Lens for butterflies

[lwg]

I am looking for lenses which would be good for shooting pictures of butterflies

and humming birds. Hand held is required as the butterflies do not sit still for

long. Also getting up close tends to spook them. What I have tried in the past

has been the 28-105mm Nikon (with macro mode). With this I need to get up fairly

close and it spooks them. I have tied the 70-300mm ED Nikon which doesn't focus

close enough and is the slowest lens to focus I have ever used. I am not happy

with either option. I am thinking of getting the 70-200 AFS VR lens for sports.

I was thinking I could add either a teleconverter or closeup lens to this to

possibly get decent shots of butterflies. What is your opinion of this? What

would be the ideal setup on a Nikon for this type of shooting?

[juanjo_viagran]

The Nikon 300mm f:4 AFS close focus is 1.45 of a meter, which is VERY CLOSE for such a long range lens...

 

but I'd get a Nikon 200mm f:4 MICRO..

with either lens try to use a tripod.

[Jerry_]

A monopod and a Nikon micro-Nikkor lens would be your best bet.

Here are a couple of shots taken with either lens.

Butterflies require a bit of waiting for the right moment, but a lens that will do butterflies and hummingbirds __ that could be tough.

 

 

 

The AF 200mm f4D Micro-Nikkor:

 

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4871812

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/4843347

 

 

The AF 105mm f2.8D Micro-Nikkor:

 

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/5059184

[alex_lofquist]

Unless you can always be normal (at right angles) to the butterfly wings, you could consider the 85mm tilt/shift Micro Nikkor. It does take time to set up, though.

[lwg]

Gerald, nice shots. That is exactly the type of shots I am going for. How far were you from the subject, and how cropped are these images?

 

Do you have the VR version of the 105? If so have you used it with a teleconverter?

[paul_nunez]

I used a sigma 70mm macro for both these shots, any macro would be fine. However, a macro with a longer working distance would be easier.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/6781433

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/6781442

 

I have to admit i don't think the hummingbird picture would normally be possible with a 70mm, but i was at a park where the birds are used to humans walking around them.

[paul_nunez]

Sorry I'm not exactly sure about the best way to post pictures. I didn't mean for the links to be so hidden and hard to see in the middle.

[bob_s__n.e._mass_]

Another comment/question for Gerald. First- great shot! I just got the 105 VR micro for Christmas and am itching for spring! Question- what aperture did you use to get such DOF on these photos- looks like it had to be way up there.

[paul_nunez]

Ok figured out the pictures. Sorry about all the messed up posts.

[paul_nunez]

Here's the hummingbird

[hans_janssen]

The Sigma 70-300 APO has a macro setting between 200 and 300 mm and you can focus till 0,95 cm and a ratio of 1:2. Advantage: cheap and good quality/price - disadvantage: slow and loud focussing.

[joseph_smith3]

For active butterflies, use the Nikon 200 mm f 4.0 AF lens on a monopod, in AF or mf mode, whichever works best for you in that particular situation. For inactive butterflies, substitute a tripod for the monopod and use the same lens in mf mode. Usually there is no need to use a teleconverter. With the Nikon 200mm f 4.0 AF, you cannot mount a tc directly to the lens. You need to have an ext tube in between them. Sometimes I use a Nikon 300mm AFS f 4.0 lens on a monopod or tripod. Sometimes I use my SB-800 flash as fill flash or full flash.

 

I have stopped trying to use a 105mm to photograph active butterflies. The working distance is too close.

 

If I were to be shooting hummingbirds I would use a 300mm, 400mm or 500mm AFS lens with or with or wothout ext tubes and multiple flashes. Joe Smith

[Jerry_]

Thanks for the kind words. I just shoot (so I do not have a system of keeping track of how far away I am...) the butterflies in the wife's flowers. I do not have the VR 105mm Micro-Nikkor lens, just the old one.

 

 

Here is a small-scale image of the three butterflies--some cropping was done in Photoshop to the images in my Photo Shop folder.<div></div>

[waldemar_giers___kitchener]

I would prefer long reach of 200mm Micro Nikkor but for now my longest lens is Lester Dine 105mm f2.8 by Kiron.<div></div>

[waldemar_giers___kitchener]

#2<div></div>

[waldemar_giers___kitchener]

#3<div></div>

[bradfarlow]

I second the Lester Dine recommendation. It's the sharpest lens I own.

[waldemar_giers___kitchener]

Great shots Gerald. We can perfectly see it may be masterfully executed with 105mm macro lens.

[waldemar_giers___kitchener]

#4<div></div>

[mike_sanderson]

I just waited for this one to come to me.

105mm 2.8 Micro Nikkor

[bradfarlow]

I don't have many butterfly shots, but here's one from my Lester Dine 105mm :)<div></div>

[Barry Clemmons Photography]

LG,

If you would like to see samples of shots taken with the 70-200 AFS VR, go to my website bwc-photo.com and look in the "Flowers" gallery. All of the bee and yellow-jacket shots are with this lens and the 1.7 teleconverter attached. The camera was a D200. In particular look at CLEM2548. This photo was 1/500 sec at F7.1.

 

Barry Clemmons

[dwight200]

I have several Monarch photos using a Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 AFS. It's not too hard to get photos of the Monarchs when they're feeding. It might take a few minutes for them to get used to your presence, but I have been able to get within 18" of them.

 

(see if this link works)

 

<a href="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1316/1415328848_9bab08d4d0_b.jpg">Example</a>

[lwg]

Thanks for all the different ways to get good butterfly pictures. From the examples posted here it looks like it should be possible to get good results with any of the setups mentioned. I guess I will need to think for a while to decide which way I want to proceed.