RichardHoeg
Boreal Forest Birder
I am the person who has posted the review and photographs on my blog for the Canon SX70. Given that thread is a bit old, I needed to start a new thread.
While my review was quite positive about the camera, I had noted difficulties in low light situations. Thus, I wanted to show how the camera failed me this morning. Since February 8th of this year I have had the great privilege to watch a family of Great Horned Owls which nested in the Boreal Forest near my home in northern Minnesota. I originally found the nesting location last January by hiking many times long after sunset in the dark through knee deep snow and triangulating the parent's "love hooting".
This morning I had fun watching one of the triplets hunt in the deep forest. The time was about 9 am, or about 4 hours after sunrise. I have learned that the juveniles come awake for a brief hunt around 9 am before sleeping for the rest of the day. Thus, I found one of the owlets ... now almost full sized ... hunting in "deep shade". The sun was high in the sky, but basically behind me at an angle.
For my "high quality" photographs which counted on the owl being quite motionless, I used the following settings: ISO 100, Exposure 1/100th of a second, Aperture 5.6. The owl then telegraphed to me that it was likely to move in the near future. I changed my settings to the following: ISO 1,000, !/800th of a second, and an Aperture of 5.6.
I will attach two photographs .... a still image and one of the failed flight shots. With the heavy shade I was not able to achieve proper focus in combination with a fast shutter speed and low ISO.
I still very much like this camera. To reach my owls I have to hike off trail which involves high stepping over deadfall, etc. It would not be practical to bring an expensive DSLR camera and long lens into the wilderness unless I put the equipment in a backpack. However, if my equipment was in a backpack, my camera would quite often not be ready for taking photographs. I move around quite a bit. Finally, I use a lightweight monopod (very basic) with my SX70. The camera is very stabilized for all images.
You can view more of my six months with the owls by following this link ... please note the link points you to an area named / tagged Amity. Not all my photographs in this region are of the owls!
https://www.365daysofbirds.com/tag/amity/
Here is the full review I posted in December 2018 which is titled Snowy Owls and Spruce Grouse. (link to my review)
Attachments to this forum require the image quality to be reduced to 1600 pixels and a corresponding file size limit, but the two images have had the identical change processed upon them (1,600 pixel limit)
While my review was quite positive about the camera, I had noted difficulties in low light situations. Thus, I wanted to show how the camera failed me this morning. Since February 8th of this year I have had the great privilege to watch a family of Great Horned Owls which nested in the Boreal Forest near my home in northern Minnesota. I originally found the nesting location last January by hiking many times long after sunset in the dark through knee deep snow and triangulating the parent's "love hooting".
This morning I had fun watching one of the triplets hunt in the deep forest. The time was about 9 am, or about 4 hours after sunrise. I have learned that the juveniles come awake for a brief hunt around 9 am before sleeping for the rest of the day. Thus, I found one of the owlets ... now almost full sized ... hunting in "deep shade". The sun was high in the sky, but basically behind me at an angle.
For my "high quality" photographs which counted on the owl being quite motionless, I used the following settings: ISO 100, Exposure 1/100th of a second, Aperture 5.6. The owl then telegraphed to me that it was likely to move in the near future. I changed my settings to the following: ISO 1,000, !/800th of a second, and an Aperture of 5.6.
I will attach two photographs .... a still image and one of the failed flight shots. With the heavy shade I was not able to achieve proper focus in combination with a fast shutter speed and low ISO.
I still very much like this camera. To reach my owls I have to hike off trail which involves high stepping over deadfall, etc. It would not be practical to bring an expensive DSLR camera and long lens into the wilderness unless I put the equipment in a backpack. However, if my equipment was in a backpack, my camera would quite often not be ready for taking photographs. I move around quite a bit. Finally, I use a lightweight monopod (very basic) with my SX70. The camera is very stabilized for all images.
You can view more of my six months with the owls by following this link ... please note the link points you to an area named / tagged Amity. Not all my photographs in this region are of the owls!
https://www.365daysofbirds.com/tag/amity/
Here is the full review I posted in December 2018 which is titled Snowy Owls and Spruce Grouse. (link to my review)
Attachments to this forum require the image quality to be reduced to 1600 pixels and a corresponding file size limit, but the two images have had the identical change processed upon them (1,600 pixel limit)
