-
Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.
Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Canon SX50 Specs (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Roy C
- Start date
Whoo Hoo, did you tickle that Great Gray Owl or was it just naturally that way?
Really nice shots!
I bought the SX50 last weeek I took my first photo three days ago I am very impressed by the performance of this camera .I usually do digiscoping but with this camera is easier and faster and the results are amazing .
Last edited:
crazyfingers
Well-known member
Finally had a chance to try out my SX50 and I'm pleased with the image quality. The attached is not up to the standard of Roy C or crazyfingers but it isn't bad. You can see that the Willet has a section of fishing line looped around its head and across its bill.
BTW, the IS system must be good because this was handheld at 1/160 with the zoom at 1250mm equivalent.
Jeff
BTW, the IS system must be good because this was handheld at 1/160 with the zoom at 1250mm equivalent.
Jeff
Attachments
crazyfingers
Well-known member
Nothing wrong with that shot but that the critter turned away from the light.
I continue to be amazed at how good the IS is. There have been times when it locked onto something so hard that I have had to let the shutter button up to reframe the shot.
BirdingIsfun
Member
Attachments
Last edited:
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
Some cracking detail around the head Jeff :t: sad to see the fishing line.
Paul - Herts
Paul Herts
Cracking shots Punta - still a must see bird for me :-C
Sean
I don't have the sx50 with me but with the G1x your format should be 4:3 and raw should be switched off. I save this setting to the Function Button.
Neil
Canon sx50 sharpness issue
I have had my SX50 for a few months and can't seem to get really sharp images, even using sports mode on a tripod and with a remote shutter. Any tips? It's probably my lack of technique but in order to check camera, what is a good test photo type to check for sharpness?:t:
I have had my SX50 for a few months and can't seem to get really sharp images, even using sports mode on a tripod and with a remote shutter. Any tips? It's probably my lack of technique but in order to check camera, what is a good test photo type to check for sharpness?:t:
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
Are you switching off I.S. when using on a tripod?
MSA
I may be relaxed but I'm not drunk....
Can I also ask a silly question, perhaps - where are you looking? If on the back of the camera, you might find they appear sharper when downloaded. I've certainly found that to be the case on my dslr, and assume the SX50 would be the same - not really checked.
MKinHK
Mike Kilburn
I've just followed Don's (Condor 305) lead in buying a SX50 earlier this week and took it for a spin today with as much of the wisdom a single reading of this thread can generate dialled into to my settings and expectations. Huge thanks to all who have contributed to an invaluable primer-cum-masterclass!
Up to now I have been hand-held digiscoping with the Coolpix 4500 and 6000, and the bore of carrying a full-size scope and tripod to mostly woodland birding meant that mostly I left it at home. Had I had a camera even half-decent pix would have helped me to nail two really awkward warblers in the last year - one a probable Blyth's Reed Warbler and the other a large locustella that can can only have been Gray's (a potential HK first!) or Styan's, (which has never been seen away from Deep Bay in Hong Kong). In both cases the camera/scope was nowhere near - leaving me to struggle with a written description that has little to no chance of being accepted.
While my basic aspiration is to secure shots for uploading with my posts on the Lantau and the Magic Roundabout BF threads I do get great satisfaction from pix that surpass the "record shot" standard (NB I've never used a DSLR so have a properly humble sense of what record shot means!).
Enough of the preamble . . . this morning I was out for the first time looking for common birds to set the SX50 on around Discovery Bay. I started over-ambitiously with a Blue Whistling Thrush in deep tangled cover in a stream bed. This gave me a chance to try out fixing the central focus on the bird to get past the clutter. This definitely worked for me! Even though the shots were awful it certainly showed what's possible in conditions in which a great deal of my birding takes place.
Some Crested Mynas and Magpie Robins hoping tamely about in the open provided less of a challenge and unsurprisingly the best shots at 5-8 metres in flattish (ok, pollution-hazed) sunshine.
I then walked down to the tiny mangrove/mudflat and was delighted to pick up a Black-winged Stilt which was a first for me on Lantau Island. It stayed around long enough to let me try out the shortcut telephoto function - which worked a treat, although the shots were way too soft and wobbly to be anything more than a record - Hopefully improvement will come wth practice.
The same was true of a Slaty-breasted Rail, which eventually allowed me to nail the fuzziest of record shots as it mooched about in the gloom under the mangroves some 40 metres away. No prizes for technical excellence, but an acceptable record shot of a bird I've seen less than ten times in the last 20 years here .
While photographing the stilt I looked down to see a skink staring back up at me from a granite outcrop right at my feet. It seemed perfectly happy to be stared at so I had a few attempts and even remembered to adjust the exposure setting and substantially improved the colour.
Having a camera with the versatility to zoom in on the stilt 50 metres away and then allow me almost ten minutes with a skink less than 2 metres away without disturbing it is superb. The coolpixes required the scope for the reach and a much closer approach for the small stuff, which meant I often came up empty-handed.
I'd welcome any feedback - especially on improving the Crested Myna and skink shots.
Cheers
Mike
Up to now I have been hand-held digiscoping with the Coolpix 4500 and 6000, and the bore of carrying a full-size scope and tripod to mostly woodland birding meant that mostly I left it at home. Had I had a camera even half-decent pix would have helped me to nail two really awkward warblers in the last year - one a probable Blyth's Reed Warbler and the other a large locustella that can can only have been Gray's (a potential HK first!) or Styan's, (which has never been seen away from Deep Bay in Hong Kong). In both cases the camera/scope was nowhere near - leaving me to struggle with a written description that has little to no chance of being accepted.
While my basic aspiration is to secure shots for uploading with my posts on the Lantau and the Magic Roundabout BF threads I do get great satisfaction from pix that surpass the "record shot" standard (NB I've never used a DSLR so have a properly humble sense of what record shot means!).
Enough of the preamble . . . this morning I was out for the first time looking for common birds to set the SX50 on around Discovery Bay. I started over-ambitiously with a Blue Whistling Thrush in deep tangled cover in a stream bed. This gave me a chance to try out fixing the central focus on the bird to get past the clutter. This definitely worked for me! Even though the shots were awful it certainly showed what's possible in conditions in which a great deal of my birding takes place.
Some Crested Mynas and Magpie Robins hoping tamely about in the open provided less of a challenge and unsurprisingly the best shots at 5-8 metres in flattish (ok, pollution-hazed) sunshine.
I then walked down to the tiny mangrove/mudflat and was delighted to pick up a Black-winged Stilt which was a first for me on Lantau Island. It stayed around long enough to let me try out the shortcut telephoto function - which worked a treat, although the shots were way too soft and wobbly to be anything more than a record - Hopefully improvement will come wth practice.
The same was true of a Slaty-breasted Rail, which eventually allowed me to nail the fuzziest of record shots as it mooched about in the gloom under the mangroves some 40 metres away. No prizes for technical excellence, but an acceptable record shot of a bird I've seen less than ten times in the last 20 years here .
While photographing the stilt I looked down to see a skink staring back up at me from a granite outcrop right at my feet. It seemed perfectly happy to be stared at so I had a few attempts and even remembered to adjust the exposure setting and substantially improved the colour.
Having a camera with the versatility to zoom in on the stilt 50 metres away and then allow me almost ten minutes with a skink less than 2 metres away without disturbing it is superb. The coolpixes required the scope for the reach and a much closer approach for the small stuff, which meant I often came up empty-handed.
I'd welcome any feedback - especially on improving the Crested Myna and skink shots.
Cheers
Mike
Attachments
Paul - Herts
Paul Herts
I lived in Discovery Bay for 6 months in early '93 and was into booze and partying - regret the wasted opportunity now but I've learned a lot since then. I love the shots and am grateful to see some of what I missed
Cheers Paul
Cheers Paul
