over from the night hunt they were on. This can be a great macro. Shoot it with the sun behind it for great backlighting. Obviously flower beds and botanical gardens are a great place for both bees and spiders.
Don't forget there are other places that offer photographers a perfect place to photograph insects. There are butterfly farms that allow photographers to come in and photograph many different types of butterflies. These are great locations for making images and for general practice. Do not overlook these!
Exposure
What a can of worms! You can have the lighting, location and gear, but if you can't tell the camera how to make the image, you will fail. I am not going to go into all the theory on how to create the right exposure. If you are reading this and you don't know about the exposure triangle, I encourage you to do additional research or check out Brian Peterson's book on exposure.
If you just want a non-perfect place to start, this is what I suggest for general exposure that will get you most of the way there. However, please do yourself a favor and learn exposure the right way. Learn how to manually adjust your exposure. Now having said that, here is the quick and dirty way to achieve exposure.
1. If you are on a tripod, set your lens aperture to F22
2. Set your shutter speed to 1/125th of a second
3. Turn on auto-ISO. Consult your owners manual on how to turn on auto-ISO.
Now, do I use the above approach? Only on rare occasions. I have always been a manual exposure guy. The biggest takeaway above is the F22. F22 will allow you to get as much of the image in focus as possible and still, you will only have a few millimeters in focus. Macro work has very shallow depth of field. This is why insect photographers often use advanced techniques such as focus stacking. That is a blog entry for another day.
Focusing and Taking the Shot
1. Switch your lens to manual. Except in the case of chasing butterflies, I always use manual focusing.
2. If you are using a DSLR, put your camera into live view mode so you can zoom in to see where to focus.
3. Zoom in to the eye of the insect and focus. You are looking for ultra-crisp details!
4. Plug in your cable release or set your camera to use the 2 second timer.
5. Check focus one more time.
6. Fire off the shot.
Composition
Composition is a subject that I could also spend many pages of written text talking about, but there are two main points I want to drive home with you.
First, remember your subject. Your subject is the insect and the perch that it is on. If you have a great subject and a great perch you are halfway there. Secondly, watch your backgrounds. In the image below, you can see I have a perfectly clean green background which helps keep the attention of the viewer on the subject. Busy backgrounds keep the viewer from experiencing the image to its fullest. Also note, that a centered image is best for this square crop (IMO).
 |
| Tiger Longwing Butterfly |
 |
| Polydamas Swallowtail Butterfly |
Conclusion
This really just touches the surface of the world of insect photography. I could probably write a book on the subject and many who do this daily have done just that. Yes, I know that insects creep many people out and I get that, but give it a try. I think you will find it to be a whole new world within our world.
________________________________________________
Check out the latest podcast episodes
I need your help to keep producing content! Consider becoming a patron to my work. Funds received from your help, will go toward keeping the infrastructure in place to keep providing free content. As you know, web site hosting, microphones and recording gear are very costly. To find out more about being a patron and how this can benefit you, head out to my Patreon site : https://www.patreon.com/mattcuda
Individual training, and honest and useful portfolio critiques available. Email me at matt.cuda@mattcuda.com
________________________________________________
My Website: http://www.mattcuda.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattcuda
Newsletter
http://www.mattcuda.com/Home/Newsletter
You may also contact me directly to purchase prints: matt.cuda@mattcuda.com
 |
| Photo Courtesy of Canon USA |
There is a camera that has been sleeping quietly in the Canon lineup. It is a camera that has most of the features that many photographers are interested in. It is a camera that might not be as innovative as the latest mirrorless camera. It is also a camera that, frankly, you might want.
That sleepy camera is the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. Boasting an all new autofocus system, 6.5 frames per second, and a full frame 26 megapixel sensor, the 6D II is certainly a good option for many. But, why does it get negative or no press at all? Why is it frowned upon? Is there any substance to what people are saying? I can only speak from my own experience with this camera. This review will be my own experiences, and what I think this camera can and can't do. First, let's look at the full list of specifications.
Specifications
- All new 26.2 megapixel full frame sensor
- 45 cross type AF points (all cross type depending on lens)
- Single DIGIC 7 processor
- 6.5 frames per second continuous shooting for 21 raw exposures.
- Max shutter speed 1/4000 No 4K video
- 1080p video up to 60 fps
- 4K time-lapse movies
- Autofocus available at f8 with modern Canon glass (not guaranteed with 3rd party)
- WI-FI is built in
- GPS is built in
- NFC is built in
- ISO 100 to 25,600 (expandable to 102,400)
- Lights which flicker (eg. fluorescents) can be managed with the anti-flicker mode
- Flash sync speed of 1/180
- Touchscreen during video for better focusing
- Singe SD card slot
- Duel pixel AF live view video recording
- Fully articulating viewfinder
- Canon LP-E6N battery
- Released June 2017
Build Quality/Fit and Finish
The 6D Mark II is a pleasure to shoot, and the ergonomics are similar to that of it's APS-C cousin, the Canon EOS 80D. Canon, has always favored a larger, easy to handle grip, and when compared to other mirrorless cameras, such as Sony, it really stands at the top of the list.
Canon has also made a real effort in the last several years to make sure that its newer cameras have a fully articulating view screen, and the 6D II boasts just that. Although a modest size, the 3.0 inch touch screen viewfinder is easy to read and operate.
Button locations have changed slightly with this model. The "Q" button is now located down by the base of the thumb cutout on the back of the camera. At first I found this a bit odd, but quickly got used to it. I especially like that canon left the AE-Lock button and the auto-focus point selector up in the right corner of the camera as it has been there for many years and is comfortable to me.
I wish I could say I liked all the buttons on the Canon 6D Mark II, but I can honestly say I hate their clunky selector disk. I have no idea why they do not have a joystick on all their cameras for adjusting auto-focus points and moving around the menus. Come on Canon, that is a no-brainer. It should no longer be a feature, but should be standard.
Video showing touch interface
The menu system is easy to operate and should be familiar to anyone with a fairly modern Canon camera. I found the touch screen to make moving around the menu system much easier and a huge bonus for me. That might be worth the price of admission right there, but I am not quite willing to fold on that feature alone.
Now, this next wish is not a huge deal, but why not put a popup flash into this camera? After all, it is not targeted toward the pro market and frankly, I would find it useful. The popup flash, in my world, is good for acting as a master flash in a multi-flash master/slave setup. I don't use it as an actual flash, but it might be nice for some at Christmas or family get togethers to give them a little built in flash help. The bottom line is that everything about the ergonomics of the 6D Mark II just felt like a Canon. It was comfortable and easy to operate. I give it a solid green checkmark in this category.
Autofocus
In order to test the 45 point AF system, I took the camera out to my son's last soccer game of the year. I felt like this would be a good test for a Camera that is targeting the generalist photographer. To say I was skeptical of what the autofocus could do would be a great understatement. Due to the sensitive nature of putting images of children online, I elected not to show the pics. You will have to trust me on it. Thanks for understanding.
For me, to fairly test the camera, I programmed the AE-Lock button to be the back button focus button. Since this is how I have my personal cameras setup, I thought I would have a better chance at an accurate auto-focus review. My lens selection for this test would be my Sigma 150-600 C.
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| The AF performance was much better than expected. |
Now, what really blew my mind is how well this AF system locked on. I had quite a few keepers that day to say the least. I read some "internet experts" who said that its AF system struggled. A this point in the game my question was, "struggles compared to what, a 1DX Mark II?" OK, I'll give you that, but for the target market of this camera, it is more than good at autofocusing. I am not sure I would trust it for a great deal of birds in flight photography, but for general wildlife, I think it would work fine. It might even surprise us with birds.
The greatest autofocus feature of this camera is not the standard autofocus sensor, but the touch screen focus using live view. It is accurate, fast and doesn't jar the camera. Using the dual pixel AF with touch screen was a match made in heaven. Simply touch the face of the person or object you want to focus on, and the lens slides into focus. Of course you can see the benefits of this feature, particularly when shooting video.
Image Quality
I am not going to lie to you, the Canon 6D II has taken a great deal of criticism about its image quality and particularly how it relates to the original 6D. Testing has shown that the new sensor does not have the highlight/shadow recovery that was capable in its predecessor. Now, I am sure that Canon had its reasons for this, and I am sure they are pretty darn good reasons! However, to the average consumer, it just looks like shoddy work. Playing devils advocate, understand that this sensor came out before the new announcement from the Canon CEO saying that Canon had been slack for too long and was going to be more innovative in the future. It still doesn't excuse the lack of dynamic range of the new sensor, but may offer some insight.
Day two of my testing involved taking photographs of hummingbirds. After the shoot, during post processing I will say that I did notice the lack of dynamic range, but it did have more dynamic range than my Canon 7D Mark II (if that is any consolation). Now, I do think it should have at least similar dynamic range to the 6D, but if all you care about is dynamic range, then you need to take a course on photography and learn to shoot the scene properly.
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| Canon EOS 6D Mark II, Canon EF 300mm F4 @ f14, 1/180th, ISO 100 |
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| Canon 7D Mark II, ISO 100, 1/200, Canon EF 300 F4 @ f14 |
Overall, I thought the image quality was certainly a cut above any APS-C sensor, and I think would serve many people very well. I would be happy to shoot with it. I thought the sharpness of the sensor was great, the color on par with other Canon sensors and the "cropability" of the final raw file to be excellent.
Video
To be honest, I don't think this camera was targeted toward serious videographers or cinematographers, but what it does do is provide a platform for VLOGs. So much so that Casey Neistat switched to it as his vlogging camera. If you don't know who Casey is then you have been living under a rock.
Although I am trained as a videographer, in the end I am really a stills guy. So putting together a large critique of the video system of this camera is not going to happen here. What I did see of it, I liked, with lack of 4K being the only caveat in my mind.
Can I use this for Wildlife?
Although I have already alluded to the fact that it can be used for wildlife, I want to hone in more on that topic and break it down by genre.
Conclusion and Wrap up
Video showing fully articulating screen
No, it does not produce 4K video and the 1080 video is somewhat suspect, but with that fully articulating screen and touch focus, it has pulled through as a contender. If we could couple the video quality of the Sony with the usability of the Canon, we would have the best video camera on the planet!Although I am trained as a videographer, in the end I am really a stills guy. So putting together a large critique of the video system of this camera is not going to happen here. What I did see of it, I liked, with lack of 4K being the only caveat in my mind.
Can I use this for Wildlife?
Although I have already alluded to the fact that it can be used for wildlife, I want to hone in more on that topic and break it down by genre.
- Animals running? Yes, effectively
- General Birds in Flight? Yes, but less effective than 1 Series or 7D II. It only supports 6.5 fps so that might keep you from getting all the wing positions and so forth.
- Animal Portraits? Yes, perfectly
- Hummingbirds? Yes, perfectly
- Songbirds in Flight? Not ideal unless using studio flash technique with Photo Trap. 1/4000th of a second top shutter speed might not be enough for ambient shots, but largely depends on the bird's speed.
- Low Light Animals? Yes, good low light capability
Conclusion and Wrap up
So, what lead me to do this review? Well, to be honest, I am looking for a good full frame camera to fill in the cracks on my Canon EOS 7D Mark II. One of the biggest cracks in the 7D is the fact that it is a poor landscape camera at best.
For those times when image quality trumps all, it is great to have the flexibility of the full frame IQ. There is nothing quite like the look of full frame images and they seem to only be getting better. Honestly, I thought the overall IQ was great.
So, would I buy this camera say over a used Canon 5D Mark III? That is the question I have to answer now. In many ways the 6D Mark II is a better camera, but in many ways, the 5D III is. It really comes down to whether the articulating screen is more important than more autofocus points on the 5D. That debate will go on inside my noggin until I finally make a decision, but I won't decide today.
I hope this review will help you make a good decision.
If what you want is a good, general full frame camera with a few extra bells and whistles, but has a lower price tag, then this camera is for you. I have listed what I think are the pros and cons below.
So, would I buy this camera say over a used Canon 5D Mark III? That is the question I have to answer now. In many ways the 6D Mark II is a better camera, but in many ways, the 5D III is. It really comes down to whether the articulating screen is more important than more autofocus points on the 5D. That debate will go on inside my noggin until I finally make a decision, but I won't decide today.
I hope this review will help you make a good decision.
If what you want is a good, general full frame camera with a few extra bells and whistles, but has a lower price tag, then this camera is for you. I have listed what I think are the pros and cons below.
PROS
- Full frame sensor
- Improved 45 point AF system (much better than I thought)
- 6.5 fps gets us closer to that magic 8fps for birds in flight and fast action.
- Fully articulating touch LCD screen
- F8 autofocus possible
- WIFI, NEF, Bluetooth, GPS
- Great feel and ergonomics
CONS
- Less dynamic range than expected
- Lack of joystick on back of camera
- AF points all clustered in the middle of the viewfinder
- No 4K video
- Viewfinder not 100% coverage (more like 98%)
- Lack of popup flash to act as a master in a multi-flash setup.
As usual, make it a great day and get out there and enjoy nature!
Video Review of the Canon 6D Mark II...
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