AboutKent Staubus Expertise I am an experienced outdoor photographer that sometimes sells photo`s on a free lance basis. My knowledge base includes 35mm, medium format, landscapes, wildlife photo`s, and rural subjects such as country churches and farmers/ranchers/ hunters.
Expert: Kent Staubus Date: 7/4/2008 Subject: Cameras
Question QUESTION: I use a Cannon Power Shot Pro 1, and wasn't sure if I would be able to take photos of butterflies in motion as if they were still, or clear single drops of water, etc. Those are the types of things I'd like to try next, but don't know how fast the shutter speed would need to be, or if my camera would need to be more sensitive to light, etc. Any ideas?
ANSWER: It's difficult to catch butterflies in motion, and I think it would be difficult to do with a point & shoot camera. Part of the problem is I'm not sure you could get a fast enough shutter speed, and if the camera would be able to focus fast enough. I like shutter speeds of about 1/1000 to 1/2000 second for that kind of thing. Water drops just require that the lens can focus closely. This is called "macro." If you are talking about splashing drops of water, that is captured by using high speed flash. Both of these are very difficult subjects for point & shoot cameras, which are designed to take snapshots of people etc. Might not be impossible though, just very difficult.
Kent in SD
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QUESTION: If not a "point and shoot" camera, what other types of cameras exist? I think my camera can do 1/1000 and 1/2000 shutter speeds. What is a high speed flash? I think my camera can do Macros but I don't know what that is on cameras or computers assuming they're the same thing.
Answer 1. A point & shoot is a camera that is small and doesn't take interchangeable lenses. The alternative is a DSLR, such as a Nikon D50. Those are pretty good and very cheap on eBay--about $300 used.
2. High speed flash is anywhere from 1/1000 second to 1/10,000 second. The flash only lasts that long. In a dark room, the shutter speed of the camera becomes unimportant because in effect the short burst of light acts like your shutter speed.
3. Macro basically has come to mean the ability to focus up close, such as within 12 inches. It's a specialty kind of photography that can be difficult for several reasons. It's hard to get the photos sharp is the main one.
4. Flying butterflies would be difficult because they are very small, they are moving, and this is all a big challenge for a camera and lens. There is an article in the current issue of Shutterbug magazine (August 2008) about doing it, but it assumes you have some expensive gear. You could do what you want with a used Nikon D50, 70-300mm lens, and maybe a used SB-25 flash. The best time to practice on butterflies is early in the morning, before they wake up and get warm. They are cold blooded, after all.
There might be a way to use your Canon and get these shots, using a flash hooked up to an optical slave. It makes the big flash go off when the little flash on the camera fires. I'm not that familiar with the Power Shot though.
