Steve'sDigicams

ejm · Apr 23, 2006, 12:33 AM

Greetings!

My wife and I are heading out to butterfly world here on Vancouver Island tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for the best lens setup for this situation. This is an indoor "Butterfly Farm" I have a FZ20 with olympus add on lenses including macro, wide angle and a teleconvertor (tcon 14b).

Any suggestions, hints etc. would be most appreciated.

Regards

EJM

rduve · Apr 23, 2006, 2:38 AM

Use the macro lens (ideally a Nikon 4t or 6t) and maybe combine it with the Tcon 14B.

genece · Apr 23, 2006, 6:59 AM

The word indoor scares me but maybe there is lots of light.

If you can not get real close the macro and 14B combo may be a good Idea....but you will need to practice some to know what to expect.

I tried that combo a couple times and I think that allows you to focus at full zoom, at about 3 ft but I may be wrong, its been a while since I tried that

bejoweth · Apr 23, 2006, 8:57 AM

There will be enough light in the butterfly area - either sunlight or artifical. I use either a Minolta 0+ or a Nikon 1+ closeup lens for butterfly shots. Either of these two will let me stand a little further back from the butterfly.You need topractice with the lens before you go -you have to get the butterfly in good focus by moving the camera back and forthonce you zoom in on it. Hope this helps.

Tazzie · Apr 23, 2006, 12:57 PM

Rather then spend much time screwing lenses on and off I'd be working with the amazing macro-tele it has built in. Keep in mind its dead zone where you won't be able to focus. If time and the butterflies comply extended macro and telephoto may both lend a hand but will diminish light. Take lots and share some of the best with us.
love buttrflies

bejoweth · Apr 23, 2006, 2:31 PM

Here's a picture of a Silver-spotted Skipper that I made recently with my FZ4 and Nikon 1+ closeup lens. Very little, if any, cropping was done:

http://groups.msn.com/PanasonicFZ/

Treemonkey · Apr 23, 2006, 5:27 PM

Hi,

I would go with a straight ~+3 close up lens, I use the nikon 6T. I would also recommend an external flash and use a bounce/diffusion setup. I took these photos a year ago in a butterfly house.
Although the second was taken with the raynox dcr-250 ( + 8 ).

Treemonkey

Treemonkey · Apr 23, 2006, 5:28 PM

With the dcr-250

ride16 · Apr 23, 2006, 10:19 PM

rduve wrote:

Quote:

Use the macro lens (ideally a Nikon 4t or 6t) and maybe combine it with the Tcon 14B.

Any chance you could explain to me how this works? I didn't know you could stack a 14B with a 6T. I have both, and would love to know how it should be set up, and at what range I would be able to shoot. Thanks in advance!

Melissa

ejm · Apr 23, 2006, 11:04 PM

Thanks for all the help. I managed to get a picture or two that are not too bad. I am going to attach a couple.

Apr 23, 2006, 5:27 PM	#7
Treemonkey Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 628	Hi, I would go with a straight ~+3 close up lens, I use the nikon 6T. I would also recommend an external flash and use a bounce/diffusion setup. I took these photos a year ago in a butterfly house. Although the second was taken with the raynox dcr-250 ( + 8 ). Treemonkey Attached Images

Apr 23, 2006, 5:28 PM	#8
Treemonkey Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 628	With the dcr-250 Attached Images

Apr 23, 2006, 11:04 PM	#10
ejm Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41	Thanks for all the help. I managed to get a picture or two that are not too bad. I am going to attach a couple. Attached Images

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Apr 23, 2006, 12:33 AM	#1
ejm Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 41	Greetings! My wife and I are heading out to butterfly world here on Vancouver Island tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for the best lens setup for this situation. This is an indoor "Butterfly Farm" I have a FZ20 with olympus add on lenses including macro, wide angle and a teleconvertor (tcon 14b). Any suggestions, hints etc. would be most appreciated. Regards EJM

Apr 23, 2006, 2:38 AM	#2
rduve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,504	Use the macro lens (ideally a Nikon 4t or 6t) and maybe combine it with the Tcon 14B.

Apr 23, 2006, 6:59 AM	#3
genece Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 2,111	The word indoor scares me but maybe there is lots of light. If you can not get real close the macro and 14B combo may be a good Idea....but you will need to practice some to know what to expect. I tried that combo a couple times and I think that allows you to focus at full zoom, at about 3 ft but I may be wrong, its been a while since I tried that

Apr 23, 2006, 8:57 AM	#4
bejoweth Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 228	There will be enough light in the butterfly area - either sunlight or artifical. I use either a Minolta 0+ or a Nikon 1+ closeup lens for butterfly shots. Either of these two will let me stand a little further back from the butterfly.You need topractice with the lens before you go -you have to get the butterfly in good focus by moving the camera back and forthonce you zoom in on it. Hope this helps.

Apr 23, 2006, 12:57 PM	#5
Tazzie Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 511	Rather then spend much time screwing lenses on and off I'd be working with the amazing macro-tele it has built in. Keep in mind its dead zone where you won't be able to focus. If time and the butterflies comply extended macro and telephoto may both lend a hand but will diminish light. Take lots and share some of the best with us. love buttrflies

Apr 23, 2006, 2:31 PM	#6
bejoweth Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 228	Here's a picture of a Silver-spotted Skipper that I made recently with my FZ4 and Nikon 1+ closeup lens. Very little, if any, cropping was done: http://groups.msn.com/PanasonicFZ/