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

Panasonic FZ150 (1 Viewer)

the FZ150 struggled enormously to focus under the tree canopy. I think the problem was the numerous distracting light sources and high contrast areas where leaves are sillhouetted against bright white sky.Thanks
Hobbes

Hi Hobbes,

Did you select the smallest focus square? I have not had this problem yet...

Sean
 
Hi Hobbes,

Did you select the smallest focus square? I have not had this problem yet...

Sean

Hi Sean
Yes, smallest focus square. It may have made a difference that I was also using it with the 1.7 teleconverter. However, the conditions were such that whatever camera I used, it was never going to be easy :t:.

Niels, I'm glad you chose the GH2 as well. I think if most of my birding was going to be under tree canopy, I'd not go for a superzoom. However, for me, the choice of FZ150 or G3 works perfectly - each tool has its place.
All the best
Hobbes
 
Here's a couple of high ISO shots I took while away on a birding trip. The robin was shot with an ISO of 2000 and the dove had an ISO of 3200. There has been no fiddling with either shot, except to make them smaller for posting on this site. I was surprised how good they looked considering the ISO.
 

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I have been looking at some of shots I took while I was away and in some the iso was up at 2000 and I couldn't really see any appreciable noise. At other times it was down around 800 and there was some noise.

Sorry scodgerott I cant quite work out whether you are referring to the G3 or the FZ150 at ISO 2000 (either way that is quite a challenge on non DSLR cameras). I am in the 'what shall I buy' position and am tempted with the bridge camera to avoid lens change issues when abroad.

Edit: Forget that I think Hobbes has just answered the question for me in the entry below
 
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Here's a couple of high ISO shots I took while away on a birding trip. The robin was shot with an ISO of 2000 and the dove had an ISO of 3200. There has been no fiddling with either shot, except to make them smaller for posting on this site. I was surprised how good they looked considering the ISO.

Cor, surprisingly good, Roger :t:! I am impressed. I haven't dared take the ISO above 400 on the FZ150 but I will have to rectify that. Thanks for posting your examples.
Hobbes
 
Firstly, yes these looks good. I think actually the dove is at least as good as iso 400 on my old FZ18.

If you should happen to feel that the dove was a little dark and tried to pull up exposure in pp, that would probably be when the problems start to occur, so in my experience, nailing the exposure is very important at high iso.

Niels
 
Here's a few more shots of birds I have seen on a recent trip to Australia's tropics.
 

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Here's a few more shots of birds I have seen on a recent trip to Australia's tropics.

You achieved some real beauties there Roger. I particularly like the Kookaburra - the way the eye shines out, pin sharp. I'd be very happy with all of these. :t:
Hobbes
 
Here's a couple of high ISO shots I took while away on a birding trip. The robin was shot with an ISO of 2000 and the dove had an ISO of 3200. There has been no fiddling with either shot, except to make them smaller for posting on this site. I was surprised how good they looked considering the ISO.

Was the robin shot taken on a tripod Scodge? I see that the shutter was 1/20th!

Sean
 
Hi Sean, I don't use a tripod. I had to be careful, as the light was low in the rainforest and I got a lot of blurred images. It was difficult to hold the camera steady, but these little robins tended to land near you and sit quite still, so I only had to concentrate on keeping the camera steady. They are very co-operative little birds.
Regards

Rodger
 
Here are some new images I took yesterday. Three robins and a fantail. The last image of the Red Capped Robin was taken with the bird about one metre away. I had taken several shots of it hopping around on the ground and then it flew straight onto the branch just near where I was standing. I had to zoom out in order to fit it into the frame. I like birds like that.
 

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What a wonderful thread this is.

As you will see from these few, very poor, bird photos in this album: Birds I am a complete beginner.

In my defence, I only use a cheap little { DON'T LAUGH! } Digital Camera ~ Samsung WB610

No doubt, I should be getting much better results than I am, |=(| but as I believed I might stand a slightly better chance with a better camera, I asked for help on another thread & thanks to some sound advice from Phil Carter, I bought a Panasonic fz150 yesterday, although I won't actually get it for a few days.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all the contributors here. :t:

Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I'll be able to post some half decent photos here myself.

Cheers,
Dick
 
What a wonderful thread this is.

As you will see from these few, very poor, bird photos in this album: Birds I am a complete beginner.

In my defence, I only use a cheap little { DON'T LAUGH! } Digital Camera ~ Samsung WB610

No doubt, I should be getting much better results than I am, |=(| but as I believed I might stand a slightly better chance with a better camera, I asked for help on another thread & thanks to some sound advice from Phil Carter, I bought a Panasonic fz150 yesterday, although I won't actually get it for a few days.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank all the contributors here. :t:

Hopefully, in the not too distant future, I'll be able to post some half decent photos here myself.

Cheers,
Dick
I think you'll find the FZ150 a MAJOR step up and it's good for close-up/macro insect and flower shots. By the way your Whitethroat is a Sedge Warbler.
 
I think you'll find the FZ150 a MAJOR step up and it's good for close-up/macro insect and flower shots. By the way your Whitethroat is a Sedge Warbler.

That's excellent news Tarsiger, as I spend a lot of time in my garden.

Quite right, of course, on that Warbler.
I had no glasses with me that day, but just double checked the song & it was the unmistakable, comical chatter of the Sedge Warbler that I heard that day.

Cheers,
Dick
 
The FZ150 is a camera I'm interested in andhave read all the comments. I want to photograph nature ,not only birds but butterflies,dragonflies and moths. Do you have any examples(or anyone on this thread) of shots of insects taken at about 2 m distance and also macro shots of insects? Would be much appreciated.
 
Hi David, While I shoot mainly birds, I do like the challenge of getting the odd bug as well. Here are 5 examples of shots taken with the FZ150. I've had to crop them a bit to make them small enough to upload onto this site, but other than that nothing has been done to them and I didn't use any extra lenses like a macro or close-up. All the shots were taken within the 1-2 metre range. There are 3 dragonfly shots, one hoverfly and another insect that is unknown to me, but was hovering long enough for me to find it in the viewfinder and focus on it. I also have lots of butterfly shots. This camera is quite versatile.
 

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I am expecting my FZ150 to arrive today & as I read through the manual, I see that I might be able to add a Lens adapter (DMW-LA5) & a Tele Conversion Lens (DMW-LT55), to get even closer to my feathered friends.

How do folks here feel about these extensions?

Are they really worth all the extra expense involved?

Cheers,
Dick
 
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