HouseFinch
Self-proclaimed Birdbrain
Whilst I do love my Olympus Stylus 120 so far as a traditional camera goes, through experience I've found that it is insufficient for photographing wild birds, mainly due to me not being able to get close enough to the subjects before they fly away! I have taken pictures of domestic birds, and those I am proud of, but I'd love to be able do the same closeups for wild birds.
I have heard that 200mm and above is good for wild birds, and due to the increasing popularity of digital cams, I searched online and found one that appeals to me. It's a Panasonic, and has a 12x optical zoom, equivalent to 35mm-420mm in a film camera, which would be more than enough for me to photograph the birds I seek, and the relatively inexpensive $250 price is attractive: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom
However, I'd like a second opinion. I have no experience whatsoever with digital cameras(except for the little 35mm Kodak my sister has), and I'm sure you all could tell me if this would be a good choice. It's not the complexity of learning the ropes that bothers me: I have more than enough time for that. I'd just like to know if this particular model would be sufficient for a hobbyist photographer like me to upgrade, and expand her horizons. |8)|
One more thing: could someone enlighten me on what a 'megapixel' is? I know about regular pixels, and that the more you have, the higher resolution you'll have. My sister's digital camera is 3.2 megapixels at it's highest, and the above camera I'm looking at is 4 megapixels.
Thanks for reading,
HouseFinch
I have heard that 200mm and above is good for wild birds, and due to the increasing popularity of digital cams, I searched online and found one that appeals to me. It's a Panasonic, and has a 12x optical zoom, equivalent to 35mm-420mm in a film camera, which would be more than enough for me to photograph the birds I seek, and the relatively inexpensive $250 price is attractive: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom
However, I'd like a second opinion. I have no experience whatsoever with digital cameras(except for the little 35mm Kodak my sister has), and I'm sure you all could tell me if this would be a good choice. It's not the complexity of learning the ropes that bothers me: I have more than enough time for that. I'd just like to know if this particular model would be sufficient for a hobbyist photographer like me to upgrade, and expand her horizons. |8)|
One more thing: could someone enlighten me on what a 'megapixel' is? I know about regular pixels, and that the more you have, the higher resolution you'll have. My sister's digital camera is 3.2 megapixels at it's highest, and the above camera I'm looking at is 4 megapixels.
Thanks for reading,
HouseFinch
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