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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
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Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio] 2
#28154989 - 01/24/23 06:18 AM (1 year, 4 days ago) |
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Quote:
Thomas Envisio said: If anyone else has recommendations or insights, please feel welcome to reply below. I hope this helps multiple contributors.
Pick the camera with the smallest sensor that still yields the image quality you require. Smaller sensor = larger depth of field (for all intents and purposes; we can get complicated if you want), and especially with smaller species, you'll find yourself running out of DoF a lot of the time. Especially since you're often working in low-light situations.
So if it's for mushroom photography mostly/exclusively, I'd shy away from anything 'full frame'. Also, dSLR's aren't the most appropriate tool for the job anymore IMO. Get something with an articulated screen, which makes it a lot more convenient to work near forest floors etc.
Quote:
Thomas Envisio said: 'I use the Olympus Tough TG-6. Great macro and low light photos. Tell them to buy the ring flash, too!'
Sound advice, and fits what I stated above. A ring flash certainly is a nice addition, although today's decent high-ISO performance of cameras (even with smaller sensors) makes it less necessary than back when I was very active in this field.
I've made quite good mushroom photos with a smartphone, too. They tend to have very tiny sensors, so lots of depth of field; close focus capabilities are usually quite good (accessories are available to extend this into true macro range) and the wide angle view they offer is often quite pleasing. A phone isn't the prime candidate for the tiniest of species, but for most mushrooms, it'll do quite nicely. Mine is a very modest entry-level Samsung and it performs really quite decently for this kind of thing. Also, the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you. A phone often fits that bill.
Here's some Amanita muscaria, shot with my smartphone.


PS: once upon a time, I wrote a mushroom photography tutorial for this forum. Can't remember when this was, but must have been way over a decade ago. It was a sticky post on this forum for years. I have never revisited it since, but some of the suggestions may still make sense today: http://www.koraks.nl/index.php?menuparent=&page=9 The technical stuff about cameras is outdated; mirrorless simply didn't exist back then, compact cameras were relatively poor in quality, phones were still limited to making calls and sending texts etc.
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
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Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Alan Rockefeller] 1
#28163721 - 01/30/23 01:05 AM (11 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said: I think it's best to get something with a sensor as large as possible so you get the blurriest possible background - assuming that you don't mind focus stacking and choose a camera that can take a series of photos, changing the focus a little bit each shot.
That's also a rationale, but as you mentioned, it requires additional measures to end up with sufficient depth of field. My advice was based on the typical use case of getting the job done in a single shot. Besides, larger sensors means larger glass and lugging more stuff around.
Coincidentally, full frame 35mm is the smallest format I shoot a lot of. The rest is mostly medium format and large format film. I don't shoot much digital; when I do, it's APS-C or a phone. As such, I'm perhaps a bit more sensitive than others to the drawbacks of larger formats, which for me mean 'anything above 35mm full frame'. Close up photography becomes a b*tch with larger gear for a variety of reasons. It makes one appreciate the convenience of small cameras with small sensors. I guess this also explains a bit why my advice goes into a different direction than yours.
In the end, there's something to be said for both.
Btw, nice to see you still around here. I remember back when you approached me to go to Mexico and hunt & photograph mushrooms. I was doing a PhD back then, so I was kind of stuck. That was right at the start of your 'mushroom career'; it's great to see how you developed from there!
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
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Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
#28213503 - 03/04/23 02:52 AM (10 months, 20 days ago) |
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Nice. Perhaps resize the photos you send/show them to a more manageable size.
I'd also suggest splitting out your post into two parts: 1: The examples/guide for posters to get an ID on their finds. This does not have to be as comprehensive as your post is, currently. Just a good profile shot, gill/pore shot, habitat pic and spore print are already a great way to get started. 2: An example full-blown guide illustrating the entire process from observation to cultivation. This can be more comprehensive and can go into things like archiving samples etc.
Don't forget observations concerning bruising reactions and perhaps KOH staining.
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