P. apollo is rather numerous on certain parts of the Southern Finland. The area is relatively limited, though. It also seems common in the Alps. E. maturna is not that rare in South-Eastern Finland. Should be quite common in Russia. L. helle is relatively common in some parts of central Finland. The...

What happens in the far north of the country where the sun never sets? Are butterflies still active at 11pm? Not really. From what I've seen they settle down roughly at 6 pm. On the other hand it makes catching or photographing "night"-time moths much easier ... or you can use that time t...

David M wrote:I bet the biting flies are bloody everywhere in summer.

Naah. They are are not that bad. North from Oulu its the mosquitoes that will get you.

Well you learn something new every day. I'd always thought the north of Finland was mountainous. :oops: Compared to the rest of the Finland it is. However, on a wider scale even that is quite mild. There are considerable mountains in the Scandinavia, but Finland only reaches to the edges. The highe...

David M wrote:Yes, but you need to use crampons where you are!

Fortunately not. If that was in Finland it would get pretty boring going up and down those 100 m hills.

I camp at 900m and walk daily to sites between 1800m and 2400m. Ouch! I've done the 1400 up and down exactly once and my legs were sore for a week afterwards. It may have something to do with the hosts being in way too good condition and us trying to match the speed... On the other hand, 1 km up an...

A tricky choice just got trickier. Indeed. So far there are two contestants for the Tamron replacement ... and both of them from Sigma. :shock: I think I would have preferred 180/3.5 as the added weight is not welcome on hiking trips. Canon and Tamron, get those upgrades out! My Tamron is in servic...

MikeOxon wrote:Kenko (same company as Tokina lenses) list the Canon 100L as being AF compatible but I have no personal experience of this combination.

If anyone want's to rely on that, make sure to get the very latest version. The one I bought after I got the C 100 L IS NOT COMPATIBLE!

I don't think that AF on the C 100 L works with most teleconverters. That's something worth checking if AF is important to you.

Finland would be a dream trip!... could seriously consider... but it's a huge country... where would you suggest a base?? :D Let's see... - P. centaurae (N & NW - early July) - C. silvicola (S - early) - C. tyche (NW - early July) - C. hecla (N & NW - early July) - L. helle (C - early June)...

I had considered melanops for the second, but only on account of the arid habitat suggested by the background. The border is so much narrower than that of any of the melanops I saw in Málaga this spring I ruled it out. Interestingly, though most of my melanops have clear white fringes one does have...

Fun game indeed! 20 has to be dorylas as one of mine was correct and there are now two nominations for the other ... and it has not been confirmed. I'm also willing to believe 2 as melanops. Guy seems to have missed the list of remaining species earlier. There is also no reason why 4 couldn't be orb...

This is fun even though I have barely seen most of them. 01. baton (orion) 02. iolas? 03. alexis 04. pirithous??? 05. arion 06. alcetas??? 07. semiargus 08. damon? 09. optilete? 10. idas? 11. glandon 12. amandus 13. thersites? 14. bellargus 15. argus?? 16. escheri? 17. dorylas? 18. eros? 19. boeticu...

I suppose that's me. Unfortunately I've been in Estonia (outside Tallinn) only once. The area was quite promising for butterflies, but there wasn't that much of else. It was in the south-eastern corner in a small place called Piusa. I seem to recall hearing that Saaremaa might be a good place.

I would think that 4x4 binning would compress 16 pixels to one. Your numbers would appear to describe 2x2 binning. Or is there something non-intuitive in the nomenclature? It is also important to remember that Bayer sensors have one red, one blue and two green pixels for each four pixels. So 2x2 bin...

I think there are a few identification errors (you have a lot more napi than you think, and I believe your helle on Lycaenidae p.2 are tityrus ... :D ) but that's all part of the fun!y And I think your B. euphrosyne on Nymphalidae page 2 are all B. selene . The last two are a bit questionable, thou...

Cyclophora is a pretty good guess. That would make it either C. maderensis or C. puppillaria. I'd still prefer Scopula irrorata as the black spots (ocelli?) don't have white center. The color should be warmer, but that applies to all three.

I don't know the actual figures but the maximum focal length of the Canon 100 - 400 is probably less than 300mm at its closest focus distance. That's easy to check if you have the lens at hand. Just set the lens at f=400 and minimum focus. Put a ruler horizontally where it is in focus. Measure the ...

It would do two things that the Sigma can't do without it. It can go to 2x magnification and it can take a comparable picture of a skittish insect from twice as far. If one doesn't need either, it can be - and should be - taken off. On the average the 1.4x would probably be a better overall solution...

I'd have to disagree here. A 12 mm. extension tube on a 150 focal length will allow focusing quite far - not infinity, but far enough for any butterfly. The AF would be lousy, but who uses that anyway? :wink: You would get a 300 f/5.6 macro lens, which would work to a bit over 2x magnification. How ...