How to photograph butterflies. Part 3: Lens, exposure, and camera choices.

Queen butterfly in Palm Springs, 2023.  Nikon D7100 with 55-300 mm lens @ 300 mm.  

You don't need top end equipment to get good photos of butterflies, and you don't even have to have a lot of knowledge on its settings and use, but it all helps.  Good equipment allows for improved images when cropping or enlarging.  Knowledge of its use improves the chances of getting sharp images devoid of noise, blur, or off-exposures.

At the very minimum, I would suggest a DSLR or mirrorless camera as the larger sensors tend to produce better images.  There are those who would say that many a compact or even smartphone camera can create equally good images, and I would agree.  But I have to say that, shot for shot, the former cameras will out perform the latter.

Long lenses are a must, but again I have taken a great many good butterfly photos with shorter lenses.  Out of 71 butterfly photos in my "good" collection, 83% were taken with 300 mm (relative) focal lengths or greater, and 50% with focal lengths of 450 mm or more.  I prefer primes over zooms, although a variable focal length has obvious advantages.  My current choice is a 500 mm prime that I love, but its minimum focus point leaves something to be desired.  I also have an 80-400 mm zoom that is my second choice, although in the field I rarely have both with me.

My cameras are set to center-point autofocus lock, and I focus on the body of the insect when possible.  By pressing the shutter halfway down I lock the focus in and can reframe as desired.  I rarely use continuous focusing as it limits reframing unless I move the active focus zone, which takes time and rarely stays in the same place.  Pinpoint focusing, if I have it, is generally avoided because it takes time and is not required as a rule.  I like center focus because it is fast and accurate and a second touch of the shutter button will reacquire my subject if I am not happy with the existing lock.  Any form of auto zone lock will tend to produce undesirable results.

I usually use an ISO of 200.  There is very limited noise.  I shoot in RAW exposure mode and do my white balance settings in post.  The extra latitude is useful when shooting in harsh conditions or if my exposure is off.  I will bump my ISO up to 400 when shooting in cloudy or shaded situations or if my shutter speed drops below my preferred minimum values.

My aperture settings tend to be at the lens' minimum setting, usually f/5.6, although f/6.3 is common in 150-600 zooms I have used.  I agree that bumping the aperture up one stop past the minimum (f/8 usually) has a doubly desirable benefit of sharper images and greater depth of field, but I am quite satisfied with my results as they are.  The issue becomes a lower shutter speed which is especially consequential for lenses without any vibration compensation.  Fortunately, most of my equipment has VR (IS, OS, or whatever letters you choose) either on the lens or body.  

I try to keep my shutter speeds above 1/500th of a second where possible.  Lower values certainly work, the above photo had exposure values of ISO 125, shutter speed 1/325th, aperture f/5.6.  I may even go down to 1/250th if necessary, which will probably work most of the time.  The great thing about faster shutter speeds though is totally freezing any movement of the subject.  Proboscis, legs, wings, and antennae are all sharp, if in focus, and there is no discernible blur from subject motion.  I often am getting shutter speeds between 1/500th to 1/1000th of a second in good light.

I tend to keep my release mode set to continuous-high.  I do use single shooting from time to time, but keeping the repeated pressing of the shutter button risks camera shake, focus changes, and delay.  My D500, my camera of choice for wildlife, shoots at 10 fps and allows me to capture the nuances of insect movement without the problems mentioned.  Single frame attempts sometimes result in two identical images, but who cares when your card can take 4K images?

Lastly, I want to mention manual exposure mode.  I have written numerous blogs on this subject and you can search my blogsite to your hearts content on this.  What I will say is that I use matrix (pattern) metering, use a live histogram view in my mirrorless cameras, and will take a couple of experimental exposures in my DSLR and check histograms on the rear LCD screen.  I make any adjustments as needed and shoot away.  If the subject stays in the same light then the exposure should not change even if the background becomes darker or lighter.  Add to this the forgiveness of RAW files and you have a good chance of getting a decent shot.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com