Which Superzoom? (1 Viewer)

ClarkWGriswold · Apr 30, 2013

www.procamerashop.co.uk has a good price at the moment Punta. Paul over on the sx50 thread recommended them.

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · Apr 30, 2013

Anyone used Camera Paradise. Price appears too good to be true - £212

Rich

Edit appears to deliver to Aus only

TKRob · Apr 30, 2013

Hi

I've been studying the forums for some time with a view to replacing my Panasonic FZ38 + Tcon 17 Bridge camera.

I've finally decided on the Canon SX50 based on its 50X zoom and its (relatively) low price.

Another factor was its ability to use existing Canon bits and pieces which I already own for my Canon DSLRs (350D and 650D. Sorry, Canon, do not want to splash out on mega expensive, DSLR, long FL lenses).

It seems the SX50 can use the RS60-E3 remote, 430EX II flash and Hahnel Combi TF wireless remote control.

In the pros and cons listed in the various forums I have not seen mention of this positive attribute of the SX50 to use accessories not specifically designed for the camera.

I am awaiting delivery

ClarkWGriswold · May 2, 2013

Well I've just placed an order via www.procamerashop.co.uk. Thanks for the PM Though Roy. I decided against the gamble. I'll post what the service is like to assist others in the same position.

When comparing the current crop of Superzooms I found it difficult to conclude anything other than the SX50 would best meet my needs. Hopefully it will arrive before May 13th when we head up to Sutherland for 2 nights.

This is my first decent (no laughing DSLR owners

) camera so please be gentle with any comments on the first pics:-O. The SX50 thread is excellent but I doubt if I'll have time to trawl through to get the recommended settings so it'll be straight out of the box. I have an aversion to manuals which probably isn't going to help:king:

Feel free to alter any images that I may post. My ancestors campaigned in the crusades to enable me to make that comment

Diolch n Fawr,

Rich

TKRob · May 2, 2013

As posted by Rich

"Well I've just placed an order via www.procamerashop.co.uk. Thanks for the PM Though Roy. I decided against the gamble. I'll post what the service is like to assist others in the same position."

Hi All
I ordered mine from procamerashop last Sunday evening. It arrived yesterday - Wednesday. No problems.

The camera seems to working fine. Quite superior to my FZ38 + Tcon17 and without even reading the manual.

A few shots from the first attempt at using the camera. The first is a wide angle view. In the centre of the shot a bird can just be seen on top of the utility pole. Next photo shows the bird at 100X - a Kestrel!

The next three shots were taken through a double glazed window at 50X.

All photos are as out of camera jpg, just resized for posting

Cheers, TomR

ClarkWGriswold · May 2, 2013

Nice shots for your first go Tom. I'd be happy with those:t:

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 8, 2013

Well the camera arrived today and is charging as we speak. Pretty good service from www.procamerashop.co.uk considering I ordered it late last Thursday evening and we had a bank holiday inbetween.:t:

First impressions are that from memory it doesn't feel quite as sturdy as my mates HS30 and the strap is bloody fiddly to attach.

Hopefully I can nip to the shop and get a memory card when the wife comes from work and the battery will be charged by then as well.

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 11, 2013

Couldn't get out due to weather so took a photo of my companion for tomorrow's walk. The camera appears a doddle to use though I'm struggling to suss out how to save my custom settings to C1 and C2:-C The camera casing also appears quite easy to scratch.

Do I resort to the manual?:-C No chance:-O

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 11, 2013

The weather then eased and here is the now obilgatory zoom demo:king: Hopefully this works:t:

All three taken looking across the field next to the house. Pic 1 No zoom. Pic 2 x50 and pic 3 with max digital zoom I think!!

Incidentally we had quite a few Redwings in the field this winter so hopefully I'll be able to get some shots in 7 months or so.

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 11, 2013

And finally I managed to get some picture of actual birds whilst visiting my parents this afternoon. These are straight out of the camera with no messing about with and taken through double glazing.

For the benefit of some of the optics boys (and girls) they are both Blackbirds

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 17, 2013

Just to emphasise that this is all new to me. My previous camera was a little Sony point and shoot (something I was very happy with incidentally). I'm beginning to see how easy it would be to get into this big time - given the time and resources. Unfortunately I have little of the former and none of the latter:-O

Below are some pics I took today and yesterday. The light was ok and I've applied some pp but to be honest I haven't really got a clue what I'm doing here. I've downloaded a free version of Zoner Photo Studio and it seems ok but again, I have no experience of using such software. The Egret was quite some distance away and I was struggling to steady the camera on the Bully with that focal length? Chaffy was taken at Dinas reserve and the others at Penclacwydd.

Any constructive criticism much appreciated.

Rich

Roy C · May 18, 2013

ClarkWGriswold said:
Any constructive criticism much appreciated.

Rich

Hi Rich, here is my constructive criticism for what it is worth.

The Chaffy has some nice detail but the focus looks to be on the tail and not the head - always try to lay the focus point on the head/eye of the bird, if the head is not sharp then the image will rarely look good. A looser crop with more room on the right for the bird to look into would help a lot with the composition.

Apart from being noisy and soft The Egret shot is overexposed which has resulted in the white being 'blown' - thus no feather detail. With white birds, especially in the sun light, you will need to dial-in some minus exposure compensation to prevent this.

The Duck pic is the best IMO although it is slightly overexposed on the whites. A looser crop giving more room on the left for the bird to look in to would help the look of the image a lot.

The Bully shot is both extremely noisy and soft.

As a general rule do not be obsessed with filling the frame with the bird as this rarely makes for a nice image - showing some of the habitat and giving the bird room to look into helps a lot to give a pleasing image. Always placing the bird dead centre in the image rarely works well.
Just because the Camera gives up to 2400mm (digital) reach does not mean that you should always use that. Far better to get near enough to allow you to use just optical focal length if you can, IQ will be a lot better.

Hope this helps

ClarkWGriswold · May 18, 2013

That's brilliant. Thanks Roy. The Bully looked a lot better on the back of the camera:-O

I'm hoping to go for a walk around Cwm Cadlan this morning so will try to get some more practice in.

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 18, 2013

Here's a top tip - don't forget to take your memory card out of the laptop before going to somewhere like ....... lets say Cwm Cadlan.:-C

Rich

scary-canary · May 18, 2013

ClarkWGriswold said:
Here's a top tip - don't forget to take your memory card out of the laptop before going to somewhere like ....... lets say Cwm Cadlan.:-C

Rich

You're not the first to do that! :-O

draycotebirding · May 18, 2013

ClarkWGriswold said:
Here's a top tip - don't forget to take your memory card out of the laptop before going to somewhere like ....... lets say Cwm Cadlan.:-C

Rich

Another top tip, have more than one memory card in your bag (and a spare battery)

John

ClarkWGriswold · May 18, 2013

draycotebirding said:
Another top tip, have more than one memory card in your bag (and a spare battery)

John

I quite quickly came to that conclusion John:-O

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 22, 2013

Didn't get a chance to dial in negative exposure compensation - hard to keep an eye on your two year old, scan for Beardies and take a photo

- but taking on board Roy's advice hopefully the crop of this Tuftie is better.

Rich

ClarkWGriswold · May 23, 2013

Another cracking feature of these little superzooms is to aid in confirming (or not) ID's in the field. On a recent visit to Newport Wetlands Centre I was told that the Little Owls were not around that day. It's a great place to visit but I was still a little disappointed. I thought I'd have a scan a little further down the track anyway and bingo!. Down the bank and across the field through the leaves and branches I could see what I thought was the shape of a little owl. The more I looked however the more I began to doubt. The 8x's were pressed harder into my eye sockets but still I wasn't happy. In desperation I took a couple of random photos with the hope of confirmation at home. The results are belowB

Original on left and cropped, lightened etc. on the right.

I happened to be using an SX50 but I guess they all could be used for this purpose.

Rich

RichC · Jun 1, 2013

Atttn Roy C and Clark W Griswold

I am just at the point of pondering a replacement for my old Panny FZ18 and really am drawn to the Cannon (especially as my SLR and DSLR + equip are all Canon, I have an affinity with them). Wondering if either of you got the cash-back? If so, esp. Roy C, would you divulge the source of your purchase?
I have read the thread twice and cannot find if you added the shop info.

Many thanks and enjoying all the images posted.
Best wishes
RichC

Which Superzoom? (1 Viewer)

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