Digital Cameras for Butterfly Watching
There are things to consider as a beginner in butterfly watching. First of all, there's a name for butterfly watchers. They're called lepidopterists. Even though it's just another name for butterfly watcher, it can make you sound more important when someone wonders what you do in your spare time! It might even boost your self-esteem to know that it is a legitimate past time.
Other things to consider as a beginning lepidopterist are: habitat and season, variation in butterflies, fine details, flight style, posture, shape, size, and wing patterns. All of this is important to be able to identify your butterfly. Some moths are active by day and are very colorful, so it could make telling them apart from the butterfly a little harder. Butterflies have four wings, a club at the tip of each antenna, and a different pattern on each side of the wing.
Identifying your butterflies make your digital camera your friend. A good quality digital camera can help you determine details you might forget in the process of elimination. Details you may not even notice until you get out that photo shot are the difference between an amateur and someone with experience. But butterflies are fast and may not linger long enough for you to capture the best image the first time. So, having the perfect digital camera for the job is a must.
An entomologist studies insects, not just butterflies. Entomologists are well-paid individuals who have distinguished careers. They would want a more advanced camera than just a backyard lepidopterist who studies butterflies in their spare time for fun. If you study butterflies as a part of your career, you'd want more than just the average digital camera that is good enough for family vacation shots. You might want a camera similar to the Nikon Coolpix 995. This camera can provide close-ups of a common housefly, so you can imagine how gorgeous your photo of a butterfly would be!
Not only is a good digital camera important to the professional, it can also be a way to move up from just an amateur to a well-established butterfly watcher who gets paid for the joy of the position. Finding the right digital camera for butterfly watching is a matter of searching through what's available in your price range and studying the consumer reviews to help you decide.
Some of the better digital cameras can be found at prices between $200 and $300. Four of the better rated cameras in this price range are as follows:
1. Canon Powershot A640---best all around.
2. Sony Cybershot W55---Ultra compact and capable of 400 shots between charging.
3. Casio Exilim---Allows you to zoom in on an area within the photo after you've taken the shot.
4. Pentax Optic W30---Waterproof point and shoot, digital shake reduction, close-up focus ability.
What you'll be doing with your butterfly photos will make the decision easier, too. If you just want some photos for the family album, it won't be as crucial to get the fine details. But you should still shop around for the best camera you can afford; you may want to share some photos with the local newspaper or rural co-op magazine!
