Bumblebees in flight (and working ...)

[philzucker]

The bumblebees are right now very busy collecting nectar and pollen at a flowering bluebeard plant in our garden. I took out the A6700 with the 90mm macro, activated subject recognition for insects and got some nice shots of the bumblebees, both working and in flight.

#1 - collecting nectar:



#2 - flying away:



#3 - looking at you!



#4 - approaching a new nectar source; note how wide spread its legs are:



#5 - at work again:



All heavy crops and processed to taste.

Phil

--
GMT +1
Gallery: http://photosan.smugmug.com

 

[Dick Barbour]

I'm surprised at how blurred the bees' wings are at 1/2000. I wonder what it would take to more nearly stop them? Also, your f2.8 aperture has resulted in a narrow DOF, which along with the heavy cropping gives the appearance of missed focus. I realize a smaller one would have resulted in even higher ISO but I think it would have been a good trade-off. BTW, were you using "Insect" recognition mode and with trackng focus? In any case, some interesting shots.

****

 

[DutchMM]

Nice set, Phil!

What was your shooting distance (on average)? I haven't got a macro lens as long as yours - mine is an old A-Mount 50/2.8 from the KM days. And what proportion of the captured frame did you crop to?

If you are prepared to shoot RAW and post-process, you should be able to shoot at iso 6400, F8, and 1/3200 in daylight. I do that all the time with my swallows, and denoise in DxO PhotoLab Elite. So I agree with **** that you ought to be able to sharpen the wing movement, if not eliminate it entirely.

Cheers

Mike

 

[philzucker]

I'm surprised at how blurred the bees' wings are at 1/2000. I wonder what it would take to more nearly stop them?

That really depends - AFAIK - on a multitude of factors, among them

• which kind of shutter you use (electronic only / EFSC / mechanical only),
• which kind of sensor readout speed you have, if you use electronic shutter (with the a6700 that is 25ms using JPG/compressed RAW or 64ms using uncompressed RAW),
• which way the insects fly (directly at you or from you or sideways or at an angle),
• and what position the wings have the moment you get the shot; there are sometimes kind of inertia positions with reduced wing speeds giving clearer results.

With the a6700 I almost all times shoot compressed RAW with full electronic shutter. And this way you can get discernable wing structures at 1/1000s ...



... or reasonably sharp wings at 1/1250 ...



... or really good detail at 1/8000s ...



... or massive rolling shutter artifacts at the same speed of 1/8000s.



I also use an OM-1 and an OM-3 for IIF pictures, and these offers a much faster readout speed with their stacked sensors; so you can get good results even at 1/1600s ...



... or very bad rolling shutter again at the same speed of 1/1600s:



You chances of course get also better at higher speeds as with this 1/4000s shot ...



... or with a larger insect, a butterfly, at 1/3200:



I posted all these and others in the last two years, and some people didn't like the "frozen" ones like the last bee pic, because it somehow looked unnatural to them. So it's kind of opportunity and preference if you have some amount (or lots) of blur at the wings or not.

Also, your f2.8 aperture has resulted in a narrow DOF, which along with the heavy cropping gives the appearance of missed focus.

I actually like the narrow DOF. As far as focus is concerned: it is IMO perfectly on the eye(s) with all pics save #4, and #4 is tricky because parts of the bloom are in front of it. So I'm very okay with the focus and the DOF, but your mileage of course may vary. Tastes are different!

I realize a smaller one would have resulted in even higher ISO but I think it would have been a good trade-off.

I could have gone higher with the ISOs of course, you have a point here. No harm in varying the aperture a bit next time when shooting in comparable lighting situations. Will give it a whirl!

BTW, were you using "Insect" recognition mode and with trackng focus?

No tracking, I used wide area focus and tried to get close enough to get the camera to spot the bee(s). Of course I only pressed the shutter when the subject frames indicated that it had identified one.

In any case, some interesting shots.

Thanks for that and for your thoughts! Much appreciated.

Phil

--
GMT +1
Gallery: http://photosan.smugmug.com

 

[philzucker]

Nice set, Phil!

Thanks, Mike!

What was your shooting distance (on average)?

Uh, that's really hard to say. I'd have to have someone shooting me while shooting to know for sure. A very wild guess would be something around half a meter maybe? But I'm really not sure.

I haven't got a macro lens as long as yours - mine is an old A-Mount 50/2.8 from the KM days. And what proportion of the captured frame did you crop to?

A lot ... Look at the images sizes; some where downsized to 2000 px on the long side; those who don't have a side 2000px long - 3 out of 5 - are 1:1 crops from the original frame.

If you are prepared to shoot RAW and post-process, you should be able to shoot at iso 6400, F8, and 1/3200 in daylight. I do that all the time with my swallows, and denoise in DxO PhotoLab Elite.

I do exclusively shoot RAW and PP everything, including AI denoising either with LR, Topaz or DxO PhotoLab. So I don't shy away from the necessary PP work und did it here too. JPGs wouldn't have yielded the same results, I think.

So I agree with **** that you ought to be able to sharpen the wing movement, if not eliminate it entirely.

See my long answer to ****'s posts for some thoughts on that, including samples!

Thanks for looking and your thoughtful comment, Mike!

Phil

--
GMT +1
Gallery: http://photosan.smugmug.com

 

[Yannis1976]

Love your shots and I am also very active in the insects subject

I am mostly shooting them with my Fuji XT5+70-300 which is nice, sharp and very close focusing lens. For macro I use an A7C2+105/f2.8. For this kind of shooting and especially flying insects I prefer a telephoto lens.

Here is my respective album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127079204@N06/albums/72177720302880216/

So my question is how do you find the Sony E 70-350?

 

[philzucker]

Love your shots

Thanks!

and I am also very active in the insects subject

You are indeed - and you are quite successful, I'd like to add - checked out your album you linked to, good work!

For this kind of shooting and especially flying insects I prefer a telephoto lens.

So my question is how do you find the Sony E 70-350?

I actually got some nice flying insects shots with it - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65422284 - or with my OM-1 paired with a 300mm/f4 - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67912137. So yes, there are different ways to go about those shots, and all can be successful.

Phil

 

[DutchMM]

Tried out the 135GM today to see how it would stack up against my old (and adapted) KM 50/2.8 macro. Magnification is (obvs) much lower. But the AF is quick enough for insect tracking to work.





Light crop, and will try wider aperture with a shorter exposure tmrw if the weather cooperates.

 

[Yannis1976]

Love your shots

Thanks!

and I am also very active in the insects subject

You are indeed - and you are quite successful, I'd like to add - checked out your album you linked to, good work!

For this kind of shooting and especially flying insects I prefer a telephoto lens.

So my question is how do you find the Sony E 70-350?

I actually got some nice flying insects shots with it - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65422284 - or with my OM-1 paired with a 300mm/f4 - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67912137. So yes, there are different ways to go about those shots, and all can be successful.

Phil

Thanks! Any preference between the different systems you have tried?

 

[Joachim Wulfers]

Nice shots with the FE 90/2.8 Macro. I have always intended to purchase that lens, however, hesitated, thinking that the FL would be too short for insects. My only macro experience comes from using an old Minolta MD 100/4, not at all in the league of the Sony FE.

When I purchased the A7RV I had the opportunity to buy it with the FE 70-200/4 Macro and presently I am still experimenting with it, using the T.C. 1.4 at times for a 0.75:1 magnification. Here is an example:



Now, the newly announced Sony 100/2.8 sounds tempting with a 1.4:1 magnification. I plan to try it when it comes out in November.



--
JoWul

Joachim Wulfers

Explore Joachim Wulfers’s 2,024 photos on Flickr!

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[philzucker]

Love your shots

Thanks!

and I am also very active in the insects subject

You are indeed - and you are quite successful, I'd like to add - checked out your album you linked to, good work!

For this kind of shooting and especially flying insects I prefer a telephoto lens.

So my question is how do you find the Sony E 70-350?

I actually got some nice flying insects shots with it - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65422284 - or with my OM-1 paired with a 300mm/f4 - see e.g. here https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67912137. So yes, there are different ways to go about those shots, and all can be successful.

Phil

Thanks! Any preference between the different systems you have tried?

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The superior subject recognition and focusing system of the Sony a6700 is its advantage, but it lacks in maximum frame rate (11 isn't that much for insects in flight) and has no pre-capture mode. The OM-1 has much higher frame rates and pre-capture, but less dynamic range and more noise at higher ISOs. I guess I do use the OM-1 more often for this type of images (combined with a 90mm with or without TC most times), but I am always pleased to see the results I can get with the a6700 (or with the a6600 I had before).

Phil

 

[philzucker]

Nice shots with the FE 90/2.8 Macro.

Thank you very much!

I have always intended to purchase that lens, however, hesitated, thinking that the FL would be too short for insects.

Well, I do crop a lot for the in-flight shots ...

My only macro experience comes from using an old Minolta MD 100/4, not at all in the league of the Sony FE.

When I purchased the A7RV I had the opportunity to buy it with the FE 70-200/4 Macro and presently I am still experimenting with it, using the T.C. 1.4 at times for a 0.75:1 magnification.

I'm sure that combo is quite capable, as your example shows.

Now, the newly announced Sony 100/2.8 sounds tempting with a 1.4:1 magnification. I plan to try it when it comes out in November.

Do it and do post your findings here!

Phil

 

[Dick Barbour]

The Tamron 18-300 does a pretty good job with this kind of subject.

****

 

[Yannis1976]

Indeed….

https://flic.kr/p/2q4y8yd