To keep them out of your photo, you might try this. Since mosquitos are zeroing in on your carbon dioxide that you exhale to find you, set your camera on a tripod and remove yourself for a distance. Then using a remote shutter release, take the photo. Using an insect repellent might keep them off of you but they are still in the area and in your camera view. That is why you need to get a distance away from the camera. Like a pied piper, draw them away so they are not in the camera shot.

I have not had camera equipment stolen as I carry that on except for tripods. However, when I was a member of the United States Archery Team going to the World Championships in Australia, I checked in my archery case on Qantas Airlines in San Francisco. It didn't arrive in Australia and I have not seen it to this day. Needles to say the tournament didn't go well for me. I think of that incident every time I see a Koala bear picture (mascot image for Qantas). The ticket stated that Qantas liability was limited to $400 on international flights. Haven't flown Qantas since then.

Thanks. Send me a PM if you wish. There are a couple of us on this forum that live in Payson.

New Year morning in Payson from our deck. 12 inches of snow.

Payson New Year morning

(Download)

Chestnut

What technique did you use to capture the two photos?

Google "Monarch vs Viceroy" and get side by side pictures.

The band across the hind wing makes it look like a Viceroy Butterfly to me.

My Bad. I missed an important concept in the original posting. I apologize to UHH members for my getting off onto a rabbit trail and confusing the issue from what was originally asked. I'll go back to lurking and be less quick to "shoot from the hip".

t appears NONE of you actually knows how NEX sweep pano works ! 1. You can pan in ANY direction you want. 2. you can pan in landscape OR portrait. 3. not sure about 360 - never tried it . I use a ballhead on a tripod and the results are astounding ! Not a gimic - a revolution ![/quote]

With the borrowed the inexpensive camera that does in camera pano, when I tried to pan from R to L, a message popped up in the viewfinder that told me to go L to R. When I put it in portrait orientation and tried L to R, I got the same message. Also, if I didn't keep it relatively level when panning, I got a message to keep it level. So, for an inexpensive camera with in camera pano, I don't know how to respond to your #1 and #2 points. Since the camera only does 7-8 continuous exposures, you can't even get 180 degrees. Maybe you can explain to me how you override the inexpensive camera system to go R to L or pan L to R in portrait mode. The original question referred to inexpensive cameras so please respond to that level of camera.

My observation and opinion from limited experience. When I borrowed a camera that did in camera panos I thought it was great until I reaized the limitations.
1) You had to go left to right
2) Pan slowly to get enough overlap (I do understand the necessity for that)
3) Can pan only in landscape mode which limits your vertical perspective
4) Only shoots a limited amount of exposures in a pass making a 360 degree pano impossible
5) Cannot do multiple rows

In camera panos are nice but pretty basic. I would rather have the expensive cameras put in other software than that for panos. You need pano software to make more than basic ones and if you have the software, why do you need it in the camera? Making the panos in the software later gives you more control over the product. To me, it is a nice gimic for snapshots but for an expensive camera it gives a limited product and I would rather have another feature instead like more fps in burst mode.

Thanks for a very interesting discussion with lots of possible reasons for the lack of sharpness and the listing possible remedies. Could the time of day and air temperature be a part of the problem? Would early in the morning with colder air with lack of heat waves help?

No. Nice picture though.

It doesn't appear to have the correct wing vein pattern to be a Hover Fly (Syrphidae).

Arizona Sunrise.

From my home's deck in Arizona.


Pano from same deck.