Took my camera for a walk in my meadow this afternoon and managed to capture this dragonfly in flight. I think dragon flies are some of the most colorful insects in the Animalia Kingdom.
Canon R5
100 to 500mm lens
Shot at: Focal length 500 mm…F 7.1…1/4000 sec shutter…1600 iso.
Google wisdom says: “While it is technically possible to adapt the Canon FD 800mm f/5.6 S.S.C. to a modern camera body, it is highly impractical and rarely recommended for street photography.
This was originally a shot with my Hasselblad of a bright blue shy and a very white cloud plus some trees. I had to shoot higher in order to avoid acrs and people.
While wandering through a junk yard in Mérida, Mexico, I found this unique composition of a used ... ?
I must admit I have been lax in both my shooting and posting recently, perhaps due to the fact my wife has now retired, and we are spending a LOT more time together doing various activities.
7 Comments
Nice shot. How far away where you from the subject?
Thanks Edwin… I was about 10 or 12 feet. Dragonflies are creatures of habits. They often fly repeated routes around their territories. They even hover at the same locations. I will prefocus at one of the hovering locations and wait. It makes it a lot easier to get a fast small insect in frame.
Great capture! They move so erratically at times, can be very hard to get in frame! Nice work!
Very nice photo, did you take this with the electronic shutter? I am thinking of buying a used R5 but am a bit worried of rolling shutter issues.
Thank you Stef
Yes I was using the electronic shutter. I was shooting with a telephoto lens at a relatively close range so the background is more color than form. There is little distortion in the wings so you can judge for yourself the rolling shutter. A fast shutter and the ability to shoot high ISO’s minimizes the problem.
I shoot a lot of fast moving wildlife almost exclusively with the electronic shutter. While rolling shutter is present it is rarely distracting, at least in my view and experience. The R5 is still a great competitive camera by today’s standards at a good price. I don’t think you will be disappointed if you get it.
Thank you Keith, I think you just convinced me of getting an R5. I mostly shoot birds so they don't move their wings nearly as fast as a dragonfly so judging by this photo it won't be a problem for me.
I shoot with the R5 with wildlife and I haven't had issues with it. The focusing system is so much better than the old 5D series. It's worth doing a deep dive in setting up the focus system. Only thing I have had with digital shutter is shooting under certain lighting indoors. It catches the refresh rate showing horizonal bars. I just switch to mechanical shutter and that fixes it.