Fujifilm HS50 EXR has arrived ! (1 Viewer)

[earleybird]

Hi Ed
sorry it wasn't my intention to imply a lack of camera expertise . I wrongly assumed that you didn't want BIF which most bird toggers do not .

I find these bridge cameras are every bit as complex as DSLR cameras but I find that practicing one thing at a time helps me .

I thought that I might set myself a weekly project like macro or DOF or birds in flight etc so that I learn how to apply the cameras manual settings to get the shot that I want whatever the light and conditions.

 

[earleybird]

seen an online review of HS50 which marks it down due to "softness at max zoom". I'm repeating myself to say that I think despite the camera's ability, shooting handheld at 1000mm is not as easy as it initially sounds,and probably what may look ok on the camera's LCD may not look so good on a computer screen

The people that accuse the HS50 and other bridge cameras of soft images do not understand how these cameras compensate for camera shake at max zoom .
they should try holding a DSLR with a 500mm lens and see how good the images are hand held at max zoom !

Anyway its a silly criticism because there is nothing else out there for the price with the same set of features and capabilities to compare them with.

Try deselecting the lens IS in the camera settings and then try focusing at max zoom and you'll see why the cameras software has to soften and blend some images because the camera wasn't held steady on a sandbag or tripod.

I wonder if the critic would feel this image was soft ? slight cropping otherwise no pp whatsoever
ISO125 f/5.6 1/100 FL144mm distance 9ft through db glazing

 

[kennethwfd]

Many thanks for the excellent comments. I might have mentioned that #4 (bird flying away) was included just because it was the first BIF ... however poor. You're right the AF was inadvertently changed in #1, and your camera setup suggestions will be a good place to start.

I've got a hand strap on order, which hopefully will help me stabilize the camera and reduce shake. I really haven't had a chance to practice hand tremble suppression, but I can do it quite well with binoculars of various types. So there's hope.

Ed

glad to be of help. i don't use a strap, but always the viewfinder with LH on the lens barrel, working the zoom ring, RH on the camera body and press camera to forehead, elbows in, think of your head and hands as three limbs of a tripod. Mrs Mallard from today. managed a mute swan on nest, bird didn't show any signs of being aware of me

ps plus mr mallard having a preen

 

[earleybird]

glad to be of help. i don't use a strap, but always the viewfinder with LH on the lens barrel, working the zoom ring, RH on the camera body and press camera to forehead, elbows in, think of your head and hands as three limbs of a tripod. Mrs Mallard from today. managed a mute swan on nest, bird didn't show any signs of being aware of me

ps plus mr mallard having a preen

Mallard is a lovely shot , gorgeous rich colours and lots of detail too.
Funny how we seem to overlook the more common birds as subjects sometimes.
isn't She well camoflaged

 

[kennethwfd]

hope you don't mind that I downloaded your dunnock & gave it a bit of basic PP & came up with this

 

[earleybird]

hope you don't mind that I downloaded your dunnock & gave it a bit of basic PP & came up with this

no of course I don't mind . Its come up surprisingly well actually don't you think ?
I'm still not too sure that I want to pp all my images though , its such a lot of work but I must confess when pp is done sensitively like you have done it then its a definite improvement. Yep I definitely like it ! how did you accomplish it may I ask

 

[elkcub]

glad to be of help. i don't use a strap, but always the viewfinder with LH on the lens barrel, working the zoom ring, RH on the camera body and press camera to forehead, elbows in, think of your head and hands as three limbs of a tripod. Mrs Mallard from today. managed a mute swan on nest, bird didn't show any signs of being aware of me

ps plus mr mallard having a preen

Well, I've got to say that the "Herringbone" hand strap that arrived today solved several problems immediately. Not only does it quell the jitters, but it allows me to move around with binoculars around my neck and firmly grab the camera from a side pouch. That way expensive equipment don't bang around on my chest. It's amazing how easily the controls can be accessed with one hand, with no worry about the camera falling. I find it much easier than without the strap, and would certainly recommend the product.

Otherwise, I use the same technique you do; triangulation is essential with binoculars too. Always elbows in, believe it or not with Porro prisms too.

How close were you to these birds today? You guys have got focus down very well, something I've yet to see. Starting to wonder it's the camera, like the ISO is too high or something (I use 800 Auto). Are you taking advantage of D-Range priority by any chance? Hope I don't have a bad camera specimen, ... but so far I'm under-impressed.

I've decided to go back and start systematically with simple Auto mode to just see what the automation does by itself. Do you use this configuration at all? Would you recommend some other systematic starting point?

Thanks again,
Ed

 

[earleybird]

How close were you to these birds today? You guys have got focus down very well, something I've yet to see.
I've decided to go back and start systematically with simple Auto mode to just see what the automation does by itself.

Thanks again,
Ed

Ed I think the problems that you are having is with the setting up of your shots .
I very rarely go out and take random shots of birds unless they are gulls or Waders etc.
I tend to decide what I want to photograph , do some research on the bird or whatever then set up a feeding station accordingly.

Make the birds or whatever come to you ...:t: ie if I want to capture Chaffinches i spread meal worms on the ground because they are ground feeders. If I want Goldfinches I set up an attractive log or twig and put some sunflower hearts there etc

I wouldn't recommend you start with birds on the ground or birds in trees or against the sky . Try setting up on your bird feeders in the garden and experiment with the camera settings until you start to see some good results.

You should be in A aperture mode for static bird shots and unless you have very bright or very low light levels I would set your ISO to 400 to start with. Try and keep your shutter speed up above 1/100 at least or you'll get blur.

Taking shots of birds on full zoom at distances of 20 feet plus is pretty much a waste of time as you'll need to crop the image heavily . Try to take shots within 10 feet or so to start with or you'll never see any decent detail and sharpness.

 

[kennethwfd]

no of course I don't mind . Its come up surprisingly well actually don't you think ?
I'm still not too sure that I want to pp all my images though , its such a lot of work but I must confess when pp is done sensitively like you have done it then its a definite improvement. Yep I definitely like it ! how did you accomplish it may I ask

PSE10 quick edit menu smartfiix 100%, slight manipulation lighting to taste autosharpen 200%

 

[Wildmoreway]

hope you don't mind that I downloaded your dunnock & gave it a bit of basic PP & came up with this

Lots of fine detail there, I would certainly be happy with that image, what I am waiting for is to see some insect images, the strong point to me with Fujis has always been their good macro abiities, if the macro images comes up to expectatations the HS50 will certainly be the likely replacement for my SX40 later this year (the later is a let down so far as insects are concerned :-C ).

 

[elkcub]

Ed I think the problems that you are having is with the setting up of your shots .
I very rarely go out and take random shots of birds unless they are gulls or Waders etc.
I tend to decide what I want to photograph , do some research on the bird or whatever then set up a feeding station accordingly.

Make the birds or whatever come to you ...:t: ie if I want to capture Chaffinches i spread meal worms on the ground because they are ground feeders. If I want Goldfinches I set up an attractive log or twig and put some sunflower hearts there etc

I wouldn't recommend you start with birds on the ground or birds in trees or against the sky . Try setting up on your bird feeders in the garden and experiment with the camera settings until you start to see some good results.

You should be in A aperture mode for static bird shots and unless you have very bright or very low light levels I would set your ISO to 400 to start with. Try and keep your shutter speed up above 1/100 at least or you'll get blur.

Taking shots of birds on full zoom at distances of 20 feet plus is pretty much a waste of time as you'll need to crop the image heavily . Try to take shots within 10 feet or so to start with or you'll never see any decent detail and sharpness.

Thanks for forcing me to confront my real interests. Although it's helpful to know what the camera is capable of producing in the hands of an expert, the kind of stuff shown below is more what I'm after. Not knowing what was going to present itself on my walk around Shoreline today, I just set the camera on EXR (max automation) and fired away.

I learned a lot: mainly, I need a lot more practice. Fortunately, the RTH stayed within sight for several minutes, and his kiting behavior allowed for a few steady shots. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to frame the bird properly when it appeared directly overhead (#3), but I did get something to remind me of the lost opportunity.|| The last frame is a ho-hum Northern Mockingbird, taken at about 20 ft. All the pics are cropped and slightly "enhanced" with iPhoto.

I'm rather impressed with Fuji's CA control (chromatic aberration), which is quite apparent to me in other cameras of this type. The 6 MP Canon S3IS, for example, was really poor in this respect, and from what I've seen on the Canon threads, the SX50 seems not to have done well getting rid of the flaw.

Ed

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Nice shots Ed but I don't think that's a Northern Harrier. Red Tail maybe? I particularly like the third shot.

Rich

 

[elkcub]

Hi Rich,

Yup, quite right. Don't know what got into me, but ... it's fixed.

Interesting that you'd like the third picture. Can you explain further? From a vole's perspective it's probably his worst nightmare.

Ed

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Hi Ed. I just thought it was an interesting angle and personally, I like that sort of shot. Some can be overcomposed in my mind - if that makes any senseB

Rich

 

[Keith Dickinson]

I'm like you Ed, got the camera to capture shots as I walk around, rather than having a set-up to attract birds in. Hopefully I'll be getting out and about with mine this weekend, tomorrow has gone to the wall as I have to stay in waiting for the builders.

 

[elkcub]

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

Hi Gordon,

If you're still following this thread, what shooting mode(s) were you using for the osprey pics (i.e., EXR, P, S, A, M, C, etc.)? I'm still lost in the complexity. Also, what parameters did you set vs. were automated, i.e., speed, F#, etc. I assume you read the EFL from the lens barrel, or is that also stored digitally somewhere?

Yup, I'm really new at this.

Thanks,
Ed

 

[elkcub]

I'm like you Ed, got the camera to capture shots as I walk around, rather than having a set-up to attract birds in. Hopefully I'll be getting out and about with mine this weekend, tomorrow has gone to the wall as I have to stay in waiting for the builders.

Hi Keith,

You may have mentioned it earlier, but what setup do you use for walking around?

Ed

 

[elkcub]

Hi Ed. I just thought it was an interesting angle and personally, I like that sort of shot. Some can be overcomposed in my mind - if that makes any senseB

Rich

I've got lots of pics you'd probably like. :t:

Ed

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Hi Keith,

You may have mentioned it earlier, but what setup do you use for walking around?

Ed

I've usually got the camera on Aperture priority, shooting in Raw, Velvia vivid film, single focus, spot focus area, spot metering, iso Auto (400) so that I don't slip into iso 3200 without realising it.

 

[elkcub]

Many thanks, Keith. I'll give it a try as a good starting point in A mode.

Ed