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: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jan 01, 20 4:29 pm Post subject:

i just got 50 or so snaps of tweed, last fledgeling of the last clutch and a bit different to most sparrows.

some are decent enough for id even if it was less than ideal conditions.

iso 40000, f5.1 100th sec picked her out from what the mk one eyeball saw as a darkish blur
that was with the GP lens at about 100mm pap style from the step , for high res stuff i need to use the 100/400

but tis day one and starting by papping for a full colony worth of id snaps ( wide is ok if they have enough data to reveal details when zoomed) seems a decent tactic

325mm ish from the step gives a 32mpx double raw full screen picture of a sparrow( delving into that is microscopy), tis ideal for high res portrait stuff and detail observational stuff but it is a bit chunky and harder to handhold in low light

both and more will be done

i need to try video, i have used video since the mid '80's but i need to read up on how this thing works.
the spec is better than any studio or domestic kit i have played with* so if i can get it to take a decent snap i might be able to get it to make a decent video.

*tis a while ago but i went from ex studio kit to the lowest res tec that worked for puppetry and daftness and would render on the pooter i could build on a budget etc
now i have 4k in a clever box with nice lenses and top end machine, software and cloud stuff to organize it with.
i will need to upgrade to a better edit suite for anything but basic video editing but plenty to do first.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 20 8:27 am Post subject:
If you are working from a fixed point, would using a tripod, or even a monopod help with stability?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 20 2:21 pm Post subject:

yep but it increases time to settle on a focus point

all my lenses are image stabilized and i can push to iso 40000 so in any sort of daylight can use a fairly high shutter speed so shake/subject movement are not too much of a problem

for sparrow behaviour, portrait or video the tripods will be used, along with either the cable or wifi remote , but id snaps seem best papped to get the full colony recorded before the start of the breeding season.
going by the weather they will make an early start again. last year there were 4 clutches from some nests.

i have a mini tripod/handle for the long lens which is ace for basic stability and the clever electronics/engineering does most of the rest.

fitting my snaps into their schedule rather than the other way round is just a matter of patience and timing, i hope

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 20 8:17 pm Post subject:
timing, they were cool with me getting 150 snaps at dusk. the problem with that is shutter speed for good feather pattern snaps a steep learning curve and perhaps the early snapper catches the birds

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 20 7:27 am Post subject:
I have heard a woodpecker in the wood over the last couple of outings there, so they could be starting early too.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 20 3:58 pm Post subject:

i put a snap of justin in the wildlife thread, not perfect(or portrait style) but adequate for id mugshots even in winter light which under a hedge between two houses and aligned north west is a bit gloomy at the mo.

recording them as individuals with good id's and an idea of their start of season loyalties seems a good start to following the social and family stuff as the year goes on.

so far the canon R and 3 lenses have done everything i wanted of them once i worked out how to ask nicely.
however the current kit has limitations. 650 full fat raw photos= a full card and a nearly flat battery, i can do that in under 20 mins.
i have 2 cards and 2 batteries at the mo.
i need the battery grip(2 batteries and in use usb powering) and at least 2 more cards so as i can shoot and then look.
video, i recon i get about 30 mins per card/battery but i have yet to play properly with video(the lighting is a challenge at the mo)

when i used film i would often load rolls of far more than 36 snaps, for what i am trying to do bulk data collection is a vital tool as many snaps have no useful info and with the multi snap thing a second can be 7 snaps of blurred wings or an empty space:lol:

the machine is pretty instinctive for a canon fan but the non factory manual has helped with the stuff that is very new to me and will help with specific tasks.

hideous expensive especially as the pooter needed a similar factor of ten £ upgrade but so far they do seem to fulfil the kit requirements for detail wildlife stuff.

the mk one 100/400 white lens is awesome at close range, if the birds were less comfy with me i might want far bigger glass to snap from further than a few feet.
it is pretty ok even if the mk2 is supposed to be better
used 1 = £600 or new 2 = £2k , no brainer

i have not played with stabilization mode 2 yet which is for moving subjects, but it might be handy for things on wings.

never work with animals but if you must at least have the kit to give you a chance of getting it right:lol:

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 20 4:00 pm Post subject:
ps i am now after including the peregrines in this if i get lucky with the snaps

Shane

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

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 20 4:44 am Post subject:

Good to see the project is progressing. If you start getting into the video side of things, it might be worth looking into a fluid head for the tripod - you can get a decent one for not too much money these days. For video processing, Photoshop Elements does everything I need, although I have an older, stand-alone desktop version - I would feel aggrieved if I had to sign up for the new subscription-only version for the limited use I get out of it.

Not sure if the 100-400 is the same as other Canon lenses, but generally IS mode 2 is for side-to-side movement (think passing race cars), with mode 1 good enough for most handheld stuff.

Headed east for Christmas and took a few wildlife snaps (of varying quality) of my own:

[/img]

Okay - so the cows are more free range than wild, but I liked the way they lined up in size order. They must have known an engineer was coming along

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 20 8:42 am Post subject:
You do seem to have got some useful pictures Dpack, and that study may bring forward the interaction between sparrows a long way. Shane, interesting pictures, or things not usually seen in an English back yard. Some good ones there, but with that range of subjects, as you say, they can't all be brilliant.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 20 11:01 am Post subject:

nice snaps shane and a nice range of tropical critters

the mk one has IS mode 1(handheld) and mode 2(linear motion across the frame).
the two that come with the R have one mode that along with the camera electrics makes it's own decisions based on what is moving and how.

at the mo my issue is light, shooting at 24000 to 40000 works but tis grainy and even then i can only get 1/200 ish at F7 so freezing movement is an issue.
until the sun is high enough to not be behind a building(late feb)getting hi res snaps will be tricky

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Jan 07, 20 7:49 pm Post subject:
while i was exporting a snap for web use i noticed the rather nice colour chart listing the colours of the subject, perhaps that might be a useful tool in the id box the sparrows do have quite a colour range and it might be enough to id them.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 20 8:12 pm Post subject:

snapping is a bit slow at the mo, i will up my game.

the camera + lenses do the job well.

i just ordered a new printer and considered photo grade

after looking at various options i decided that i dont need it.

if i want high res archive photo i will get it done by the folk who do it (jessops for instance) but i did need a general purpose printer.

i used gp criteria and decided upfront cost were better than wasteful and vile expensive cartridge held inks.

that led to a canon g6050 which does most stuff ok and has ink tanks.

so far so good:lol:

it might not do lab quality photos but......

as it will take 300gm papers and ink is cheap it is perfect for a multi layer printing technique i started to develop 15 yrs ago .
it was too expensive to play with properly on ink cartridge cost terms, as well as killing the mechanicals a couple of times before i adjusted the next printer to take 300gm art papers

pigment black is better than photo dye ink for that game.
there is no need for more than 3 colours and pigment black to do the multi layer thing

i spose it is more painter or printer than photographer but having played until hitting a tech wall it has a lot of merit

no details of how it is done but tis basically taking a photo, using that to create layers of various sorts and then printing each layer in separate passes

it is not that different in principle to arty wet photo printing or painting but using a different toolbox.
tis still painting with light but with added electrons

as i have not seen it elsewhere i am a bit cagey about details.

i will post up some examples eventually

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Feb 08, 20 7:52 pm Post subject:

my new canon g6000 printer landed, probably ace for me, office or school type use. a bit slow for a big print run of colour stuff but fast enough for most things

fairly easy to set up, well there have been a few moments but more me than it probably.

text can be quick or better than a lot

a full frame photo with a few basic tweaks printed up rather nicely on 180gm cheapo matte photo paper. so ok for proofs.
quite surprising, that was an earth tone one, i will have to try something vibrant to see how the ink combo copes with that.

a double pass intensifies the colours and the registration was pretty good considering first go and not being extra careful.
that bodes well for the multi pass thing.

an afternoon playing and it still works

a very nice aspect is the ink comes in 170ml B and 70ml C bottles and a full set cost less than 2 cartridges that would print far less than this system.
even better if the magenta runs out i can replace just that rather than lose whatever was left in y and c or whichever

another nice thing is that i sort of understand how cmy/black works rather than trying to learn 6 colours and 2 blacks

an initial cost of ten times the cartridge sort of machine but far cheaper after a few thousand prints

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 20 1:18 am Post subject:

i forgot to mention, i detected a slight lock on "wobble" between the 100 to 400 and the converter ring. it worked fine but stitch in time etc

mr camera told me it is better than usual and to be expected

apparently rings wobble a little to allow for a variety of intimate liaisons
i should either get mind bleach or use that as a sig between cameras and lenses

situation report:

mk1 white lenses work fine with an R via the ring with the R

(the new mk2 lenses do as well afaik but they are kidney selling expensive)
the macro and GP seem the only useful R series lenses commonly available in the uk so far. others get mentioned but aint seen one

the R series lenses are very light, after using the big un for a while the GP one feels massless

nice camera and i have only just started to make it do what i want.

i have not even tried the 4k video capacity of the thing yet

note to self show canon this sort of thinking and politely demand assorted useful freebies for review

i have changed handles on the big un to a modern grip/mini tripod wrapped in self cling bandage, it works and a change of angle can follow the point of balance a bit

carved to my hand and on a click rail might be better. if needs be i will make the first one get papers and sell them but if i can find the mount for the job off the shelf for less than development costs( oooh a wheel! time as well as etc) i will be a happy bunny.

papping little brown jobbers at close range with a 100/400mk does need a handle.
holding the camera body and an understock style grip on the lens make handling crude, balanced on a handle and hand on the controls is ace and much easy to hold while waiting to press the button
less strain on the machine as well.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Feb 09, 20 11:22 pm Post subject:

i was going back ober this to refresh my memory and noticed my shots/time estimates for power and image storage.

big note to self, if opportunity arrives and bulk snapping matters tis best to have capacity to do it.

hey ho, details matter , i recon i am still under the kit budget by a little bit when i go for more power and memory. not by much

camera kit + pooter kit+ a bit of leased software under £10k, double

and a gulp

tis the stuff i have needed for 25 yrs, knew it could be done by then but now i have an electric sketch book and paintbrush

science and art is ace,

ps 2 sorts of paper ordered to try in the new printer, best give it a 300gm test while under gnt

tis supposed to be able to do 300gm, i will see how it copes with cold and hot pressed

if anyone needs where to get rather nice papers these folk have a selection they can post [email protected]

i do not get paid nor does SD who gets her print paper from them

A4 format 300gm is a bit rare, good

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