Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Anybody have any hints for night and low light photography of herps in the field? I was herping into the twilight a few weeks ago and found some stuff I wanted to photo. My digital camera does not have a low light autofocus assist, and I could not get a focus lock. I wasn't near my truck to use my headlights. Looking for hints or gear suggestions that may be helpful.
Herpjournal.com

I recently read somewhere online about someone using a laser pointer to focus their digital camera in total darkness. You can't use a simple pointer, you need one of the novelty ones with a projected pattern.
A grid pattern would be the best, but they tried various smiley faces, arrows, etc and found that those worked OK as well.
Of course you have to turn the laser pointer off before shooting and you must be careful not too shine the laser in the animals eye.

I haven't ever tried it, but I am anxious to give it a try.
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Chris Harrison

That is interesting. After reading your response, I found a story on it here:

http://www.outdooreyes.com/photo76.php3

This article mentions pushing your AEL button on an Olympus C-730 to lock the exposure. I will have to figure out if I can do that on my Minolta dImage Z2.

I am going to have to get a laser pointer and try that.

I used to have (till I stepped on it) a pointer that had a line/bar shape instead of a dot. This worked very well for me when I was using my CP 990 which didn't focus well in low light. A lot of cameras seem to like vertical lines best for focusing and snap right on it. My current camera focuses very well in low light and has a focus assist lamp if needed so it's become a moot point for me now.

Bill

I picked up one of those laser pointers and played around with it in my basement. I used a couple of my kid's little plastic frogs and snakes and took some pics in low light and even in complete darkness. It worked GREAT! They are still flash photos, so the quality will always be so-so, but compared to not getting a photo of any kind when finding something small after dark, they were great. Thanks again for the tip.

btw - I found that the star shaped lens worked the best for me.

I tried the hint of using a laser pointer as a focusing aid. It worked perfectly! The camera I used was a Minolta Dimage 5. It absolutely would NOT focus in low light. I used the STAR pattern on the laser, and after shining on the subject, I pressed the AF lock button. I then turned off the laser, and pressed the shutter release. I was in the Jacksonville Zoo's reptile room, which is keep pretty dark, and had stopped me from using my camera before. The laser only cost $10.
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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~