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

Sony RX10 1V the new boy. (3 Viewers)

Had fun watching this Little Swift flying within feet at Hartlepool today. Took plenty of pics but it was difficult following it at times and almost impossible to follow when there was a darker background, mainly rocks and pavement, but think i did pretty well to follow it. Pretty heavy crops too and the images are still decent.

Chris.

Congratulations - splendid photos of an ultra-rarity! I've often tried to shoot swifts. Sometimes I got lucky results of similar quality. However, to get these shots of an individual bird is extraordinary. I don't think I could do it with my V2. - Did you shoot with the 24fps mode? How long was the bird available?
 
Congratulations - splendid photos of an ultra-rarity! I've often tried to shoot swifts. Sometimes I got lucky results of similar quality. However, to get these shots of an individual bird is extraordinary. I don't think I could do it with my V2. - Did you shoot with the 24fps mode? How long was the bird available?

Thanks, continuous mode (24fps) was on yes and the bird was available for a couple of hours, although i spent around 45minutes watching and attempting photos of it.
 
Thanks, continuous mode (24fps) was on yes and the bird was available for a couple of hours, although i spent around 45minutes watching and attempting photos of it.

Thanks for the reply. The second photo of the bird is just great - against the dark water, with the evening sun shining on its back. About your earlier post...

Thought i'd got some nice Pied Wagtail flight shots today, was focused on the bird while it was on the rock, but as i followed it, it seems to have focused on the sand |:|| Images are cropped and slightly sharpened.

The first shot is lovely, it must hurt to find out later the AF hasn't coped. Shot 2: the bird is 20cm or so away from the initial spot. Early shots in the series probably look OK, within DOF. Yet when it leaves DOF range, it becomes clear that the AF hasn't moved.

Nikonmike has recently linked to a series with an approaching gull where his Nikon D500 was up to the challenge. However, there seems to be a limit for present AF systems to handle small birds flying towards the camera.
 
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So I have this image:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pi_birder/30893422597/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/
With an additional thought on this or any other bridge camera in general. Lighting and distance from subject are of the utmost importance to getting an excellent shot. That said the camera lens and focusing system are certainly important and I believe, based on the couple of weeks I have used this camera, anyone who has digiscoped or has used a bridge camera with success will very much enjoy and find it easy to use this camera to get great shots. I am not even trying and the camera makes up for the lack of effort. 600mm is not great reach but having a fast/sharp lens and bigger sensor (for a bridge camera) IMHO goes a long way to making this camera the camera to bring along on a wide variety of trips.
The most important thing about any camera you use is that you enjoy the experience!
Good luck to all on any path you choose!!
Richard Messer a.k.a Skean
Hit the nail on the head.......light and distance.It is so easy to fall into the trap of trying to take photos of small subjects (as in your image) at silly distances with bridge cameras such as the sony......it just doesn't work.Also,good light is so important to help you get that great shot.
For me,distance is the most important consideration........the closer you get,the less important the light......if you are really close to your subject you can get some cracking shots even in less than ideal lighting conditions.
 
For me,distance is the most important consideration........the closer you get,the less important the light......if you are really close to your subject you can get some cracking shots even in less than ideal lighting conditions.


Definitely, have just taken these this afternoon with dark skies and rain, bird was about 20ft away. https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesbeams87/44137011760/in/dateposted/

Also yesterday had the chance to photo a very tame Night Heron in a local park, the photo linked had the sun behind it, bird was 5ft away at times. https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesbeams87/44124605860/in/photostream/
 
Yes I certainly agree distance is critical. I struggled on which would be my next camera to get and when I really reflected on the best shots I had taken with my P600 I soon realized that, for the overwhelming majority, I could have easily gotten away with less zoom. Also if I had a faster lens and better focusing system I would not have missed out on some small quick birds. Time will tell if I made the right choice. Of course weather has been crap here in New England and I have had little time in the field to really learn how to get the most out of this camera.
 
Definitely, have just taken these this afternoon with dark skies and rain, bird was about 20ft away. https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesbeams87/44137011760/in/dateposted/

Also yesterday had the chance to photo a very tame Night Heron in a local park, the photo linked had the sun behind it, bird was 5ft away at times. https://www.flickr.com/photos/charlesbeams87/44124605860/in/photostream/

Nice shots. In terms of readiness, this was first bird of the day, last Sunday within 5 seconds of turning the camera on!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142541660@N08/44124354350/in/album-72157673643823437/
 
Thanks everyone for all the posts and information that was made available here. I had been contemplating up grading some of my equipment as of late, I shoot both the Olympus E-M1 with the Olympus 75-300mm lens and I also shoot the Panasonic FZ300. I had thought about buying a Sony Rx10iv thinking I would get better shots with the one inch sensor as there are days when heading out for a walk it is just easier to grab my Point and Shoot and away I go.This is a link to my Flickr with some shots from the FZ300 comparing them to the Sony I think I would be better served looking at the Panasonic 100-400mm lens which is about the same price here in Ontario, Canada as the Sony Rx10iv...........once again thanks for all your input https://www.flickr.com/photos/21621097@N03/46134710671/in/album-72157676254539038/

In case anyone was wondering here is the Exif from the Nuthatch shot
Make: Panasonic
Model: DMC-FZ300
Software: Ver.2.2
Date/Time: 2018-11-19 12:30:34
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0.33 EV
F Number: F 4
Max Aperture: F 2.8
ISO Speed ratings: ISO 100
Flash: Flash did not fire [off]
Focal Length: 108 mm
35mm Equivalent: 1029 mm
Metering Mode: Center weighted average
GPS:
 
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Thanks everyone for all the posts and information that was made available here. I had been contemplating up grading some of my equipment as of late, I shoot both the Olympus E-M1 with the Olympus 75-300mm lens and I also shoot the Panasonic FZ300. I had thought about buying a Sony Rx10iv thinking I would get better shots with the one inch sensor as there are days when heading out for a walk it is just easier to grab my Point and Shoot and away I go.This is a link to my Flickr with some shots from the FZ300 comparing them to the Sony I think I would be better served looking at the Panasonic 100-400mm lens which is about the same price here in Ontario, Canada as the Sony Rx10iv...........once again thanks for all your input https://www.flickr.com/photos/21621097@N03/46134710671/in/album-72157676254539038/

In case anyone was wondering here is the Exif from the Nuthatch shot
Make: Panasonic
Model: DMC-FZ300
Software: Ver.2.2
Date/Time: 2018-11-19 12:30:34
Exposure Time: 1/200 sec
Exposure Program: Aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0.33 EV
F Number: F 4
Max Aperture: F 2.8
ISO Speed ratings: ISO 100
Flash: Flash did not fire [off]
Focal Length: 108 mm
35mm Equivalent: 1029 mm
Metering Mode: Center weighted average
GPS:

I will only comment on part of your questions:
The pana zoom I believe will be better/sharper than your oly zoom. However, as you also noticed, your camera is only any good if you have it with you, and the pana zoom is heavier than the oly zoom I believe. I would only commit to this somewhat heavier lens if you think you will actually use it! On the other hand, is the sony so much heavier than your FZ300 that you will grab the older camera anyway?

One more thing: 1/200 is a long time if you are shooting an active bird. Always shoot in series so that you might be lucky getting the split second where the bird pauses its movements.

Niels
 
Wow Skean what a fabulous set of photos................njlarsen yes that is one thing I am worried about will I grab the Olympus when I head out on a walk. You never know what your are going to come across so it is nice to have the zoom capabilities of the point and shoot. As far as the speed of that shot, I find the FZ300 takes the best photos shooting aperture priority at f4 yes I do miss some shots due to the bird moving its head and such but I tend to get more keepers doing single shot at f4 then being in shutter priority and a faster speed with a burst. I learned to shoot years ago on a film camera where every shot counted as I had to come up with the money to develop my shots. For what ever reason I just find it hard to break the habit of each shot being one shot..........it is so much money to spend and unfortunately no one in my area has a rental of the Sony Rx10iv so that I could try it for a week
 
I am also old enough to have used film, however, noticing in my time of using a superzoom that shoot number 2 or 3 in a burst often looked sharper than no 1 cured me of doing single shot. You can still have all other settings (such as aperture priority) the same.

Niels
 

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