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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Canon SX60HS in Action (3 Viewers)

I was recommended this for long-range photos over digiscoping. I'm looking to reach out to 200-300m, 400m+ would be nice.

By this, I mean can I fill the frame with a bird that is 200+ meters away from me? Can anyone provide examples?

Also, does the camera have a burst mode (5+ photos in rapid succession)?

How does it handle highlights (such as the subtle tones of white on birds like white-tailed kites)?

Does it have features common to old prosumer cameras, MFT, and DSLRs like choosing focus area, focus modes, choosing metering modes, etc.?

How is it at focusing on a moving target (such as trying to catch a bird in flight while moving/tracking the bird)?

Thanks in advance!
 
Nice work Neil, really excited about receiving mine - ordered it from Hong Kong on the 19th and it was delivered on the 22nd! Unfortunately I was out so it'll be here tomorrow.

Paid £359 local guarantee too. Can't wait to fire it up :)
Marcobf - did you have to pay any customs duties or was the £359 all in? Cheers
 
As an SX50 owner, I'm very interested in hearing whether the SX60 is better than the SX50 for still photos.

- is the extra zoom reach (cf. the SX50) noticeable/useful?
- how does AF compare with the SX50?
- how does noise and IQ compare?
- is the EVF noticeably better?
- any improvements in ergonomics etc?
- how does the IS compare? (some suggestions that IS is better on the SX50)

cheers,
Nick
 
Nice work Neil, really excited about receiving mine - ordered it from Hong Kong on the 19th and it was delivered on the 22nd! Unfortunately I was out so it'll be here tomorrow.

Paid £359 local guarantee too. Can't wait to fire it up :)


How are you getting on with the SX60 now that you have had it for a few days?

Can anyone tell me the risks involved in buying what I assume is a grey import (as places like Park Cameras are not selling it yet)?

Thanks
 
I'm still getting to grips with the digital zoom functions of the sx60. I should have read the manual.
In Standard Digital Zoom mode the digital zoom kicks in at the end of the optical zoom range. In 1.6x or 2x digital zoom modes the teleconverter effects the whole range - so 2x switched on means the the lens becomes a 42 - 2670 mm lens. Impressive range.
In this video only optical zoom was used -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7892550@N03/15357653512/
The photo of the kingfisher shows the digital zoom (2x) in action with the equivalent of 1600 mm.
Neil
ps both are full frame
 

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Hi Neil,

Was the close-up of the kingfisher handheld, resting on a fixed support, monopod or tripod pse? For a digital zoom it's a very sharp picture - any post photo processing at all? Presume IS was on?

Cheers
 
Hi Neil,

Was the close-up of the kingfisher handheld, resting on a fixed support, monopod or tripod pse? For a digital zoom it's a very sharp picture - any post photo processing at all? Presume IS was on?

Cheers

It was on a mini Manfrotto tripod on the window ledge of the hide. IS was off. 90% of my videos are shot this way.
Neil
 
In Standard Digital Zoom mode the digital zoom kicks in at the end of the optical zoom range. In 1.6x or 2x digital zoom modes the teleconverter effects the whole range - so 2x switched on means the the lens becomes a 42 - 2670 mm lens.
This is only the second real-life example I've seen of the digital zoom for this camera and I have to say, it's impressive. Also the second time I've read birders, even people used to using DSLRs, actually consider the digital zoom part of the real-use range of the camera and not even flinch at having it turned on.

There was a time when "digital zoom" meant "grasping at straws" and what amounted to basic pixel-doubling. I have to wonder what technology Canon is using to pull this off. Fractal-based processing comes to mind.

Very nice.
 
This is only the second real-life example I've seen of the digital zoom for this camera and I have to say, it's impressive. Also the second time I've read birders, even people used to using DSLRs, actually consider the digital zoom part of the real-use range of the camera and not even flinch at having it turned on.

There was a time when "digital zoom" meant "grasping at straws" and what amounted to basic pixel-doubling. I have to wonder what technology Canon is using to pull this off. Fractal-based processing comes to mind.

Very nice.

Yes, Canon does a good job but I don't understand how they do it either.
Neil.
 
Hi Neil, have you attempted any birds in flight shots with the Camera? wondering if the focus is fast enough as when I had the SX50 I found it too slow(for me at least).
 
Neil did you have an SX50, are you able to comment on how the SX60 betters the SX50?

I did have the 50 but lost it. I still have the 40. Bob has been getting the most use out of the 50.
EVF is better , extra reach is a marginal advantage, wider at 21 mm is a nice advantage, IS doesn't seem as good but that may be due to the longer zoom,50/60p HD video is nice to have and the main reason I got it as I'll be mostly shooting video and timelapse with it (the 21 mm is very good for timelapse).
I will be shooting with it a lot in California next week in better light than we have here at the moment ( pollution index over 200 ). I'll even be trying it on hummingbirds.
Neil.
 
This is why I like the 21 mm at the wide end.
Neil.
 

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Some more with the SX60 out on the mudflats on Thursday.
Neil
 

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Hi - sorry I haven't been able to reply, I've had no broadband because of technical issues and only get about 30-60 mins a day in little chunks. Engineer coming next week.

Anyhow, I can't compare the SX60 to the SX50, having only owned the former. I was teetering on the edge of buying the SX50 for quite a while, but hung on for it's successor. What I love is that I actually have a camera with this range - an egret landed about 60m away in the field in front of our house and I just grabbed the camera took 20-odd shots (on auto, unfortunately) and it was gone. I haven't processed them yet, but the point for me is I wouldn't have had anything at all to process a week ago.

On Amazon the SX50 is £300 - I can't see the point in buying 2-year old tech for £60 - £100 less unless you're really hard up. Canon haven't been sitting on their hands for 2 years. I spend far too long reading reviews and specs and not enough taking pictures and am personally glad I jumped in. Some grey imports, like mine from DigitalRev have locally warranty. IMHO and YMMV

I'll put up some pics as soon as I can, and try and answer questions, but I'm not the most experienced (read able) photographer so I don't think I'll be much help to anyone.

If you're thinking of getting one - just do it
 

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