SX40 Super Zoom (2 Viewers)

I should be getting one tomorrow and just wondered if anyone had suggestions for accessories that will be useful for shooting birds?

Thanks!

MichelleOhio said:

I should be getting one tomorrow ...........

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Hi Michelle

Have you managed to get any bird images yet?....if so spill the beans!!!:t:

Hi, Dave! Only images are birds at feeders. Mostly, I've been playing with the zoom on this thing....amazing. The moon, for example, looks great even hand held. Hoping to get out for some birds in nature this weekend.

Not sure about "spilling the beans". I'm just a weekend photographer and have no idea how to use a "real" camera. Moved up from a Kodak Z612. If I get anything good, I'll be sure to post.

Michelle,
I've been playing around with the SX40HS for a week now and I'm enjoying it. I tested it on birds today, including birds in flight. I used the SCENE Mode HS speed , which gives an 8 frame burst at 10.3 fps. I have the lens programmed to switch on at full zoom ( 840 mm ). I have programmed the Teleconverter Modes ( 1.5x and 2x )programmed to the S function button. I have downsized the VIDEO Mode to 1280x720 to save memory and make processing quicker.
I have posted a short , hand-held video here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7892550@N03/6245962355/in/photostream
I hope this helps.
Neil

Hong Kong,
China
Oct 2011

SOME very nice shots there Neil looks like you have the hang of the new camera.
Rob.

Thanks, Neil! Looks great! All of your settings are way over my head at the moment, but hopefully I really learn to use this camera over the winter. I really like the automatic shots it's taking, so I know the custom settings can only get better.

It looks like Canon has tried to work on some of the drawbacks of the SX30 which I got last May.

I wouldn't mind having the SX40. I think my wife would kill me if I upgraded so soon...

I just did some comparisons with the Nikon P500. What surprised me was the difference in magnifications compared to the specs. I did the test twice.
The Nikon looks like 840 mm and the Canon 810 mm. What's going on?
Neil

Hong Kong,
China.
Oct 2011

Neil said:

I just did some comparisons with the Nikon P500. What surprised me was the difference in magnifications compared to the specs. I did the test twice.
The Nikon looks like 840 mm and the Canon 810 mm. What's going on?
Neil

Hong Kong,
China.
Oct 2011

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I'd guess the Canon starts out at a wider angle.

ETA. I noticed a similar things when I upgraded from the Nikon 100 to the Canon SX30. The Nikon is 26x zoom and the Canon is 35. But the Canon starts out at a wide angle and so the final amount that it can actually zoom on a bird on a limb is pretty much the same as the Nikon. I like the wider angle that the Canon provides, with less distortion than the Nikon by the way, and so it was a good trade from my point of view.

I did some more testing at the local park with the tame flamingoes and not so tame night herons. The first photo was into the digital zoom range.
Neil

Hong Kong,
China.
Oct 2011

Hi, Can any SX40hs owner tell me if you have to switch from EVF to LCD screen,or does it switch automatically when you put your eye to the view finder?

Wondering if any agrees or disagrees with these reviewers from Amazon. Mentions of blur and soft pictures...is this something only super users would notice?

3 star
Oct 2011 Amazon
Have been playing with this camera for about1 week. It takes good pictures overall but my issues are the shutter speed and the motion blur that I am experiencing even in the action mode. I have a Panasonic fx18 right now that is 4 years old and it stops motion better than this camera. Even with image stabilization on I am having sever issues with blur especially when you start to use more of the zoom. I have issues with the shutter as there is too much time between when the button to take a picture is pressed and the actual shot. I love the video and it has great features including easy to use manual settings but I can't see paying the money for something with such annoying flaws.
Oct 15
All Features are fine in it's class, just lack GPS and Raw Format,
and the overall picture results are still a little bit soft.

This 2 star review would not be an issue for me but possibly for some
The Manual setting on the new SX40 has a new childproof governor on it. The SX30 did not. Try to set the ISO at 400 for a night shot, and then spin the dial towards a 15 second shutter speed. It stops it at 1 second and drops the ISO to 100. Then a message appears on the LCD which says, "ISO speed is limited due to slow shutter speed." I verified it with the Canon Tech Dept. They also verified that the previous Canon cameras DID allow full Manual control in setting both the ISO and shutter speed, but no more.

This has halted a large portion of the sunset and night photography I have been doing of the Monterey Bay Harbor for the past 2 years. It is condescending and insulting to adults in general and to long-term Canon users in particular to presume to say to us, "We think you don't know what you are doing, you must be an errant child, and we have put a childproof governor on the SX40 so that you cannot use those manual settings anymore." Obviously if we use a Manual setting it is precisely because we do know what we are doing! Canon needs to UPGRADE its firmware to make the SX40 at least as good as the SX30, not DOWNGRADE its features to make it worse.

Maybe a stupid question........but looking at the pictures of Neil, I woult like to ask a question:
Are there pictures made with the 100-400L and SX40 and compared with each other?
Reason for the question is: I have the 100-400, but must admit that these pictures Neil made are brilliant! If I did not know, i would say they were made with some "L" lense.
I have got the 100-400L and enjoy it, but looking at these pictures I think it would be not a bad idea to sell it and get a SX40.(Photography is only a hobby for me, but i want good pictures.)
Neil, can you tell me, are these pictures of the birds(special the sparrow) made with the camera on a tri-pod?
thanks so far

Marys1000 said:

Oct 15
All Features are fine in it's class, just lack GPS and Raw Format,
and the overall picture results are still a little bit soft.

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Snipped out most of the post but would like to comment on the lack of RAW: I think that would not matter to me, because I don't think there is any superzoom with a fast enough save action to make RAW viable anyway. I have certainly always used jpg on my Pana FZ18.

Niels

Any bird images?

If anybody has any images of birds taken in the field with this camera i would love to see them:t:

Sarel said:

Maybe a stupid question........but looking at the pictures of Neil, I woult like to ask a question:
Are there pictures made with the 100-400L and SX40 and compared with each other?
Reason for the question is: I have the 100-400, but must admit that these pictures Neil made are brilliant! If I did not know, i would say they were made with some "L" lense.
I have got the 100-400L and enjoy it, but looking at these pictures I think it would be not a bad idea to sell it and get a SX40.(Photography is only a hobby for me, but i want good pictures.)
Neil, can you tell me, are these pictures of the birds(special the sparrow) made with the camera on a tri-pod?
thanks so far

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I havent used the tripod with the SX40HS. The image stabilizing is so good. I've even been shooting hd video at full zoom.

Neil said:

I havent used the tripod with the SX40HS. The image stabilizing is so good. I've even been shooting hd video at full zoom.

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I read somewhere that the SX40 boasts even better IS than the SX30. That's kind of amazing because the IS on the 30 is already so good.

crazyfingers said:

I read somewhere that the SX40 boasts even better IS than the SX30. That's kind of amazing because the IS on the 30 is already so good.

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It's is probably due to the Digic 5 processor.
Neil

Dave Hawkins said:

If anybody has any images of birds taken in the field with this camera i would love to see them:t:

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Hi Dave

There are some I have taken, all hand held, on autofocus (still getting to grips with manual), on this thread:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=213790

To be fair to the camera, I am a complete beginner when it comes to photographing birds. I am very pleased with the result so far but have lots to learn.

Cheers
Simon

sbradfield said:

Hi Dave

There are some I have taken, all hand held, on autofocus (still getting to grips with manual), on this thread:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=213790

To be fair to the camera, I am a complete beginner when it comes to photographing birds. I am very pleased with the result so far but have lots to learn.

Cheers
Simon

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Thanks Simon. I can't make my mind up betwwen the Panasonic FZ150 and the Canon. I have seen good results from the FZ150 on this thread and am sorely tempted.

However, out in the field the extra reach of the Canon will come in useful but can it still produce reasonable on screen results at the longer focal length? :smoke: