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SX40 Super Zoom (1 Viewer)

I finally bit the bullet and bought an SX40HS after a lot of research on line, including here. I love my dSLR and big lens, but not the hassle of carrying it, changing lenses etc.

Here are a few pics from my 1st day with the SX40 - All are slightly tweaked in Lightroom, with some mild cropping and selective sharpening. I have stored the following settings in the C2 setting - max optical zoom, 1.5X tele-zoom, spot metering, burst mode, flexi-focus in the metered spot. With these settings, I'm almost in digiscooping territory!

Also, I have found I can keep the camera much steadier by using the viewfinder rather than the LCD, and keeping it pressed to my forehead, while cradling the extended lens with my left hand.

Lots to learn!

Richard

Hi Richard

Glad you like the camera so far (I've owned mine a week and I am really impressed)

I've tried using the teleconverter but have found that the photos (especially backgrounds) appear a bit muddy and artificial. I think I'll only us it if I need to ID a bird.

Did you use the teleconverter on the photos you've posted please?

Thanks

Jon
 
Hi,

I think I used the TC on #s 1,2 and 4, but I'm still trying to work out if you can tell that from the Exif data.

Richard
 
Hi,

I think I used the TC on #s 1,2 and 4, but I'm still trying to work out if you can tell that from the Exif data.

Richard

Thanks Richard

Although I am still experimenting with the camera settings, so far I've found the results from using the TC fairly poor and only useful for identification shots. It's to be expected of course, as it's still using digital jiggery pokery to create the image :t:
 
Hello everyone! I just joined this forum and was delighted to find this thread and people who share my hobby of photographing birds.

I have been using a Panasonic Lumix and have been getting very good results until my very first belted kingfisher was on the OTHER side of the lake. Even using the optical zoom plus the digital zoom did not bring me close enough! That did it. I bought the SX40HS for the 35x zoom and starting shooting away on AUTO. (So, you can see I am a complete beginner!!)

My friend, who is a superb DSLR photographer, told me I really should be using the other features of the camera, as well as the zoom. She urged me to use aperture priority mode AV and set a wide aperture (small number) in order to get a fast shutter speed. That seems to be working well. The birds are sharp and the background is blurred.

Here's where I get into big trouble - focusing. Even though I'm sure the focusing frame is on the bird (for small birds in trees), I think the camera is not sure what to focus on as it sometimes goes in and out of focusing and doesn't get it right. Then I just read about Tracking AF, and this seems to be a good choice because if the bird hops to another branch, it will stay in focus. I will try this feature next weekend.

Then I read about something called Servo AF that I don't understand at all. The Canon manual online tells you how to set it, but it really doesn't explain what it does or when to use it. Can anyone tell me what this is?

I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me about the various focusing options.
Thank you!
 
Here's where I get into big trouble - focusing. Even though I'm sure the focusing frame is on the bird (for small birds in trees), I think the camera is not sure what to focus on as it sometimes goes in and out of focusing and doesn't get it right. Then I just read about Tracking AF, and this seems to be a good choice because if the bird hops to another branch, it will stay in focus. I will try this feature next weekend.

Then I read about something called Servo AF that I don't understand at all. The Canon manual online tells you how to set it, but it really doesn't explain what it does or when to use it. Can anyone tell me what this is?

I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me about the various focusing options.
Thank you!

Autofocus can be tricky when looking through a bush, though better than trying to fuss with manual focus.

When doing wildlife I generally just set the AF locked on the meter spot which is locked in the center.

Here's a flicker in a snap shot on the way to the bus stop with my boy this morning. Bad lightening. But the SX40 did a good job ignoring the twigs in front.
 

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I finally bit the bullet and bought an SX40HS after a lot of research on line, including here. I love my dSLR and big lens, but not the hassle of carrying it, changing lenses etc.

Here are a few pics from my 1st day with the SX40 - All are slightly tweaked in Lightroom, with some mild cropping and selective sharpening. I have stored the following settings in the C2 setting - max optical zoom, 1.5X tele-zoom, spot metering, burst mode, flexi-focus in the metered spot. With these settings, I'm almost in digiscooping territory!

Also, I have found I can keep the camera much steadier by using the viewfinder rather than the LCD, and keeping it pressed to my forehead, while cradling the extended lens with my left hand.

Lots to learn!

Richard

Nice shots and very clear, how far away is the subject and at what zoom? thanks as i am thinking of getting one.
 
Hello everyone! I just joined this forum and was delighted to find this thread and people who share my hobby of photographing birds.

I have been using a Panasonic Lumix and have been getting very good results until my very first belted kingfisher was on the OTHER side of the lake. Even using the optical zoom plus the digital zoom did not bring me close enough! That did it. I bought the SX40HS for the 35x zoom and starting shooting away on AUTO. (So, you can see I am a complete beginner!!)

My friend, who is a superb DSLR photographer, told me I really should be using the other features of the camera, as well as the zoom. She urged me to use aperture priority mode AV and set a wide aperture (small number) in order to get a fast shutter speed. That seems to be working well. The birds are sharp and the background is blurred.

Here's where I get into big trouble - focusing. Even though I'm sure the focusing frame is on the bird (for small birds in trees), I think the camera is not sure what to focus on as it sometimes goes in and out of focusing and doesn't get it right. Then I just read about Tracking AF, and this seems to be a good choice because if the bird hops to another branch, it will stay in focus. I will try this feature next weekend.

Then I read about something called Servo AF that I don't understand at all. The Canon manual online tells you how to set it, but it really doesn't explain what it does or when to use it. Can anyone tell me what this is?

I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me about the various focusing options.
Thank you!

Hi, and welcome to BirdForum. Servo AF is a term that Canon started using with their DSLR cameras and is Canon's term for continuous focus. In this mode, if you point your camera at a tree trunk and then half-press the shutter button - it will focus on the tree trunk. If you keep the shutter button half-pressed and then pan up to branches on the tree, the focus point will change. This mode is good for following a bird moving from branch to branch or for flying birds (if the camera has fast enough focusing). Tracking AF is similar, but in this mode, your half-press locks on to a subject (like a dog or an athlete) and as the subject moves, the focus point adjusts with the subject. Servo AF is good for moving subjects, but single shot AF (the default) is normally better for stationary subjects. (Subject) Tracking AF is not provided on Canon DSLR's, so I'm not sure if it generally works well for birds.
 
Hi, and welcome to BirdForum. Servo AF is a term that Canon started using with their DSLR cameras and is Canon's term for continuous focus. In this mode, if you point your camera at a tree trunk and then half-press the shutter button - it will focus on the tree trunk. If you keep the shutter button half-pressed and then pan up to branches on the tree, the focus point will change. This mode is good for following a bird moving from branch to branch or for flying birds (if the camera has fast enough focusing). Tracking AF is similar, but in this mode, your half-press locks on to a subject (like a dog or an athlete) and as the subject moves, the focus point adjusts with the subject. Servo AF is good for moving subjects, but single shot AF (the default) is normally better for stationary subjects. (Subject) Tracking AF is not provided on Canon DSLR's, so I'm not sure if it generally works well for birds.

This is the kind of stuff that I wish Canon (and other vendors) would put more thought into in their manuals. They are not good at explaining what a setting actually does and are even worse at explaining when is a good time to use it.

The reverse is even more true. They would get a lot of fans if they would talk about different kinds of photography situations (Birds in a bush, a tree, kids sports events, sunsets, I could probably think of others) and talk about the recommended settings for each.

But they don't.
 
Just thought i'd bang up a few pix from my fairly recently purchased SX40...

Must admit that i find it very versatile camera and it is now my constant companion in the field...hanging just below my binoculars...!

Haven't really got into the various functions yet....too busy having fun with it on auto....[yes...i know i'm lazy]...;)

http://username-beast.blogspot.co.uk/
 

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Hey crazyfingers nice shot , i noticed youve got some vignetting around the tree branches etc , ive been reading about this problem apparently you can get a filter to stop this happening .
 
Mine doesn't. Annoyingly the display button needs to be pressed twice to cycle between EVF/LCD, so as I mainly use the EVF I leave the screen closed.

Unless there's an automatic setting that I haven't found?

Mine switches to the LCD when I open it up. It switches back to the EVF when I shut the LCD. Seems a sensible way to do it. I can force the EVF on when I have the LCD open but I don't know why I'd want to.
 
Yes, that's how mine is set. I think the question was whether there is a sensor that automatically switches from LCD to EVF and unfortunately not.
 
The only time I use the LCD is when I'm messing with settings in the menus.

Yes me too , and im having great fun putting the camera through its paces , using as many settings as i can for their results , the zoom is out of this world and no vignetting at full zoom unlike the earlier S2 is which ive had for 5 years and the zoom on that was a third of the SX40 , including the digital X4 .
 
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