I am looking to upgrade from canon sx 50 which I currently use for record shots of birds and was hoping for some info on what I could get for about £700-£1000 . The sx50 is a good camera but can sometimes struggle in poor light I was looking to try a dslr if there are any available which I could achieve better quality bird pictures for my budget or would I be better sticking with superzooms any help would be appreciated
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Bridge or dslr (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DNJ
- Start date
ChrisKten
It's true, I quite like Pigeons
Although you'll get faster AF and shot to shot time, and better noise handling at high ISO, you'll also get a lot more weight with a DSLR and lens.
For example; the 50d and 400mm f5.6 mentioned above weighs nearly 2kg, that nearly 4x the weight of your SX50. So add that to the cons column for DSLRs. Unless you'll be sitting in a hide all day, and it's not a long walk to get there
If you fill the frame with your SX50, then you're already getting good image quality. If your subjects are far away and small in the frame, then you can't guarantee you'll do better with a DSLR with such heavy cropping. (There's a recent example here somewhere of a heavy crop with a Canon 7d; the bird was too small in the frame to get much detail, and there was noise replacing what little detail there was).
Another small matter is the viewfinder; you're used to seeing changes to your settings reflected in the EVF of the SX50, it's more or less WYSIWYG, but you won't get that with an optical viewfinder of a DSLR. You can use Live view, but then you'll lose the PDAF and have Contrast Detect AF instead, so you'll lose one of the speed advantages of a DSLR. (You can get a Sony DSLT; they have an EVF that's much bigger and clearer than what you're used to)
So it depends really, I'd wait and see what others say.
(I've just changed from years of Bridge Cameras to a Sony DSLT, but I'm still deciding if I made the right choice, as the new Panasonic FZ1000 was always in the back of my mind)
For example; the 50d and 400mm f5.6 mentioned above weighs nearly 2kg, that nearly 4x the weight of your SX50. So add that to the cons column for DSLRs. Unless you'll be sitting in a hide all day, and it's not a long walk to get there
If you fill the frame with your SX50, then you're already getting good image quality. If your subjects are far away and small in the frame, then you can't guarantee you'll do better with a DSLR with such heavy cropping. (There's a recent example here somewhere of a heavy crop with a Canon 7d; the bird was too small in the frame to get much detail, and there was noise replacing what little detail there was).
Another small matter is the viewfinder; you're used to seeing changes to your settings reflected in the EVF of the SX50, it's more or less WYSIWYG, but you won't get that with an optical viewfinder of a DSLR. You can use Live view, but then you'll lose the PDAF and have Contrast Detect AF instead, so you'll lose one of the speed advantages of a DSLR. (You can get a Sony DSLT; they have an EVF that's much bigger and clearer than what you're used to)
So it depends really, I'd wait and see what others say.
(I've just changed from years of Bridge Cameras to a Sony DSLT, but I'm still deciding if I made the right choice, as the new Panasonic FZ1000 was always in the back of my mind)
Hobbes2
Well-known member
HantaYo
Well-known member
I'll PM you, Hobbes, as I'll be advertising the place that gave me a good deal
Please PM me as well on the Sony you went with. Seems like the lens are pretty limited for bird photography currently with the greatest zoom of 300mm.
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scodgerott
Well-known member
kitefarrago
Well-known member
I'm not sure where you get that informaton from. There's a highly rated 70-400, and for the price of a small car you can have a 500 f4 prime. The new Tamron 150-600 is available for the Sony mount.
Andrea
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
A second hand 400/5.6 + a cheap(ish) used DSLR is quite a good option IMO. You will not get the 'reach' you have with the SX50 but the IQ will be better and with a lens like the 400/5.6 you can sometimes crop very heavily and still get reasonable web size images.
Attached images show the crop-ability with the 400/5.6, first shot shows the full frame and then the very heavy crops. BTW both these shots were taken with a 40D Camera which can still be found for less than £200 used.
P.S. not sure what the cropped field of view would be in these two shots but I would think in excess of 2000mm.
Attached images show the crop-ability with the 400/5.6, first shot shows the full frame and then the very heavy crops. BTW both these shots were taken with a 40D Camera which can still be found for less than £200 used.
P.S. not sure what the cropped field of view would be in these two shots but I would think in excess of 2000mm.
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rosbifs
PutAin STOP
i am a bridge camera fan - love the weight and the zoom ability but find i missed too many birds. in frustration i moved to dslr (canon d60) this april. the quality of the shots is much better even though i haven't splashed out on a quality lens yet - i use a tamron 70-300 zoom most of the time. the biggest difference is 'snap' shots and flight shots - both of which i couldn't get with a bridge.
i got the whole package for 550e. i was persuaded to buy canon because i have an old sigma 500mm lens. i don't use it very much because it only works wide open and in AP mode - its not very sharp. the tamron lens is suffice for most birds.
i am looking for a 5.6 400mm canon lens...
i got the whole package for 550e. i was persuaded to buy canon because i have an old sigma 500mm lens. i don't use it very much because it only works wide open and in AP mode - its not very sharp. the tamron lens is suffice for most birds.
i am looking for a 5.6 400mm canon lens...
HantaYo
Well-known member
I was referencing E-Mount full frame lens of which there are only a handful of lens available. APS-C E-Mount lens are a option and would give you a 1.5 crop factor on the full frame (good for bird photography but bad if you are wanting a wide landscape). "A mount" lens are available as well with an adapter, such as the Tamron 150-600; but at 5lb w/adapter its like attaching a brick to your mirrorless feather weight camera.
kitefarrago
Well-known member
I was assuming that we are discussing DSLRs - the E-mount mirrorless cameras are not considered in that category by most people I know. I think they fit into the four-thirds forum on this site.
I'm sorry for the confusion - I was assuming you are talking about Sony A-mount cameras.
Andrea
I changed from a Panasonic FZ35 bridge to a Canon 7d+400mm
Quality wise there is no comparison, if you are really serious about your photography then DSLR is the way to go
But and this is a big but for me..
I miss having a camera that does everything all in one package. I'm seriously considering selling up and getting the best bridge on the market.
You've just got to weigh up what is important to you.
Quality wise there is no comparison, if you are really serious about your photography then DSLR is the way to go
But and this is a big but for me..
I miss having a camera that does everything all in one package. I'm seriously considering selling up and getting the best bridge on the market.
You've just got to weigh up what is important to you.
Now there's the thing,What do you consider the best bridge camera on the market? Or are you talking about seeing what becomes available bridge wise.
I have no idea sorry!
I just meant that if I stepped down from DSLR I would buy the best whatever that is at the time...
Zackiedawg
Well-known member
The E-mount cameras are not in the M4:3 forum or category, in that they use APS-C sensors rather than M4:3 sensors...however, you're correct too that they would not be considered DSLRs and since the O.P. (of this topic) mentioned that they bought an SLT Sony model, that would be an A-mount camera.
In E-mount, there is currently only a maximum telephoto lens in native mount of up to 210mm, with a 240mm zoom coming next year. With teleextenders, the reach can be extended by 1.7x, for a maximum equivalent of 535mm on E-mount.
In A-mount, there are plenty of long-lens options, some of which you already mentioned: Tamron 150-600, upcoming Sigma 150-600, Sony 70-400, Sony 500mm F4, as well as older Sigma 50-500, 150-500, 170-500, Tamron 200-500, Minolta 300mm F2.8, 300mm F4, 400mm F4.5, and 600mm F4...plus a few more I'm not naming - and any combination of 1.4 and 2x teleconverters, both matched and third-party.
I shoot with both an E-mount camera and an A-mount camera for birding, so I'm quite familiar with both. For my Alpha DSLR, I currently have the Minolta 300mm F4 plus a 1.4x TC, and the Tamron 150-600mm. For my A6000 e-mount camera, I have the 55-210mm lens plus 1.7x teleextender.
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