Oriental Black Potter wasp

Hi jazz.mann, thanks for your comments concerning SLR Camera vs. Cellphone Camera. I agree with everything you say, but I just wanted to consider the pro's & con's. Võ Anh Tuấn's pictures are always very impressive and I just wanted to get his ideas which he kindly gave me. My camera right now, with a standard zoom lens (18 - 55 mm) is just fine for scenery, animals and trees etc. When it comes to insects and spiders, I am really comfortable with my 100mm Macro Lens. I think this 100mm lens is the one which has been giving me problems in the last few days. Perhaps a servicing would fix it, but I'm not sure. I can't get around so much as I used to, so I am planning to disassemble it and clean it. Of course that is risky and if I can't put it right, then I will have to organise a trip to the city to buy a new camera and lens. I don't like buying online. I'm one of those old fashioned guys, I prefer to hold something in my hands and have a good look at it before I pay for it. However, I must thank you for your advice, jazz.mann and also Võ Anh Tuấn. I am so grateful to everyone in Project Noah for all the help and advice that I have received. It is just so nice to be part of this community. Best wishes, John B.

but I guess I should point out the I mostly shoot wildlife that is far away rather than closeups of bugs and such, so that could change the perspective.

Hi John I also have trouble seeing the screen when its bright, even if the sun is not directly behind me. I also find it very hard to hold still when activating the shutter, plus let's face it, there is no comparison in lens quality and sensor quality between an SLR and a cell phone. so for all those reasons, I far prefer an SLR camera to a phone, and only use my phone when I happen across something unintentional and dont have my camera with me.

Hi again Võ Anh Tuấn, Thank you very much for the advice about picture taking. Everything you said makes very good sense. Now, I have all the information I need to make a decision. I will take a little time to think it over before making a final decision. Replacing my old camera with a new one would probably help me to get better photos, but I can see that upgrading my cellphone might give me equally good pictures and I would be able to carry it around in my pocket. I will let you know how I get on, once I reach a decision. But I have another reason to thank you, Võ Anh Tuấn, you not only gave good advice about photography, but you also identified a species for me, Amata grotei (Moore, 1871). So thank you once again. John B.

Hi Võ Anh Tuấn, Very nice pictures. I notice that your pictures are taken with a cell phone camera. My Canon camera is starting to give me problems because it is very old now. I am trying to decide if I should get a new camera or a new cell phone for my Project Noah pictures. My problem, in the past, with cell phone cameras is that I cannot see the screen when I am taking photos, if the sun shine is hitting the screen (because of the glare). Do you have that problem ? How do you manage to get such great shots? John B.