Fujifilm HS50 EXR has arrived ! (1 Viewer)

[earleybird]

ahhhh they don't look happy bunnies do they !:-O


Pity you didn't get a chance to turn the camera 90 degrees or you'd have got a terrific shot with them all in a row !, even though, I'd still be happy with that as a good record shot well captured .:t:

 

[earleybird]

Nice one...

At ISO400 you can still get pretty darn nice Starling. See link below...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joms_birding/8593348971/in/photostream

Cheers,

Joms

yep definitely a European Starling . They certainly get about the World don't they !
FL 138 1/110 f/8 ISO400

 

[kennethwfd]

ahhhh they don't look happy bunnies do they !:-O


Pity you didn't get a chance to turn the camera 90 degrees or you'd have got a terrific shot with them all in a row !, even though, I'd still be happy with that as a good record shot well captured .:t:

point well made about composition, but at the moment, I first want to get to the stage where I am confident that when I use the Fuji I will get decent results. so I try and shoot at max zoom as much as possible.

I was not satisfied with my initial results, and felt in investigating the camera settings and changing them, I was going backwards until I considered returning the camera. I then went back to Molly's images, whatever you said about PP, the images still have to be fundamentally right to start with.

My standard test is to open the image in Windows picture & fax viewer and zoom in until the picture quality becomes unacceptable (noise, grain, pixillation etc). If that happens within a few clicks, then to me the image is not acceptable. When I zoom in on the Turnstone pic, I can see slight eye reflection, not obvious in the reduced size necessary for posting.

As regards tripods etc, I note the mount is now metal, the HS20 was critisised for its plastic thread, and my main niggle with the camera that write speed when taking a burst sequence in RAF is very slow to write to card

 

[earleybird]

i thought that the Turnstone images were good apart from the composition . Why are you not satisfied with it ?

I think that you need to reconsider the criteria you are applying to what is, and what isn't an acceptable image.

If I were to apply your criteria about pixelation at 100% to my images I would have to bin every single one of them. !....

Think about how you intend to use the images and why you are taking them in the first place. If it is to view them on your monitor and to upload your images to youtube and Flickr and various forums for others to view on their monitors etc then they are probably fine.

If you want to print your images onto photographic paper or poster sized prints and sell them or crop them heavily then you need a DSLR not a bridge camera

The HS50 takes 16Mp images at fine setting. Post Processing images whether RAW or Jpeg is not going to increase the resolution of the image. it is what it is !

If you are shooting at max zoom 1000mm the cameras software has to crop that image a lot in order to fit all of it onto the sensor because the sensor is so small. That is why the image at max zoom looks pixelated at 100%

if the HS50 had a real DSLR 1000mm lens then it would need to be about 2 foot long !

I think you should think about putting aside RAW images and post processing for the time being and concentrate on good picture composition, good exposure, camera settings , exposure compensation etc first ,as I am.

Until I completely understand the settings on my camera and understand how they effect the quality of my images and know how to adjust my camera settings automatically without thinking about it then I know It would be pointless trying to salvage my poor images with PP.

We cannot compensate for a poorly composed poorly exposed image with PP

 

[kennethwfd]

because wanting to shoot at max zoom 100omm meant the 2 birds furthest away were not entirely in the frame as you pointed out. I think the last 3 I have posted, crow, blackbird & turnstones are reasonably sharp, so feel I am beginning to feel confident that I can capture decent shots. today I tried a sparrow, but the images were underexposed

The turnstone pic is still sharp at a4 resolution, that's good enough for me. The quality only began to degrade after zooming in 5x

My PP is very basic

 

[earleybird]

I thought the Turnstones were excellent . I'd have been very happy with that shot . Its easy for me to shoot birds in the garden when they come within a few feet of you. Out in the open where there is nowhere to hide its much more difficult for you which is why I think your images are good.

I was only saying that it was a pity you didn't turn your camera and get them all as a group but then I could say that about a lot of my shots too. I often get so engrossed in getting the shot that I don't think about the background or exposure etc .

I think you are very brave trying RAW images and PP . I wouldn't have a clue where to start, however I just think that if you try a week or two with JPegs only you'll get more images and more keepers and learn a lot more about the camera .Perhaps then you'll feel happier about the images you are taking. I just sense some disappointment like Punta had.

If you are set on using maximum zoom 1000mm at long distances then you will definitely have to get a decent tripod like a Manfrotto 055C or your images are always going to be soft or blurry . there is only so much the IS can do

 

[Gordon W]

Here are a couple of my latest HS50 photos. Both shot handheld. Both grossly underexposed and corrected in processing, a maneuver that unfortunately increases image noise. No excuse for the osprey shot, since I had time to correct the exposure, but the sparrow caught me off guard and gave me time for only two quick shots, the other one badly posed, before it took flight. That shot is more cluttered than I like, but I see so few small birds (no garden to lurk about in) and even fewer that give me a chance to photograph them, that I take what I can get, ideal or not. At least the bird is unobstructed.

Enlightened Osprey
FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/180s f/5.6 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL) iso100

Sparrow In A Tree
Song Sparrow
FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/240s f/5.6 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL) iso250

 

[Keith Dickinson]

2 very nice images Gordon, a little work with photoshop would get rid of the clutter with the sparrow. I'm champing at the bit to get back out. Too much other stuff in my life just now - so no time off to play at being Eric Hoskings

 

[earleybird]

lovely Osprey record shot. It'll do until the day that one lands on a branch right in front of you lol...osprey eh ....shakes head.

I like the Sparrow shot just as it is , nicely composed environment shot :t:

 

[Gordon W]

Thank you for the comments, Keith and earleybird. While I find my sparrow shot cluttered, one thing I do like about it is that most of the twigs direct the eye to the bird. And, if an osprey, whose wingspan is as wide as I am tall, landed on a branch right in front of me I'd probably be too busy peeing my pants to think of using the camera.

Anyway, here's another osprey shot. Same bird but with its mate. The nest isn't far from my house, so I get a few shots of them each year. I was a bit too quick on the shutter with this one. I had hoped the one taking flight would have had some separation from the other one, but you don't have much time with these events. Split second.

FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/120s f/5.6 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL Handheld) iso200

 

[earleybird]

Anyway, here's another osprey shot. Same bird but with its mate. The nest isn't far from my house, so I get a few shots of them each year. I was a bit too quick on the shutter with this one. I had hoped the one taking flight would have had some separation from the other one, but you don't have much time with these events. Split second.

FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/120s f/5.6 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL Handheld) iso200

cracking action shot!
what a shame the speed is so low , it would have been an exceptional shot otherwise. I have to say with such low light levels I would have set my ISO to 800 and gone for the increase in shutter speed to freeze the action. At that distance I'd doubt that you'd see the difference between 200 and 800 in terms of IQ or graininess.

get out there immediately and get another shot Gordon.!

 

[Gordon W]

cracking action shot!
what a shame the speed is so low , it would have been an exceptional shot otherwise. I have to say with such low light levels I would have set my ISO to 800 and gone for the increase in shutter speed to freeze the action. At that distance I'd doubt that you'd see the difference between 200 and 800 in terms of IQ or graininess.

Good points. I do really need to configure the 'C' mode for bird photos.

That said, I rather like a bit of motion blur because it's an effective way to show motion, although admittedly there's too much of it in this case and I can take it to extremes sometimes, like in this shot (but I still like the effect |:d| )...

http://www.pbase.com/merriwolf/image/116183208

 

[earleybird]

yes I agree . Sometimes it is good to think outside the norm and just do something that looks 'right'

Its a nice contrast between calm of the static bird and the energy of the rising one.
Its a good shot ..... now go out there and take lots more lol:-O

most of us in the UK will never see an osprey in our entire lives !

 

[DavidT.]

Here are some shots I took over the weekend. Really enjoying using the HS50, it's my first decent camera and my reults are already improving, mainly thanks to people sharing their experience. I like seeing what this camera is capable of, it gives me something to aim for!

ISO 100 - 1/125 - F5.6 - 148mm. cropped
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z221/dturnor/HS50/Bristol460pp3_zps3e9130ca.jpg


ISO 100 - 1/30 - F5.6 - 185mm cropped
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z221/dturnor/HS50/Bristol336pp3_zps44a15113.jpg


ISO 320 - 1/120 - F5.6 - 185mm cropped
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z221/dturnor/HS50/Bristol516pp1_zpsca0fbd4a.jpg


All of these were taken from between fifteen and thirty feet.

David.

 

[earleybird]

Here are some shots I took over the weekend. Really enjoying using the HS50, it's my first decent camera and my reults are already improving, mainly thanks to people sharing their experience. I like seeing what this camera is capable of, it gives me something to aim for!



David.

Hi David glad to hear that you are enjoying the HS50. So much camera to explore and so little time.

I hope you will consider joining the 'Fuji EXR HS50 Users Group ' on Flickr . there is about 12 members already , (most from this thread,) and you can upload 4x images per day to the group gallery .

Thanks for [posting the exif data with your images, its very helpful to others to see what various settings have achieved.

You've made a great start with the Sparrow images which are difficult shots in amongst branches and twigs . I like your Collared Dove but prefer the original whole bird shot myself . Have you got a pair ? we have two in our garden that I swear are joined at the hip !

 

[Gordon W]

Sun and blue skies today, finally. Tried setting up 'C' mode while I was out looking for birds, but a few things I have to go back to the manual to figure out. Got this osprey in flight. This crop is 75% the height of a horizontal frame.

FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/2000s f/8.0 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL Handheld) iso800

 

[DavidT.]

Hi David glad to hear that you are enjoying the HS50. So much camera to explore and so little time.

I hope you will consider joining the 'Fuji EXR HS50 Users Group ' on Flickr . there is about 12 members already , (most from this thread,) and you can upload 4x images per day to the group gallery .

Thanks for [posting the exif data with your images, its very helpful to others to see what various settings have achieved.

You've made a great start with the Sparrow images which are difficult shots in amongst branches and twigs . I like your Collared Dove but prefer the original whole bird shot myself . Have you got a pair ? we have two in our garden that I swear are joined at the hip !

Thanks Earleybird. You're right, a lot to explore with the HS50, but does seem to require some tinkering with settings to get the best. Reading the instruction first would have helped! All of these shots for example were taken without the High performance mode on, I've found focus times are a lot quicker now on :eek!:.

The sparrow kept popping back and was very helpful, but couldn't get a clear shot and looked quite messy without cropping.

The dove was by itself and just stopped to let me get a few pics. I agree the whole bird is a nicer pic.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z221/dturnor/HS50/Bristol514pp_zpsfa70d026.jpg

 

[earleybird]

Sun and blue skies today, finally. Tried setting up 'C' mode while I was out looking for birds, but a few things I have to go back to the manual to figure out. Got this osprey in flight. This crop is 75% the height of a horizontal frame.

FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/2000s f/8.0 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL Handheld) iso800

thats a beaut.! :t:
I'll have to have a go at birds in flight myself . Unfortunately the only ones we get flying over the garden are Gulls Jackdaws and Buzzards:-C

 

[Joms]

Sun and blue skies today, finally. Tried setting up 'C' mode while I was out looking for birds, but a few things I have to go back to the manual to figure out. Got this osprey in flight. This crop is 75% the height of a horizontal frame.

FUJIFILM FinePix HS50EXR
1/2000s f/8.0 at 185.0mm (1000mm EFL Handheld) iso800

Cracking shot Gordon although if I may suggest set your S-Mode to these:

1/1000s or higher depending on how sunny is the sun
Auto ISO400
RAW+JPEG (LSize)
NR & Sharpness both to -2
Continuous shot mode (3fps)

Set your C-Mode to static and semi-static critters on land.

 

[kennethwfd]

Havn't posted for a bit because the weather has been too poor, but sunshine today

bog standard shot of robin on fence on farm, but when I zoom in I can see feather detail.

Second - as I pressed the shutter something moved suddenly and what would have been another standard shot of duck on lake has produced something quite different

Because of the length of time the camera is taking to write RAW bursts, currently shooting JPEG fine