Some Butterflies...

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:20 pm

Canon PowerShot G7
Manual mode/macro

jmlphoto · Post by **jmlphoto** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:26 pm

i like number two the colors go well together. very crisp and clear as well.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:46 pm

Beautiful pictures Ken. Does the camera have a dedicated Macro setting like Nikon?

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:40 pm

Doug asked:

Does the camera have a dedicated Macro setting like Nikon?

I can switch from the normal mode of photo taking to a macro mode at the push of a button, which allows me to get within 3.5" of the subject, I can also zoom in, in that mode up to a certain point.

jmophoto replied:

i like number two the colors go well together. very crisp and clear as well.

I sort of favor no. 2 myself because of the warmness, though no. 3 I am also quite pleased with. Thanks jmlphoto

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:50 pm

Ken Ramos wrote:I sort of favor no. 2 myself because of the warmness, though no. 3 I am also quite pleased with.

Like they say, there's no accounting for taste! I would have gone with #1, for sure, 'cuz I like the mix of bright colors.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:12 pm

No. 1 does seem to be a bit more cheerful there Rik. Thanks

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:42 pm

Very nice. I'd guess the first two are Dun Skippers, Euphyes vestis. But any butterfly ID I make is suspect!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:13 pm

I read somewhere where there are about 3000 species of skippers worldwide and about 250 of them call North America home. Skippers seem not to be classified as or with "true butterflies" and to porperly ID the little things is quite difficult from what they say. Thanks Mike

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 3:16 am

Yes you're certainly getting some excellent results with the G7. As well as being well detailed, the images have a very "natural" look to them too.

Out of interest Ken, why have you chosen to go with manual mode?

Bruce

salden · Post by **salden** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 3:37 am

Nice images Ken. The skippers can be difficult to ID since only slight variations separate the different ones. The most popular is the spotted skipper, as this is the one that is usually seen in the ID books. The two skippers you photographed are not the "spotted" variety, but second one might be a "Sachem"

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:58 am

Bruce asked:

Out of interest Ken, why have you chosen to go with manual mode?

The manual mode gives me more control over the photograph. In "auto mode," a good many times the camera will produce slightly over exposed images. I have found that even my Sony point and shoots do the same thing in "auto." Plus in "auto," the camera decides for you whether or not to employ the flash, so you are constantly turning the flash "on" or "off" depending on what you want. In the "manual mode" of operation, nothing does anything unless I want it to. What I set the camera to, stays put. So far this is the first "advanced point and shoot" type camera that I really enjoy using, not to mention that it is great for those long wilderness hikes, where my 30D gets to feeling like a concrete block hung around my neck.

Thanks Bruce.

Sue wrote:

The skippers can be difficult to ID since only slight variations separate the different ones. The most popular is the spotted skipper, as this is the one that is usually seen in the ID books. The two skippers you photographed are not the "spotted" variety, but second one might be a "Sachem"

From all that I have read about these Bf's they indeed are hard to ID and about 250 of them call North America home. I tried to ID these here but just plain gave up.

I was surprised to find out that they were not "true butterflies" according to one website. Thanks for the ID on the second one Sue, if I continue on photographing these things I am going to have to get me a Bf book. Now a days, I hate having a photograph of something not knowing what it exactly is.

salden · Post by **salden** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:24 am

I am thinking about getting a BF ID book as well. I have your general "insect" ID books, but they list the one spotted skipper and that is it. I need something with a bit more variety.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:03 am

I will probably be going to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education here again soon. Not the best place to buy books pricewise but they have selections that releate specifically to my area or my/our part of the country. I hate to buy a book, say on butterflies, and have only a section or two that vaugley covers species found in my area and then the rest of the book is concerned with the Pacific Northwest and/or other areas in the US or the world.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:57 am

Skippers are tough.

In front of me at this moment, I have an excellent reference titled "The Butterflies of Cascadia", which covers just the Pacific Northwest. It lists 23 species of little brown skippers, most of which I would be hard-pressed to tell apart even with careful extended study of a photograph.

I'm quite confident that what you have are little brown skippers. But I wouldn't risk going down even to genus, let alone species.

Sue, the National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies is pretty good for general coverage of US & Canada. (It shows about 50 pictures of little brown skippers. I'm pretty sure they missed or lumped some, but you get the idea.)

Ken, I've noticed the same problem with overexposure in both my point-and-shoots. I often run with exposure compensation set to -2/3 stop. That adds noise in the shadows, but it preserves more highlight detail and gives me more options for post-processing.

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 5:47 pm

Rik replied:

Ken, I've noticed the same problem with overexposure in both my point-and-shoots. I often run with exposure compensation set to -2/3 stop. That adds noise in the shadows, but it preserves more highlight detail and gives me more options for post-processing.

Never thought of that but still I like the manual mode of operation better. Since most of these cameras have "live view," which I really like instead of squinting throught that little square box, I can see how my photographs will look before downloading

Though as much as I like this little camera, it will never replace my 30D, unless Canon comes up with a really nice "rangefinder type" digital, like the Leica M8.