Bird Photography (1 Viewer)

Hi I'm Amy and I am a new member (joined today)

at the moment my money is limited to what I can get from babysitting!
So I have a pretty basic digital camera it is a Technika sh-a366.
It's OK when you look at the pictures on the camera but when you upload them onto the computer they are quite bad quality.

The camera does have a good zoom but it makes the quality of the photo worse in the end.

A friend gave me his spotting scope and I was thinking about digiscoping, but then I think maybe I should just save up for a really good camera!

what is the best camera for GOOD quality and zoom? (if you're on a tight budget!)

here are some examples of my photography at the moment;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54493324@N02/5237244589/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54493324@N02/5237244479/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54493324@N02/5239047258/

Hi Andy, welcome to Birdforum!

Look for Superzoom in the title of threads in this part of BF. Thereafter look at the HS10 threads in the Fuji sub forum, for all the FZ threads (FZ18, 28, 35/38, 40/45, 100) in the Panasonic sub forum, and for SX30 in the Canon sub forum.

Niels

In 99% of cases with camera's you get what you pay for, so you are best saving up as much as you can and looking at a 2nd hand DSLR.

I think all you need is a little post-processing. I had a play with 2 of you flickr shots, but they seem a little over compressed.

Stuart.

Thanks for your comments.
XScode thank you for processing the images!
the robin's breast seemed too pale and I just didn't know how to fix it. (you have though!)
thanks.

If you're on a budget, one cheaper option that could give you better results for little money is to pick up a used superzoom. They really haven't come all that far, and some of the decent superzooms of 3-5 years ago still had plenty of resolution, very good lenses, and nice zoom range. These can often be found at some used camera stores online for under $200, sometimes under $100. Not all superzooms are identically good, but there were some well-received standouts that performed very well and had good followings - many are still in use today - check out Canon's S1 IS through S3 IS; Panasonic's FZ7, FZ8, FZ20, and FZ30; and Sony's DSC-H1, DSC-H2, and DSC-H5. All of these are 5-8MP, with very good lenses, great detail and resolution, and all are solid birding superzooms that can make lovely medium to large prints. DSLRs are certainly better with their speed, flexibility, and high ISO ability, but are a much bigger investment even used. For very little money, you can get better results than your current camera, and the older superzooms can perform about the same if not better than the newer ones. Also, most of these had teleconverters available for them that could extend their range by 1.7x additional - these screw on the end of the lens, cause no loss of light, and some were still of very good optical quality.

I shot for a few years with superzooms before moving to DSLRs - mine was a Sony H5, which I also paired with a Sony 1758 1.7x teleextender for up to 720mm of reach optically...the results were quite good and got me hooked on birding. That camera can still perform today as well as most of the newer superzooms can, despite their greater optical range and higher resolution...because the lens was good and the sensor was well tuned to pair with it with just the right amount of resolution (7mp). Here's a collection of some of my bird/wildlife photos from years ago with this cam:
http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/h5wakodahatchee&page=all

The Panasonic FZ, Sony H, and Canon S-IS models from 3-5 years ago will all be competitive and often found pretty cheap.