-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Bridge cameras-the new must have gadget for birders? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Cortonbirds
- Start date
Brosnabirder
Well-known member
Here's a pic of a Spotted Crake I took with the Canon SX50. Best birding related buy I've made for years.
Would thoroughly recommend getting one. I bought it for record shots mainly. If I can take passable record photos with it then anyone can. I still haven't really gotten to grips with all the functions and my technique mostly involves taking lots of shots and hoping for the best. It has allowed me to get rubbish burt recognisable shots of Little Crake and Tawny Pipit in the last couple of months though. Both are scarcities here.
Would thoroughly recommend getting one. I bought it for record shots mainly. If I can take passable record photos with it then anyone can. I still haven't really gotten to grips with all the functions and my technique mostly involves taking lots of shots and hoping for the best. It has allowed me to get rubbish burt recognisable shots of Little Crake and Tawny Pipit in the last couple of months though. Both are scarcities here.
Attachments
Bill@dwp
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
I bought the Canon SX50 about 3 weeks ago exactly for the reasons outlined here. I am not a photographer abd dont want to be but just want record shots and maybe a few half decent pics for myself. 50x zoom up to 200x optical. Brilliant. last week in Norfolk I was getting incredible shots of dots in the distance. Cant fault it plus it was used extensively at my daughters wedding on Friday both for video and stills and its fab. Its really light as well, great battery life. Read about the new Panasonic at 60x times and that alreeady had great reviews for the 24x zoom and probably would have gone for that if it had been available for when I needed it. £40 cashback with the canon as well.
rosbifs
PutAin STOP
Bizare-ly I commented that I think the zoom is fantastic quality and virtually as good as a scope!
A couple of times while faffing to get a photo and the bird takes off there is an instant where the focus has paused for a micro second and I can see all of the flight feathers in amazing detail. Just wish I had pressed the button at that moment!! I can see the benefit of videoing then editing to get that single frame.
The problem I now have is the technology is probably too advanced and will use about 10% of the cameras capability!
Ps its not one-upmanship going for the Panny (although it is 60x it is only 60x 20=1200mm because of the wide angle) because a lot of the pictures on here (and other threads related to bridge cameras) are things of my dreams whether they were the Canon, Fuji or other.
A couple of times while faffing to get a photo and the bird takes off there is an instant where the focus has paused for a micro second and I can see all of the flight feathers in amazing detail. Just wish I had pressed the button at that moment!! I can see the benefit of videoing then editing to get that single frame.
The problem I now have is the technology is probably too advanced and will use about 10% of the cameras capability!
Ps its not one-upmanship going for the Panny (although it is 60x it is only 60x 20=1200mm because of the wide angle) because a lot of the pictures on here (and other threads related to bridge cameras) are things of my dreams whether they were the Canon, Fuji or other.
Bill@dwp
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
Not sure what you mean by one upmanship here. The Panasonic 24x had great reviews for its use in nature pictures so my simple reasoning was that it would be a better purchase now it was upgraded with 60x. However it wasnt an option as I only found out about its release after getting the Canon and I could not have hung on anyway.
I had done a fair bit of research on what was available and the reviews of each. To be fair each of the main manufacturer's contenders had its champions but on here it seemed the Canon had great support and so I went for that and dont regret it. I will likely have it for a fair few years.
As you say I will probably only use a fraction of the features available on it. Ultimately I can point it at something in the far distance and take a half decent picture of it.
I was considering buying the digiscoping bits to go with my Lumix compact but that cost as much as the Canon almost.
My daughter has a decent DSLR but getting a lens for that it is 3 times what I spent plus altogether its so much more to carry.
Bridge camera's do it for me and mine has been a great purchase.
The other way to look at it I suppose is to do away with a scope and just use a long lens and camera!!
I had done a fair bit of research on what was available and the reviews of each. To be fair each of the main manufacturer's contenders had its champions but on here it seemed the Canon had great support and so I went for that and dont regret it. I will likely have it for a fair few years.
As you say I will probably only use a fraction of the features available on it. Ultimately I can point it at something in the far distance and take a half decent picture of it.
I was considering buying the digiscoping bits to go with my Lumix compact but that cost as much as the Canon almost.
My daughter has a decent DSLR but getting a lens for that it is 3 times what I spent plus altogether its so much more to carry.
Bridge camera's do it for me and mine has been a great purchase.
The other way to look at it I suppose is to do away with a scope and just use a long lens and camera!!
Cortonbirds
Well-known member
Jon Turner
Well-known member
As part of the pre-planning for our trip next year I will buy a bridge camera, but I want to travel light with a tablet not my heavy laptop. So I asked at the computer shop today about transferring images easily to a tablet direct form a bridge camera - ah said he, you need a tablet which takes a mini card so you'll need a camera which uses one. SOOO, is there such a thing? Or an alternative?
Look forward to hearing from some of you accompished users.
Look forward to hearing from some of you accompished users.
He meant a microSD card. Some tablets have a slot to expand their memory capacity using a micro card and some have only their internal memory.
Most superzooms, including the SX 50, use full size SD cards. However, adapters are available to use a micro card in a regular SD slot. In fact, they are often sold packaged with one. You can probably pick one up at your local Super Tesco. I have used a micro card with adapter in an S3, there shouldn't be any problem using one in any camera that uses SD cards.
Will
Most superzooms, including the SX 50, use full size SD cards. However, adapters are available to use a micro card in a regular SD slot. In fact, they are often sold packaged with one. You can probably pick one up at your local Super Tesco. I have used a micro card with adapter in an S3, there shouldn't be any problem using one in any camera that uses SD cards.
Will
Last edited:
Hi Jon. Derek posted this link on a different thread. Looks interesting. I'm thinking of getting one to go to Scotland next year to work with my iPad.
www.mymemory.co.uk/Memory-Card-Readers/Apotop/Apotop-Wireless-Card-Reader-for-iPhone-and-iPad
Rich
Jon Turner
Well-known member
Yup that's exactly what I meant thanks for the correction Will!! And for the advice.
Jon Turner
Well-known member
Thanks Rich - that means another bit of kit doesn't it?, so I'll keep that thought, but hold out for other solutions too. (maybe!)
And I don't necessarily want an iPad / iPhone (if that's all it supports) as I really don't want music & video functions.
Jon,
I dug out a blank microSD card and adapter, stuck it into my SX-50 and took some pictures, then put it in the card slot of my Nook HD+ tablet. Result? Any of the photo apps can read it beautifully and edit the files. And it's easy to move the files into internal storage.
The question that occurs to me is exactly what you want to use a tablet for. By and large, the upper end of internal memory in tablets is 32 gb. With 4 - 5 gb taken by the os, you have around 25 gb for files. With a bit of space given over to a viewing/editing app, you could store around 3 8gb card's contents, around 3600 superfine large images, or maybe half that many raws from the superzooms that can do raw. In film days that would be a lot of exposures (as in 100 rolls) but for a committed digital photographer that's a day's shooting. Of course, if you tend to do a couple hundred shots a day like I do, that might be plenty of storage for a 2 week trip.
Will
I dug out a blank microSD card and adapter, stuck it into my SX-50 and took some pictures, then put it in the card slot of my Nook HD+ tablet. Result? Any of the photo apps can read it beautifully and edit the files. And it's easy to move the files into internal storage.
The question that occurs to me is exactly what you want to use a tablet for. By and large, the upper end of internal memory in tablets is 32 gb. With 4 - 5 gb taken by the os, you have around 25 gb for files. With a bit of space given over to a viewing/editing app, you could store around 3 8gb card's contents, around 3600 superfine large images, or maybe half that many raws from the superzooms that can do raw. In film days that would be a lot of exposures (as in 100 rolls) but for a committed digital photographer that's a day's shooting. Of course, if you tend to do a couple hundred shots a day like I do, that might be plenty of storage for a 2 week trip.
Will
Jon Turner
Well-known member
Hi Will, and thanks for the detailed reply. We're travelling extensively next year, and to keep the weight down I don't want to take my laptop. SO, I thought I could get a small tablet which would allow me to access the internet (and here specifically!) but also email, and also be able to download pictures from a bridge camera so I can share them with BF'ers and check id's. I've just seen a Nikon P520 which would seem to do all the photographic bits I would need - I have had a couple of other Nikons over the years and they performed well. I would need a card reader, but these seem to be pretty cheap. I would take a few SD cards, so as to be sure of having enough space for lots of pics.
Jon,
That's quite practical. I'm typing this on my Nook HD+ in a booth in a local Burger King. (That's a US fast food chain that has free wi-fi access.) My tablet has virtually replaced my laptop (which had in turn completely replaced my desktop system) for the web and email. (It's been over a year since the last time I used my laptop to check my mail.) I'm doing the typing on a free-standing bluetooth keyboard. Though you might prefer to use the virtual key board for travels, to save one more item of kit. When I got the laptop I had envisioned taking it along in the field, but it never got out of the house, as I'd got my first tablet first.
Aside from being the office, my tablet serves as my library when traveling. I've got the Sibley, iBird and Audubon apps, Dunne's Field guide companion plus ecology, mammal, fish, insect, wildflower (half a dozen of those), tree, and mushroom field guides, as well as pdfs of pertinent id articles and checklists, and it doesn't use an ounce of my carry-on allowance.
Will
Jon Turner
Well-known member
Will, you're a star - I may have to delay a while as I'm in hospital on Thursday for a hip replacement! I intend to be up and about pretty quick, but I may have to take things a bit easy for a while - an ideal opportunity to get the kit and play with it! I'll keep you posted.
I was in touch with a local photographer friend of mine this week who had just last month sold his Canon bridge camera..... grrr...
I was in touch with a local photographer friend of mine this week who had just last month sold his Canon bridge camera..... grrr...
I don't know if the new usb sticks can be used by tablets, but as a small, large capacity external storage device they are pretty good and cheap. About 1.5 inches long (4cm) and the one I got was 32 Gb and they weigh next to nothing. Just a thought.
ps I hope the hip job went well Jon and wish you well in your recuperation.
ps I hope the hip job went well Jon and wish you well in your recuperation.
Similar threads
