magickcanoe.com Blog

Earlier this summer, Pablo from Roundrock Journal suggested that I write about insect photography sometime. I had planned to do so, but as so often happens, the good intention drifted off and got lost among everyday events. I’ll try to remedy that situation in this and (hopefully) several subsequent posts.

I thought it might be worthwhile to start out with a discussion on cameras. I’ve written about my own gear at least a couple of times in the past as I receive a fair number of emails asking me about the cameras I use, or those I might recommend to someone interested in macro photography.

Let me begin by saying that you don’t need anything too fancy to shoot insect photos. Many “point-and-shoot” type cameras are capable of taking excellent macro photos. You don’t need an DSLR with special lenses — although you might consider one if you prefer that kind of gear.

Regarding my own gear, I use a couple of point-and-shoot cameras for all of my work. I’ll have a bit more to say about why I use point-and-shoots down below, but the main thing to keep in mind is that I’m not really much of a camera gear junkie — I don’t keep “trading up” to have the latest, greatest camera models as they are released. Personally, to me, the make or model of a camera doesn’t mean a lot so long as it does what I would ask it to do. I barely give my cameras much thought while working — I like intuitive cameras that will do what I want them to do without much messing around. I’m also not very much into babying my equipment, so I don’t really want anything that can’t handle being banged around a bit on hiking or canoe trips. I *really* don’t like carrying heavy camera bags, so prefer gear that can fit in my coat pocket, be worn around my neck, or ride along in my knapsack next to my GPS unit and my lunch.

So, here’s a rundown of my current cameras: My older camera is the Nikon Coolpix 4500 (CP4500) which I have been using since 2002. My more recent camera is the Nikon Coolpix 8800 (CP8800), which I began using in 2005. I continue to use both of these cameras and often shoot a few photos of the same subject with each of them as they produce images with a bit different feel. The CP4500 is one of Nikon’s “swivel-body” cameras and can sometimes be used to get shots from unusual angles. As well, it can move in just a little closer than the CP8800, and very small creatures such as spiders or tiny insects or snails will fill the frame of the photo. To my eye, the CP8800 produces images that are a little sharper and with more authentic colour. It’s great for larger insects such as dragonflies or grasshoppers as it will capture all parts of the insect with very little distortion of blurring of legs, wings, etc… While it can shoot very tiny insects, it captures more of the background, so that requires more digital cropping of images to produce a photo comparable to that of one shot on the CP4500. A recent successor to the CP4500 is the Nikon S10 which shoots higher resolution photos. The only drawback about it that I’ve seen is that the minimum focus distance is 4 cm., while the CP4500 was 2 cm. — and believe or not, that does make a small amount of difference when you’re photographing very tiny creatures. The CP8800 has a minimum focus distance of 3 cm., so it falls in between.

Having given you a bit of background on my own gear, here are some points to consider when looking for a camera suitable for macro photography. If you’re looking at point-and-shoot type cameras, be sure to choose a model that has a “macro mode” or “close-up mode”. However, watch out for “close-up modes” that aren’t really that at all. In order to do good insect shots, you need a camera that has a minimum focus distance of a few centimeters — the less, the better. Personally, I wouldn’t consider anything that was more than about 4 or 5 cm. You can usually find the focus range in the specifications for a model. One place to check out specifications is on the Digital Photography Review (DPReview) website which I’ve linked to above for each of the models of cameras I’ve discussed. Most of the reviews include pages with sample shots taken with the camera, sometimes compared to sample shots taken with a similar class of camera produced by another company.

While researching prospective cameras, another useful way to do some background checking is to go to a site such as Pbase (a digital photo gallery website), and use their Camera Database page to view photos taken with the model that you’ve been considering. Keep in mind that the photos you will see have been taken by a very wide range of users – many of whom may not be particularly good photographers. The other way to find good images is to search for images of insects on a site such as Pbase, and then check to see which camera the photographer is using if this information is listed. That’s partly how I decided upon both of my Nikon cameras.

If you’re considering a point-and-shoot camera, one other feature which I would highly recommend is that it should have a good LCD screen — preferably one that can be flipped out from the body and articulated to various angles, or that is on a swivel body such as in the case of my older Nikon Coolpix 4500. Such an LCD screen will give you a good view of the insect as it will appear in your photo — and you can also watch the insect on the screen, getting a view that is not possible with the naked eye.

A few other considerations. For macro work, you need a camera with batteries that can hold a good charge as you’ll find that you will be doing a lot more shooting than someone who just walks along snapping photos of scenery. I would describe macro photography as rather intense and demanding of a lot of work on the part of the camera. I always carry fully-charged spare batteries for both of my cameras and often make use of them when I’m having a busy day of shooting.

After doing your research into cameras, the next step might include going to a camera shop to check out the models in person. I can’t give you a great deal of advice about stores, but choose one where the staff will get out the camera and let you give it a try. Take along a pocketful of little rubber frogs and insects and shoot a few photos of them using the prospective camera(s). If you can’t figure out how to get the camera to shoot in its macro mode, ask the store staff to show you how to get it into that mode. There is usually a bit of a trick to doing so for each model. This is the mode you’ll probably be making the most use of, so be sure that you know how to switch the camera into that mode.

Now, just a few words about DSLR cameras and lenses. I haven’t had much experience with working with a DSLR — I went from using an SLR to using digital point-and-shoots in 2002. Until recently, I haven’t been too interested in getting a DSLR as most didn’t have a “live” LCD screen for shooting. I find shooting through a viewfinder next to useless for taking insect photos — but more about that in a future photography piece when I get to the how-I-shoot discussion. However, the technology is changing. For example, the new Nikon D300 has a “Live View” LCD screen. You can read some more about how it works on this review. Other companies are also producing cameras with this technology, so I expect it will become the new standard. Now I’m interested. I’m not sure when I’ll make a switch, but probably before the insect season in 2008.

Okay, that’s it for my basic discussion of camera gear. If you have any questions, just send them along and I’ll try to answer. Also, if you have some suggestions for what you would like to know about how I shoot, how I work with the images after shooting, etc… send those along too as I could probably use some direction when figuring out what to write about in future posts.

Tags: macro photography