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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi * 2
    #28118466 - 12/31/22 07:31 AM (1 year, 28 days ago)

Hello There! Some of you, like myself right now, may be in need of a new camera for your hunting hobby as we venture into the new year.

My wishlist for my next camera is hopefully going to be based on some of my favorite photographers on MO.

Joseph Pallante (pallantejm) - Olympus E-M5MarkIII
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/65551?q=1oBVa

Cho Fungi (eric6717) - Fujifilm xt200
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/107546?q=1oBVb

Bill Sheehan (B_Sheehan) - Sony a6000 (mirrorless) WITH Macro Lens: Sony – 30mm f/3.5
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/7066?q=1oBVc

amadej trnkoczy (amadej) - Nikon D700 / Nikkor Micro 105mm/f2.8 and Canon G11, 6.1-30mm/f2.8-4.5
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/931?q=1oBVd

Ian Dodd (kundabungkid) - Nikon 200mm & Nikon D500 (plus more gear)
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/410?q=1oBVe

Lord Mayonnaise - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentax_K200D
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/1864?q=1oBVf

Michael W (Michael Wallace) - Nikon D40x and probably an additional macro lens. I'd ask him about his setup and any recommendations.
View this contributor's observations here: https://mushroomobserver.org/users/956?q=1oBVg

I personally recommend NOT going with a DSLR or a Micro Four Thirds model unless you are known as a very, very patient person and you are willing to learn new things. I DO recommend implementing a MACRO lens, and maybe a ring flash. If you need to work at a more patient level in terms of life in general, buying a DSLR or Micro Four Thirds camera may allow you to shift into a more patient mood.

A tripod and multiple lighting options using various portable lights brought into the field with a backpack may be highly rewarding. If you prefer a "point & shoot" camera, you may want to investigate this model: Panasonic Lumix DCZS80 Digital Camera (Black), or a similar model. Whichever brand/model you eventually commit to owning, I would buy a new model, and avoid getting cheated with a used model. I would also use www.amazon.com, and avoid the spy-vibes emanating from other sites that are slightly more discounted.

I recently received a message from a friend in Australia, saying, "I don't use any P&S (point and shoot) cameras for macro, but a friend of mine advises for you: 'I use the Olympus Tough TG-6. Great macro and low light photos. Tell them to buy the ring flash, too!' "Her images are great. The camera is also waterproof. Hope this helps."

Cheers!

If anyone else has recommendations or insights, please feel welcome to reply below. Try to remember this tip: It's better to learn a camera, in my view, by taking notes, as though you were teaching the next person to purchase your model. I hope this helps multiple contributors.


Edited by Thomas Envisio (02/06/23 12:44 PM)


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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28134197 - 01/10/23 06:30 PM (1 year, 17 days ago)



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Offlinethe man
still masked
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Registered: 08/12/99
Posts: 6,681
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Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28134424 - 01/10/23 08:47 PM (1 year, 17 days ago)

surprised no cannons..


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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: the man] * 1
    #28154958 - 01/24/23 05:18 AM (1 year, 4 days ago)

Here's another photographer who appears to be excellent...

https://www.instagram.com/this_forest_floor/

Someone should invite her to Mushroom Observer for the sake of establishing scientific names with better photography.


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Invisiblekoraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio] * 2
    #28154989 - 01/24/23 06:18 AM (1 year, 4 days ago)

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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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: koraks]
    #28158346 - 01/26/23 12:57 PM (1 year, 1 day ago)

Thank you for adding your notes, koraks.

Here's a very short video by Alan Rockefeller that will allow photographers to understand basic settings and gear.....



I found this video to be very helpful. I also took hand-written notes while listening.


Edited by Thomas Envisio (01/26/23 01:05 PM)


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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28158356 - 01/26/23 01:01 PM (1 year, 1 day ago)

For those of you who have not truly seen his awesome photography, you should really look at it using the following link:

https://mushroomobserver.org/observations?by=thumbnail_quality&q=1oIG4

Once you open an observation, you can click the upper right corner of an image to make it slightly larger. Then click Show Original Image. Once the image is done loading, you can single click on it to zoom in further. You can then further use browser zoom. I prefer Brave Browser for these images.


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OfflineAlan RockefellerM
Mycologist
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Registered: 03/10/07
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Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: koraks]
    #28163565 - 01/29/23 09:56 PM (11 months, 22 days ago)

Quote:

Thomas Envisio said:
Thank you for adding your notes, koraks.

Here's a very short video by Alan Rockefeller that will allow photographers to understand basic settings and gear.....





I don't take pictures this way anymore - now I open the aperture all the way and use the focus shift shooting feature to take a bunch of photos, then combine them with Helicon Focus.  Some cameras call it focus bracketing. 

What this does is take the image as a lot of thin slices which are then reassembled digitally. 

The wide open aperture makes the background blurry so the subject stands out a lot better, and combining multiple photos allows me to have infinite depth of field.

If I don't feel like doing this, I just use my cell phone.

Quote:

Thomas Envisio said:
For those of you who have not truly seen his awesome photography, you should really look at it using the following link:

https://mushroomobserver.org/observations?by=thumbnail_quality&q=1oIG4





Those type of links where it doesn't link to an account but instead links to a session (the q=1oIG4) are only valid for 24 hours.

A link like this is valid forever:  https://mushroomobserver.org/observations?user=123

Quote:

koraks said:
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.





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.


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Invisiblekoraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Alan Rockefeller] * 1
    #28163721 - 01/30/23 01:05 AM (11 months, 22 days ago)

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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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: koraks]
    #28194337 - 02/19/23 10:36 AM (11 months, 1 day ago)



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InvisibleMead

Registered: 07/26/02
Posts: 2,519
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28194360 - 02/19/23 11:02 AM (11 months, 1 day ago)

I've been looking at the Olympus OMD Mark IV EM-10 for a little while now. Is that "enough" camera to upgrade from  a cellphone, looking for a decent entry level/semi-professional style camera for fungi? Seen it has the bracketing feature. I can't afford much more than that(if I can even convince myself to buy one) and a cheap macro lens. Hard to find good info on the net anymore.


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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Mead] * 1
    #28194390 - 02/19/23 11:28 AM (11 months, 1 day ago)

I'll let someone else answer this question. I have no experience with Olympus cameras like that one.


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InvisibleMead

Registered: 07/26/02
Posts: 2,519
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28194411 - 02/19/23 11:47 AM (11 months, 1 day ago)

Alright thanks.

I'm not looking to win any awards or anything -- and by semi professional I don't mean I need it for work, but that the camera has that capacity/capabilities (in experienced hands.)


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InvisibleThomas Envisio
Artist

Registered: 12/28/22
Posts: 1,662
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28212362 - 03/03/23 11:16 AM (10 months, 20 days ago)

Greetings To All Of You!

Below are some comments I generally send to new contributors, and it is meant in a completely polite, cordial manner - without critique or demanding standards of anyone. Please have a glance.


Creating Your Observations

Hello There. When you first endeavor to photograph fungi, you probably will need some tips for making observations. Some folks obtain poor photographs taken in excess haste, and others take professional level photographs that not only take lots of time in the field, they also can require software processing. Regardless of what camera you use and the amount of time you invest, the following photographs should be sought out whenever possible - in an ideal situation. It's especially important to do this when dealing with rare fungi. This will help identifiers.

Pileus


Gills/Teeth/Pores/False Gills/Etc.


Stipe


Stipe Base


Annulus


Cut In Half


Spore Print


Substrate With Primordia


Habitat


The Completely Dried Collection Awaiting Analysis


Spores Via Microscopy


Cheilocystidia


Pleurocystidia


Pileipellis



Mycelium On Antibiotic Agar In Petri Dishes



By taking multiple excellent photos, the odds increase for proper identification. This will not only help you and others in the localities you travel to, it will help mycologists and those saving rare fungi to prevent extinctions and endangerments. Cheers!




Mushroom collectors really ought to consider spore prints when posting their observations. The spore print is an easy way to assist in the identification process. A spore print is a gathering of many, many spores ejected from the gills, pores, or other spore-bearing surface. Although spores are individually invisible to the un-aided, un-magnified eye, when hundreds of thousands or millions of spores appear in a spore print, they leave a color which is taxonomically helpful. Spore prints can also be used to grow mycelium, and eventually mushrooms, too.

Note: Spore deposits can often be seen on the pileus surfaces in collections of specimens found growing very closely together. Sometimes spore deposit colors can also be seen on solitary specimen stipes, or on the substrate(s) and sorrounding surface areas.

Here's how to make a spore print:

▓ Before going hunting, clean a tupperware container with excellence and wash your hands. Place the tupperware container in a clean, new paper bag for extra cleanliness. Go straight to the site of the mushrooms and swiftly collect them into the tupperware container. Return to your living quarters in haste.
▓ Immediately after returning from hunting to your living quarters, wash your hands thoroughly with effort.
▓ Clean a table surface or shelf surface intended for this task.
▓ Tear off a piece of new aluminum foil. Its size should be slightly larger than the cap you are about to use.
▓ Using a clean knife, scissors, or your hands, swiftly remove the stipe of a freshly harvested mushroom, severing it from the pileus (cap).
▓ Place the cap onto the aluminum foil with the gills or pores facing the foil (face down).
▓ Get a freshly cleaned and dried, clear drinking glass that can fit nicely over and around the cap - and place it there. Rubbing alcohol can be used to help cleanse the glass beforehand if necessary.
▓ Wait roughly 24 hours and do not remove the glass - not even for a moment.
▓ After 24 hours approximately you should now have a good spore print.
▓ After removing the drinking glass, immediately place the spore printed foil into a new ziplock bag. Seal it thoroughly, confidently. This can then be mailed out to the appropriate mycologist for further study using Fedex, UPS, DHL, or a fast shipper of your choice. You can write a note on the ziplock bag using a permanent marker for the mycologist so he/she knows what they are dealing with in truth. Most people just include the MO observation number. Some prefer including a _collection card_.

Below: A purple spore print of Psilocybe stuntzii taken directly on a microscope glass slide


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Invisiblekoraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,670
Re: Cameras Known For Excellence When Photographing Fungi [Re: Thomas Envisio]
    #28213503 - 03/04/23 02:52 AM (10 months, 20 days ago)

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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