camera for bee, wasp and hoverfly id?

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camera for bee, wasp and hoverfly id?
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dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jun 29, 19 7:19 pm Post subject: camera for bee, wasp and hoverfly id?

what it says, what do i need.

my eos 35mm has point of view electrics like modern fighter planes, ie look at it through the view finder and 0.2 seconds later it is in focus and properly exposed for pressing the button if you set everything for the general technicals of what you want to snap.

35mm film is rather expensive and time consuming and nice but if i wanted a wet system for pretty i would go full plate so digital seems sensible for what i need.

fast, hi res and cheap to run ( decent upfront budget )

grrr i need a new camera, or ace i can get a new camera, tis hard to decide

i recon pov is my best bet to get good id snaps of small, movable beasties that might be at the end of my nose or ten feet away

any suggestions for kit? i like canon stuff but i have liked a biscuit tin with a hole at times and would be up for a top end camera of a different stable if it was strong , had ace lenses and did what i need.

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Sat Jun 29, 19 9:03 pm Post subject:
Mr Shan suggests a Canon D80. We have one plus various lenses. Phenomenal camera. If you would like, send me a PM & we can set up a phone call. I'm not sure what your budget is because that's quite extensive with cameras? send me a PM.

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 19 3:47 am Post subject:

I've got an 80D as well - very, very capable stills camera, and also highly-rated for video making if you decide to stray down that route. I use a Canon 100mm macro lens for photographing bugs in the garden, but I'd start with the kit lens (18 - 135mm is one of their newer kit lenses and ideal as a starter) for now and see how you get on.

80D has been around for a while now, so there should be plenty of second-hand options. Cheapest place I've found (anywhere in the world) for new kit is H Dew Cameras - just be aware that they are cheap because their kit is all grey import and not official Canon UK supply, which can put some people off.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16003

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 19 8:47 am Post subject:
Mifsuds of Brixham have a pretty good range of second hand cameras. Son uses them mail order, and we have been visiting for years, so a pretty good bet for stability.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jun 30, 19 2:21 pm Post subject:
pm sent

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jul 02, 19 9:04 pm Post subject:

this is getting difficult, i like the look of the d80 and standard multilength lens pack for probably less than i would expect that level of performance and it has quick set " scene " modes which can be handy. less than a grand for the basics and a few hundred for decent cards, hoods , extra batteries etc bags . a k and a little bit.

even for hd video or a decent photo edit tool i will need a new pooter and decent monitor for cutting and rendering so another 1.5 k if i build it

so if i can live without " scene" modes i could spend an extra k and a bit for a d5 mk iv and an even better multi use lens and then see what other lenses i can or need to aquire

i just realised it was 1964 when i took and developed my first film so no mountain or face settings are really needed even if they are quick shortcuts at times, if in dought 55mm, f8 and get close enough to fill the frame chance are there will be enough image to make a snap.

my chum had a d2 that i somewhat coveted a while back

when i upgraded to my first digi compact but he had a newsroom work station and a picture editor

to be realistic i need to decide between maybe 3k and a pretty good camera etc or 5k and a really nice one with some decent hardware/ software for snaps and video included.

i have a legit but no longer supported full cs3 which if i can migrate it to a new pooter might be ok for stills but 4k video is a bit data rich for old stuff. hum ho hum.

if i work out some possible ways to monetise the images i will go for the good stuff and take it from there. no weddins no christenins no children and gurning parents no pets and definitely no weddins.
i did one wedding for a chum, 2 cameras for every our day snap and wandering pap for the other guests and fun aspects, i did a decent job but it was well stressful
i would be up for autopsies , war zones or most other things that are far more relaxing than ..... oh i just remembered there are folk who do snot child snaps in shopping centres and print them off for a tenner for the proud parent , uuughhh.
that job offer was considered unsuitable by the person your interlocutor refers to with the perpendicular pronoun

if i want a pocket camera my phone or compact ones are fine but i quite fancy using 55 yrs practice with some top end kit while i have the chance

i would be better for the rigours of even domestic wildlife imaging to have pro kit and it does give a better chance of producing decent work

i need to consider this

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 19 3:56 am Post subject:
If you've got the skills, the 5D Mk IV is awesome. I'd love one, but I think I need to outgrow the 80D first before I can justify it! Would still keep the 80D, though, for those safari moments when you need a quick lens change - much easier to have a second camera with a different lens on it than fumble around trying to change lenses in a hurry!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16003

Posted: Wed Jul 03, 19 7:06 am Post subject:

I think I started on photography before you then Dpack. I was helping my father with his darkroom stuff from about 1960 and taking my own photos by about the same time, all be it some on a box Brownie before I graduated to a camera you could adjust. I find that sort of camera far easier to use when you have a separate calculator then set the lens up, rather than the semi automatics. You had to frame your picture well too as there were only 12 pictures per roll of film, so no quick snaps to delete later.

I haven't done any serious photography for years, but still remembered enough to help son when he did wet processing at school, and still advise him on composition. He has taken to it well, and is quite serious in an amatuer way. He has done shoots for a group he follows and their Rock Choir group, but no money in it for him.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 19 5:39 pm Post subject:

having asked a few questions i recon i might have got some slight idea of what i want.

good body, good gp lens, good macro, good ring light ( d5, sigma etc )

good monitor 4k, ( i can put the toolbox on any basic monitor that talks to the pooter )

i probably want a new trackball and pen tablet as mine are a bit past their best and i probably want a weather box for the camera just to keep bird lime out of the machinery

now the pooting bit

photoshop is now a cloud service rather than a purchase which means i do not need a block heating pooter but i do need something that can run that level of image, video and probably sound stuff

what pooter do i need?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 19 5:45 pm Post subject:
64 bit with an OS that lets you install as much RAM as possible and an SSD as the OS drive

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 19 5:48 pm Post subject:
And you can buy a relatively recent version of Photoshop or Creative Suite on eBay

Shane

Joined: 31 Oct 2005
Posts: 3467
Location: Doha. Is hot.

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 19 4:32 am Post subject:

tahir wrote:

64 bit with an OS that lets you install as much RAM as possible and an SSD as the OS drive

Pah - regular SSD hardrives are sooo yesterday! You want an NVMe M.2 PCIe SSD for the OS, you do.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 19 9:01 am Post subject:
That's a nice looking piece of kit Shane.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45676
Location: Essex

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 19 1:56 pm Post subject:
This one's cheap

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 19 7:29 pm Post subject:

thanks folks, it would seem the studio side of stuff is possible if i am sensible and get the right kit.

plugging into the hoover dam to run the pooter seems rather last decade

the super fast drive does seem a good idea and quite a few chassis styles can handle a decent cpu, gpu, sound and lots of ram

if i go lappy i do get one screen for tools or for gp use

sd mentioned that between ps online, a decent work book, a phone and the camera the my side pooter power could be reduced to a minimum.
i do like the idea of simple but i also like the idea of no dependency on online stuff

as i am on grid , planning a very local project , i could spit a cherry stone at it and win so i should be able to keep it simple

and recon the kit is plausible so now i need to get a spec together

body
100mm macro with dedicated ring light
20 to 200 gp lens
pooter
software/facilities
decent biggish 4k monitor

gulp even if i have or can borrow, beg, make, etc a few odds n ends to complete the kit

back in the olden days to do what i would like to do was maybe possible but it would have been daft expensive, very low res in many senses and a nightmare

observe
gather data
record good images
enjoy doing it, consider how this funds the next one or is a useful/fun thing to do as appropriate
decent motives i spose but if i find a new species in my very small urban jungle it will get a very appropriate and silly name.

most of the wildlife is pretty chilled about me so no hides or lens like la palma nonsense, it gets get very up close and personal and most of it does not bite me very much.

art and science sort of meet when i look at the hedge, tis pretty but it is also fascinating as an urban microhabitat

it might be fun to play with this

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