Comparing Superzooms (6 Viewers)

[gergrd]

I just read this Luminous Landscape review of the Sony HX-100V, which might give someone considering a new superzoom a few ideas. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony_hx_100v.shtml

 

[pe'rigin]

I don't think that there's an outstanding camera in either superzoom (bridge) or 4/3rd.

It's a case of 'you pays yer money and takes the choice' There's little to choose between the different models.

As Greg has shown the comparison image between the Sony and the Olympus has a lot to be desired by both standards. Pentax today has joined the race and on first impression that too looks to be of the same standard. Nikon are about launch their version soon, what hope they'll move the goalposts?

If used at close quarters and along with the price tag these bridge cameras are acceptable for what they are and produce. 4/3rd have to give more for their cost compared with the entry DSLR's.

One ray of hope Leica, they plan to launch next year a 4/3rd camera with bigger sensor, it will not be cheap but just maybe it will be a camera that has longevity and provides a light weight mirror-less camera with exceptional imagery. It may be a case of splashing the cash to get the ultimate results.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

The bird dropped by for like 30 secs only. I took like 15 secs to get the camera ready... and I took like 30 pics in burst mode... and it flew away.

The iso was on auto. My mistake... it was not a sunny day, the camera set it on iso 200, if I had more time I would lower it down to 80 to have fewer but better pics.

So it is a bit soft... and that was my fault. But notice that there is some chromatic aberration(in the cables, there is a extreme blue CA at the edges), and that is the camera fault.

Anyway... Canon sx30:

(I just cropped, fixed the contrast and reduced to fit here. Everything at max zoom range[35x])

 

[scodgerott]

Hi Ivan, These pics look pretty good to me, especially as they are at maximum zoom, where, according to all reports, the Canon (and other superzooms) show a bit of softness.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

Hi Ivan, These pics look pretty good to me, especially as they are at maximum zoom, where, according to all reports, the Canon (and other superzooms) show a bit of softness.

Thanks! Oh don´t get me wrong I like the pics too... and the bird was very funny.

But in this case the bird was not too far. So there was not a lot of atmosphere between me and the bird... it could be more sharp. Also notice that when you use the full zoom the aperture is reduced to 2.7. So the edges... specially its tails feathers seems out of focus. What is a shame, because his tail was the most beautiful.

I believe that in this case... when the bird is not too far... even a very(90%) cropped image from a standard dslr deliver far better images, or sharper images, than the superzooms.

[Ps.: just a minor question for you people that know birds. I know nothing about birds... I just find them beautiful. There he is holding himself on the cable using 2 "fingers" as opposite.... and one or two, don´t know, "finger" in the front. Wasn´t it supposed to be the other way around? But in the first pic he seems to be using 2 vs 2... wasn´t it supposed to be 3 vs 1... like our 4vs1?] Sorry for my english.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

Another minor nitpick there to notice about the continual-burst mode. I lost like most of the pics on that bird because I cut his tail out of the pic =/.
And that happened because in the very slow burst mode of canon sx30... it takes the picture... the camera black out... show you the pic... and it takes another one, but you don´t know if your center point is still in the bird....black out... another one... black out...

... to sum up you kind of lose the center of your pic without knowing it.

I don´t know if that is possible to do. But it would be far better if the LCD-viwfinder ignored the black-outs and the review... and kept the live view ignoring that you are in burst. That way you would be sure that your bird is framed right.

At 35x, handheld, I miss the correct frame position too often in continual-burst mode.

 

[njlarsen]

Ivan, I would expect you could set the time of the review of the image in the menu somewhere, including set it to 0. However, that might just mean you got a longer black out, you can test for yourself.

For dSLR cameras, the larger the sensor the smaller the DOF, so the narrower is the range that is actually going to be in focus. For your camera, the smaller the F-number, the smaller the DOF.

Niels

 

[scodgerott]

I know with the Panasonic FZ100 the camera gives you a review of the last shot after using the burst mode. You can turn it off in some cases, but the way I have my camera set up you can't get rid of that. However, it has much better burst modes that the Canon, so I don't find it a problem at all.
With regards to the toes on the bird, most birds usually have three on the front and one at the back, but there are many that have two front and two back. Your bird seems to do a bit of both. Very unusual.
By the way your English is much better than my Portugese, which is zero.

 

[micmic]

[Ps.: just a minor question for you people that know birds. I know nothing about birds... I just find them beautiful. There he is holding himself on the cable using 2 "fingers" as opposite.... and one or two, don´t know, "finger" in the front. Wasn´t it supposed to be the other way around? But in the first pic he seems to be using 2 vs 2... wasn´t it supposed to be 3 vs 1... like our 4vs1?]

There are a few birds that can bring a front toe to the back. They can be both 3-1 and 2-2, as they like

 

[pshute]

Thanks! Oh don´t get me wrong I like the pics too... and the bird was very funny.

But in this case the bird was not too far. So there was not a lot of atmosphere between me and the bird... it could be more sharp. Also notice that when you use the full zoom the aperture is reduced to 2.7. So the edges... specially its tails feathers seems out of focus. What is a shame, because his tail was the most beautiful.

I think they're pretty good too, and I've seen far worse CA. I think the SX30 is at f5.8 at full zoom, not f2.7. The first 2 are ISO 80, the second two are 200, the last one is 320.

[Ps.: just a minor question for you people that know birds. I know nothing about birds... I just find them beautiful. There he is holding himself on the cable using 2 "fingers" as opposite.... and one or two, don´t know, "finger" in the front. Wasn´t it supposed to be the other way around? But in the first pic he seems to be using 2 vs 2... wasn´t it supposed to be 3 vs 1... like our 4vs1?] Sorry for my english.

Good observation. What is that bird, anyway?

Here's an explanation of toe arrangements:
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdfeet.html

 

[pshute]

Another minor nitpick there to notice about the continual-burst mode. I lost like most of the pics on that bird because I cut his tail out of the pic =/.
And that happened because in the very slow burst mode of canon sx30... it takes the picture... the camera black out... show you the pic... and it takes another one, but you don´t know if your center point is still in the bird....black out... another one... black out...

... to sum up you kind of lose the center of your pic without knowing it.

I don´t know if that is possible to do. But it would be far better if the LCD-viwfinder ignored the black-outs and the review... and kept the live view ignoring that you are in burst. That way you would be sure that your bird is framed right.

At 35x, handheld, I miss the correct frame position too often in continual-burst mode.

You could try just shooting for a couple of seconds, then pausing to recompose, then shooting a few more seconds.

I'm sure my old Canon S3 didn't black out that badly, and it was possible to keep the composition correct. Note that even DSLRs black out a little, with the mirror swinging up and down.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

I think they're pretty good too, and I've seen far worse CA. I think the SX30 is at f5.8 at full zoom, not f2.7. The first 2 are ISO 80, the second two are 200, the last one is 320.

Yes, I got it wrong. I shot in P(variable) mode.
At min zoom its range from f2.7 to f8.0. At max zoom from f5.8 to f8.0.
Anyway it was too high as his tail often went out of focus. Specially in the 3 last pics... the tail is terribly out of focus.

Good observation. What is that bird, anyway?

(Thanks for the link on the toes!)
I got no idea what bird it is. But he is definitely using 2 toes backwards. Funny because compared to other birds.... he have very long wings and tail. It was windy, and often he was moving his wings and tail to cut through the wind.
To use a 3-1 stance makes more sense for birds that walk a lot(chicken anyone?)... or at least birds that walk forward a lot(heh). With those wings and tail... walking seems a waste^^. 2-2 really makes more sense.

You could try just shooting for a couple of seconds, then pausing to recompose, then shooting a few more seconds.

I'm sure my old Canon S3 didn't black out that badly, and it was possible to keep the composition correct. Note that even DSLRs black out a little, with the mirror swinging up and down.

I do that. But mainly because of the exposure-focus lock.

There is a burst AF mode. The camera re-focus pic after pic.... but that would make the incredibly slow burst mode even slower.

So I use the normal burst mode. And when in burst it locks the focus/iso/aperture/shutterspeed and all pics are shot with the same stats.
Since I am shotting against the sky, I usually use the center-point(small capture) to evaluate the exposure... and often that lead to miss-interpretations.

So usually I burst 5 pics... release it... another 5 pics... release it. Etc...

But anyway, I played with all the settings here and it is still too easy to miss your correct frame position in sx30 burst mode.

( by the way, I don´t know why am I calling it "burst mode". "Sequential mode" seems more coherent to its speed =P )

 

[Winterdune]

Good observation. What is that bird, anyway?

Guira Cuckoo

 

[micmic]

There are a few birds that can bring a front toe to the back. They can be both 3-1 and 2-2, as they like

And those are called semi-zygodactyls.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

I just happen to found a fake burst mode on sx30...


For everyone that has a sx30... plz help me here.

In the scene mode, one of the modes is represented by the icon of a candle. It is the fake-ISO mode, for low light shots. The images are poor.
But for some reason the burst mode works wonders there.

I understand these "scene" modes ( like "portrait", Landscape", "Beach" and etc) are nothing but the manual mode in specific settings.

But I am trying to emulate the candle mode in manual... but the burst mode don´t get that speed.

Help anyone?
(Funny that this candle mode can do high speed bursts ... while the sports-action mode can not)

Please try the burst mode in the candle... then try to emulate that speed in manual.
I tested almost all kind of settings here... no sucesss.

(Either way... if you want a real burst mode in SX30, and you want to sacrifice the quality of the image for it... use the candle mode in normal light, the bust mode becomes just amazing.)

 

[pshute]

But I am trying to emulate the candle mode in manual... but the burst mode don´t get that speed.

Have you looked at the exif values of one of the "candle mode" shots to see what all the settings were? Perhaps it also reduces the resolution, which could allow it to shoot faster.

Why would you want a fast burst mode in low light? Maybe it's to help obtain an unblurred shot by luck.

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

Have you looked at the exif values of one of the "candle mode" shots to see what all the settings were? Perhaps it also reduces the resolution, which could allow it to shoot faster.

Why would you want a fast burst mode in low light? Maybe it's to help obtain an unblurred shot by luck.

I will take a look at the .exif.

"Why would you want a fast burst mode in low light?"

It is not low-light. The mode is made for you to shot in low light. But for some reason when it is in normal light the burst mode reach like 6-8 per second.... while the normal burst reach 1 or maybe 2 shots per second.

I reduced the resolution... changed the memory card....etc...
The only way to get a fast burst mode in SX30, in depite of the hideous quality of the image, is using that candle mode.

 

[scodgerott]

New FZ superzoom launched

I was right and wrong in my prediction that a replacement for the FZ100 would be released on 21 July. I noticed that Panasonic did released a new super zoom on the 21st, but unfortunately or fortunately, it is a replacement for the FZ40/45 and not the FZ100, namely the FZ47/48. I'm not sure what Panasonic will do about the FZ100. They have a problem, in some ways its too good. I know there's a lot of room for IQ improvement, but in other ways its a fantastic camera, by the way there are people out there who are getting very good images out of this camera. With Panasonic getting good sales from their G series, too much of an improvement in the FZ100, may impact on sales of that series.