Cactusdave
Well-known member
On Sunday I had the opportunity to compare under similar conditions my FZ18 with Pemaraal adaptor and Nikon TC-15ED X1.5 convertor; my 10 megapixel Canon 400D dSLR with Sigma 170-500mm Apo telephoto. Additionally I took a few photos through my Kowa 614 scope with TSN X30 eyepiece using a handheld Panasonic DMC-LS2, which is a simple 5 megapixel point and shoot camera that matches the lens diameter of the eyepiece well. The Canon plus telephoto was used on a tripod, the FZ18 and teleconvertor was used handheld though I braced my arm on a fence for most shots. Light was good and sunny enabling short exposures, though at a sharp angle to the birds, causing problems with shadows. Altogether I took about 500 pictures over a couple of hours with various Ruff and a little stint being the more or less willing subjects. They were about 20- 35 ft away. This isn’t meant to be a serious scientific comparison study though the results are quite interesting. Some of the conclusions are blindingly obvious but here they are:
1. Firstly all three setups produced very acceptable results under these pretty ideal conditions.
2. The most important factors in the quality of the pictures were unsurprisingly light, and distance, size and movement of the bird. Getting good pictures of the little stint which is hardly more than sparrow-sized and quickly moving, was a challenge. Through the telescope with a hand held camera it was impossible.
3. The Canon dSLR plus mid price telephoto produced the best results. The pictures could be heavily cropped to emphasise the bird while still leaving enough detail to be satisfying. Cropping of the FZ18 pictures was less satisfactory with the picture becoming noticeably pixelated at a smaller crop ratio.
4. The FZ18 was by no means disgraced by this comparison as I hope the accompanying pictures show.
5. If you want to take pictures of birds that are much further away than about 50 ft digiscoping is the best option.
6. I lugged the dSLR and telephoto the 150 yards back to the car and locked it in the boot after I had taken the series of photos. I carried the FZ18 and convertor round the 1.5 mile walk to visit the rest of the reserve with no problems. I hardly knew I had it over my shoulder. ‘Nuff said?
The sample pictures
These pictures are representative of my more successful efforts. From the left: Ruff digiscoped, camera DMC-LS2 programme mode, X1.5 zoom, F3.3 1/200th sec, 25% crop. Ruff Canon dSLR plus telephoto, aperture priority, full zoom (500mm), F6.3 1/500th sec, 60% crop. Ruff FZ18 plus TC-15ED full zoom, aperture priority, F4.2, 1/1000th sec, + 2/3 exposure compensation, 50% crop. Little stint, Canon dSLR plus telephoto, aperture priority, full zoom (500mm). F6.3 1/200th sec., 70% crop. Little stint Ruff FZ18 plus TC-15ED full zoom, aperture priority, F4.2, 1/500th sec, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 50% crop.
1. Firstly all three setups produced very acceptable results under these pretty ideal conditions.
2. The most important factors in the quality of the pictures were unsurprisingly light, and distance, size and movement of the bird. Getting good pictures of the little stint which is hardly more than sparrow-sized and quickly moving, was a challenge. Through the telescope with a hand held camera it was impossible.
3. The Canon dSLR plus mid price telephoto produced the best results. The pictures could be heavily cropped to emphasise the bird while still leaving enough detail to be satisfying. Cropping of the FZ18 pictures was less satisfactory with the picture becoming noticeably pixelated at a smaller crop ratio.
4. The FZ18 was by no means disgraced by this comparison as I hope the accompanying pictures show.
5. If you want to take pictures of birds that are much further away than about 50 ft digiscoping is the best option.
6. I lugged the dSLR and telephoto the 150 yards back to the car and locked it in the boot after I had taken the series of photos. I carried the FZ18 and convertor round the 1.5 mile walk to visit the rest of the reserve with no problems. I hardly knew I had it over my shoulder. ‘Nuff said?
The sample pictures
These pictures are representative of my more successful efforts. From the left: Ruff digiscoped, camera DMC-LS2 programme mode, X1.5 zoom, F3.3 1/200th sec, 25% crop. Ruff Canon dSLR plus telephoto, aperture priority, full zoom (500mm), F6.3 1/500th sec, 60% crop. Ruff FZ18 plus TC-15ED full zoom, aperture priority, F4.2, 1/1000th sec, + 2/3 exposure compensation, 50% crop. Little stint, Canon dSLR plus telephoto, aperture priority, full zoom (500mm). F6.3 1/200th sec., 70% crop. Little stint Ruff FZ18 plus TC-15ED full zoom, aperture priority, F4.2, 1/500th sec, + 1/3 exposure compensation, 50% crop.
