Field Guides

[caveman38]

Hi, first time poster. Got the bug (no pun intended) after a recent butterfly count with the grandkids and a visit to South Downs yesterday. I have read previous posts re. field guides and decided on the Lewington Pocket Book an Laminated guide both endorsed by forum members. If these are short of this info. please can you recommend alternatives.
What I need to know is do they show full wing and underside & Male / Female. Without realising it , I found the vast difference (I think) in sexes and aspects and want to go armed with all information.

[CallumMac]

Hi caveman, welcome to UK butterflies - the hobby and the website both!

I don't think you can really go wrong with the Lewington guides, they are beautifully (and accurately) illustrated. I don't own the pocket version so I can't speak to whether it illustrates both sexes - but I'm sure it would. Once you're really hooked, I would suggest you invest in a copy of Thomas & Lewington's Butterflies of Britain & Ireland. It's more a coffee-table book than a field guide, much too heavy to carry out with you, but it's a fascinating read, with a lot of detail about the ecology and conservation of each species.

Hope to see more posts from you on here as you get out there and start finding things!

[bugboy]

Lewington's pocket guide is an ideal beginners book. It is essentially an abridged version of the larger book that Callum recommends ( I doubt there isn't a forum member on here who wouldn't recommend that book). It gives all the info you would need as a beginner to the hobby and indeed shows uppers and unders of males and females. The laminated guide is also very useful for getting a quick ID without having to leaf through a book when you're in the field. Basically as Callum says, anything with Lewingtons name attached can be garenteed as being very accurately illustrated, his illustration are almost photographic!

Edit:
Also if you're based in Sussex then this book co-written by one of our fellow forum members also comes highly recommended.
https://www.sussex-butterflies.org.uk/features/atlas/

Its not really a beginners guide but does give very up to date detailed descriptions of every species you'll find locally including best places to find them. Not sure if there's any left in stock and there's not going to be a re-print but it is worth the investment long term if you want to splurge!

[caveman38]

Thanks for the heads up on the book. No, I'm not from Sussex. But all my family from London have moved down (Eastbourne, Horum, Hellingly and Pevensey) and I'm down at least once a month up the downs. I've delayed my own move for many years but will get there.
When it comes to photographing do you guys use pukka equipment ie. 35mm cameras, tripods etc. I ask as till recently I had 2 digital cameras but within 6 months both have given up the ghost for no reason. I now rely on my smartphone but perhaps need another camera for cataloguing and when I may need authenticating. What do you use?

[Tony Moore]

How long have you got?? .

Tony M.

[bugboy]

Have a look through the threads listed in the link below.

viewforum.php?f=7

Users on here use anything from little instamatics to the big expensive DSLR's. My advice would be to stick with what you know but the Bridge cameras in the Lumix FZ series do seem very popular on here.

[NickMorgan]

I use a Panasonic Lumix FZ150. It allows me to photograph the butterflies from about 2 metres away, so I don't disturb them. The quality is good enough for me and it save lugging heavy equipment around. I imagine it is now superseded by another model by now, as mine is over six years old.

[MikeOxon]

................. I now rely on my smartphone but perhaps need another camera for cataloguing and when I may need authenticating. What do you use?

Smartphones are improving all the time. Some now have two lenses with a longer (tele) lens, to provide a larger image more easily.

There are two main reasons for considering another camera : the first is to obtain a longer zoom lens, which makes it easier to capture a small subject, like a butterfly, from a reasonable distance, and the second is to get a viewfinder, which makes it easier to see your subject than by looking at a screen in bright sunlight.

Some compact cameras, such as the Panasonic TZ series, now have electronic viewfinders as well as a good zoom range. These types (there are other makes) are intended as 'travel cameras'

The so-called 'bridge cameras', aim to provide some of the 'feel' of a DSLR-type camera and they add a hand grip to the zoom and viewfinder features. They can be easier to hold steady in the field.

The 'pukka' cameras, such as a DSLR add the capability to use interchangeable lenses. They are able to take good photos in a much wider range of conditions, especially when the light is poor. These cameras are much faster in operation - quicker to start up, quicker to zoom, and better for following fast-moving subjects.

I would base your choice on what you feel the need to do. Remember, too, that the best camera in the world is of no use if it is sitting at home when a photo-opportunity arises.

My answer to your last question is that I use several different cameras depending on circumstances. I use a smartphone when I have nothing else with me and also when I want to record the GPS location of a sighting. I use a compact camera when I need to 'travel light', and I use an interchangeable lens camera (in my case an Olympus mirror-less camera) when I am on a specifically photographic trip.

I hope that helps. I have written more technical information about the different types of camera on my website at http://home.btconnect.com/mike.flemming ... rison.html

Mike

[Jack Harrison]

I throw in these experiences....

Today my £200 bridge camera fell out of the bag (my fault) on to concrete. I inadvertently made a "polite comment" (but there was no one around to hear). The camera now has some minor cosmetic damage but still works as before.. I am not suggesting that £200 cameras should be considered "disposable" but had it been a DSLR with expensive lens (worth two grand plus) that had fallen onto the concrete, my comment might not have been quite so polite and I very much doubt that the DSLR would have been undamaged.

Another example from earlier in the year. I went to Loch Garten specifically to see Crested Tits. A photographer was already there with big DSLR, long lens, props, tripods, mini feeding station waiting for a bird to land in exactly the right place. Apparently he had been already been there for three hours with his kit which he confessed cost him £7,000. Within five minutes of my arrival, with my "point and shoot" Lumix FZ200, I got this (and a decent Goldcrest which he didn't even see!).

I left about 30 minutes later. The other chap was still waiting for his shot
If/when he did manage, I am sure it would have been a better photo than mine. But what a hassle.....

Jack

[Allan.W.]

That's a terrific shot of a Crested Tit Jack ! Had no luck with them myself when I was up in your neck of the woods ,some years back ,but we,re hoping for a return visit next year so fingers crossed !
On the subject of field guides ,I can thouroughly recommend BRITAINS BUTTERFLIES by David Newland ,Robert Still ,Andy Swash
and David Tomlinson. one of the wildguide series.

[David M]

Great story, Jack, although I kind of disagree if you genuinely think the other guy got images better than yours.

I suppose it's horses for courses. Over time, a DSLR will generate better results than a bridge camera, but you always need the right kind of opportunities to make the most of the equipment you've got.

On this occasion, you eked out something that your fellow could not, irrespective of his 'gear'.

[Jack Harrison]

This is the Goldcrest my 'friend' didn't even see.

Jack

[caveman38]

Thank you all for your replies. Books wise, I obviously have no trouble ordering the 2 most recommended on the forum. Re. camera. I have to be honest and say that in my 66 years, I have never owned an SLR but have had numerous compacts including digital. I am not so sure I will have the know how to configure one and would like to ask. I have seen recommendations on the forum for the Lumix TZ70 compact. Would this suffice or would it have that much of a disadvantage in comparison to the bridge camera recommended.
If it is that inferior, I suppose that I will have to persevere and get to grips with SLR technology. But if you think that it will fit my need please tell me or recommend perhaps a later model with any advantage I could use.

[MikeOxon]

I'd say that at around £200, this is a great buy. The sensor might be 'only' 12MP but that's the same as the FZ200 bridge that many people recommend and, on a compact camera, it gives better low-light performance than a sensor that packs in too many, smaller pixels.

The season is rapidly heading to an end, so move now, if you want to try it out this year

[Jack Harrison]

Do think about the benefits of flex-angle screens. I would NEVER again buy a camera that had a fixed screen (tried it once).

Jack

[caveman38]

Is the laminated, 8 page quick reference guide published from the same Lewington pocket book illustrations or a different author. I don't seem to be able to find it to purchase. I have found one by Harry Styles though. Help please.

[Vince Massimo]

Hi caveman,

The illustrations on the laminated guide are by Richard Lewington (as seen in the guide books). You can order one from here: https://www.field-studies-council.org/p ... chart.aspx

Vince

[caveman38]

Thanks Vince.