Peter Swan, a nature photographer from Durham, England, builds his insect-macro kit around the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro. In DPReview’s September 24, 2026 community profile, he says the biggest improvement to his close-up work came not from changing cameras but from using diffused flash: it let him work at lower ISO and gain depth of field. His kit and methods are one photographer’s account, not a test or a universal buying recommendation.
Why Swan photographs insects
Asked what draws him to photographing insects, Swan points to the variety of small creatures available to discover and the challenge of making a compelling image of them. He looks in nature reserves, but also in gardens, parks and other ordinary places. Nature reserves can offer biodiversity; a special destination is not a requirement for finding a subject.
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His outings have included looking for Brown Hairstreaks at Arnside Knott, old world swallowtails at Hickling Broad and Purple Emperors at Fineshades Wood. He also says insects can be found in winter, so the search need not be limited to warm-weather visits.
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Swan names the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II as his favorite camera and the Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro as his favorite lens. The profile shows the macro lens in captions for several insect photographs. His other listed lenses cover a mix of telephoto, standard and compact options:
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- Bright f/2 Aperture Mid-telephoto Macro RF Lens with Beautiful Bokeh.
- Maximum Magnification of 0.5x and Minimum Focusing Distance of 1.15 ft.
- Optical Image Stabilization with up to 5 Stops of Shake Correction.
- Hybrid IS Compensates for Angular and Shift Camera Shake during Macro Shooting.
- Control Ring for Direct Setting Changes.
| Camera or lens | Role in Swan’s kit |
|---|---|
| Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II | His favorite camera |
| Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro | His favorite lens for close-up work |
| Olympus 100-400mm F5-6.3 | Additional telephoto lens |
| Olympus 25mm F1.2 | Additional lens |
| Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6 | Additional lens |
| Panasonic 35-100mm F4-5.6 | Additional lens |
He says the camera and five lenses fit in his Tarion rolltop backpack, with room left for food and waterproof clothing. He can also fit a Panasonic GX9 with a 7-14mm F4 attached. This is a description of his packing arrangement, not a claim that the same load will suit every photographer or outing.
Why diffused flash changed his macro results
Swan says he initially relied on natural light and struggled with a non-stabilized macro lens: stopping down for more depth of field could push ISO higher than he wanted. Stabilization helped somewhat, but he says diffused flash made a larger difference by letting him use lower ISO and greater depth of field.
His setup includes a Nissin i40 flash and a Cygnustech diffuser. Before buying the diffuser, he made a simple one from a transparent folder and white paper, then chose the Cygnustech after seeing other photographers’ results. That account describes his own progression; it does not establish that this combination is compatible with every camera or the best choice for other macro photographers.
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- Compact macro Lens with 0.5x Magnification Ratio
- Minimum Focusing Distance of 0.56 ft. ; 0.17M
- Control Ring for direct setting changes
- Optical Image Stabilization at up to 5 Stops of shake Correction
- 12 pin Communication System
Other accessories he lists are a Marumi DHG Achromat 200 close-up lens and a couple of polarizing filters. The profile does not give additional compatibility or performance details for those items.
Working with focus stacking
Swan is still working to become more proficient at focus stacking. He says some stacks require 50 or more shots and work best when the subject stays still for a few seconds. One example is a cellar-spider photograph he made at home by combining 15 images in Zerene.
The contrast between a 15-image example and stacks that may need 50 or more illustrates why the technique can demand patience: the subject and the intended result affect how many frames he uses. His profile does not present those counts as a fixed formula for other photographers.
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- CANON M50 LENS: Easily screws on to the front of your Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens, and instantly expands the field of view for breathtaking wide-angle photography. Features a detachable macro lens for extremely high-resolution close-ups of small objects.
- LENS COMPATIBILITIES: Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro is STM, Canon RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.3 is STM Lens, Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS, Sony E 35mm f/1.8 OSS, Sony FE 50mm f/1.8, Sony E 30mm f/3.5 Macro, Sony E 20mm f/2.8, FUJIFILM XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR Lenses and Sigma 70MM f/2.8 DG Macro ART Lens
- CAMERA MODELS: Compatible with Canon m50 accessories EOS M M2 M3 M5 M6 Mark II M10 M100 M200 Mirrorless Cameras and Sony a3000 a3500 a5000 a5100 a6000 a6100 a6300 a6400 a6500 a6600.
- NOTE: PLEASE VERIFY YOUR CAMERA'S LENS THREAD SIZE BEFORE ORDERING. This Wide-Angle is compatible with 49MM lenses only. Lens sizes vary regardless of camera brand or model. Your camera's lens thread size will be marked somewhere on the lens barrel or printed underneath your lens cap. This number is always preceded by a ''Ø'' (diameter) symbol. For example: Ø49 = 49mm lens thread size.
Finding and composing an insect photograph
Start early, then slow down
Swan advises looking early in the day, before insects have fully warmed up. Later, when subjects may be more skittish, he recommends moving patiently around them rather than rushing in.
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Pay attention to the background
“One of the most important things is to have a clean background,” Swan says. He also mentions diagonals—such as a stem—as a useful compositional element. These are practical choices to assess in the frame, rather than camera settings that guarantee a particular result.
Look close to home as well as at reserves
Reserves are useful places to seek variety, but Swan’s advice is not to overlook everyday locations. Gardens and parks can hold small subjects too, and even a photograph of a cellar spider at home became a focus-stacked image in his portfolio.
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What his photo settings do—and do not—show
Captions in the profile record settings for individual photographs: a Roesel’s bush cricket image was made at F11, 1/250 sec and ISO 200; a Brassica Bugs image at F13, 1/250 sec and ISO 250. These are the settings for those pictured frames, not general exposure recommendations. The profile is a community feature about Swan’s choices and practice, not a controlled comparison of cameras, lenses or lighting.
The profile is Mathew Anderson’s DPReview community feature, published September 24, 2026: DPReview.
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