Need camera advice.

[Baitball Blogger]

I generally like the quality of the photos from the SLR, but practically speaking, it just isn't convenient to lug around. So, unless someone has an SLR in mind that is as small as a point and shoot, I think I need advice picking the latter.

This is what I need: Good long range focus that can photograph birds perched high in the trees; fast shutter to freeze the beating wings of a hummingbird and close range shooting to get close-ups of butterflies. And, of course, digital capabilities and a battery that will take 200 shots without needing a recharge.

Price? For now, let's say $300-$700.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I could very well be wrong.............

But I don't think such a camera exists.



You might want to cross-post this in the Photo Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1036

Good Luck!

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I am looking the the Lumix LX-100

It seems to have all the features but I know next to nothing about it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Have a look at some of the mirrorless SLRs.

I have had an Olympus E-PL5 for several years (there are also some newer versions now); it is very light (about about 12 oz.) and compact. http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Mirrorless-Digital-Camera-14-42mm/dp/B0096WDMGC I traded in my old Pentax SLR because it was too big and heavy to lug around; I like the Olympus a lot. Takes nice photos, has a lot of features.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Thanks! Never heard of a mirrorless SLR

Something to think about.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. The mirror adds a lot of weight, so they figured out

how to duplicate the function of the mirror electronically. Many mirrorless SLRs don't have a viewfinder. Mine has a moveable screen so you can swing out the screen and look down at the camera to frame the photo - you don't have to hold it up to your eye. I like that feature, too.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. Got it.

Thanks for the explanation.

[Major Nikon]

13. It also requires larger lenses which are heavier

The farther away the lens is from the media, the bigger it needs to be all else being equal. That's why rangefinder cameras were popular back in the film days. With no mirror they could get by with smaller lenses and the camera could be much more compact.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. That is true.

But even with larger lenses my Olympus mirrorless is way lighter than my old Pentax.

[MH1]

7. I don't know if it meets all your requirements, but for bird photography, I followed the advice

found here:

http://stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/canon-sx-50-hs-for-bird-photography-i.html


I am very much NOT a "real" photographer. My main purpose was to record what I see so that I can look it up in the bird book later, or just the usual casual photography reasons. Freezing the beating wings of a hummingbird? LOL. I'll be happy if I can get some hummingbirds to come to my garden and maybe getting an occasional half decent photo.

But I saw this camera recommended in a bird group on Facebook and then the blog post linked above, so decided that was good enough for me. I'm thrilled with the camera.

[Major Nikon]

8. Here's a few tips as to why you typically see higher quality photos from SLR

There's a few advantages to SLR, but in terms of modern photography the single biggest reason why such cameras offer higher quality is the size of the media. With everything else being equal, larger media means better quality. The reason is the level of enlargement. With a digital camera, a larger sensor means a lower level of enlargement for the same size image.

Sometimes this sensor size is expressed in crop factor with a standard 35mm frame as the reference with a crop factor of 1. Larger crop factors equals smaller sensors.

So if quality is an important consideration, sensor size is definitely something to look at. It's not the end all to quality as the lens as much to do with it as well. Compact cameras with larger sensors, say in the APS-C size (~1.5 crop factor) are generally hard to find and expensive, but also tend to take very high quality photos that rival or exceed most SLRs.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Thank you. This explanation will help when I make comparisons.

[Major Nikon]

10. For pretty much all cameras if you look at the specs it will list the sensor size

[csziggy]

11. I've been using a FujiFilm FinePix S990W

It's 16MP, 50x zoom (equivalent to 24mm - 1200mm), and has WiFi (but the S9900 does not and is slightly cheaper). What I LOVE about it is the electronic viewfinder. That makes it so much easier to zoom in on birds far away even in bright light rather than using the screen. It can also be used with an Android smart phone to have remote shutter control.

My previous camera was a FinePix S4500 with 14mp and 32x zoom. My husband gets that camera now and he is very happy with it, too.

The S9900 is now almost a year and a half old model so the prices on it are low but it is still listed as current on the FujiFilm site: http://www.fujifilm.com/products/digital_cameras/s/finepix_s9900w/

Here is a shot taken out of my window of a bird about 50 feet away. This is cropped - the original has more of the bushes in it with a focal length of just under 150mm, so the zoom was not fully extended.



Here is another, the bird was in the tree above the bushes in the other photo. Again it is cropped with a focal length of ~215mm.



Neither of those two shots approach the full ability of the zoom of this camera - they are what I have online so far taken with it.

[Baitball Blogger]

15. Great pictures! Thank you!

[csziggy]

17. Thanks - oph, FujiFilm also makes mirrorless digital cameras

Since those have been recommended to reduce size.

The Finepix are smaller than a DLSR but larger than most point & shoot cameras. Since I have very large hands for a woman I appreciate that size. I also have a Cannon Powershot but it is not comfortable for me to carry since it is so small.

And I forgot to mention, the FinePix cameras we have used AA batteries. That is so much more convenient than the dedicated batteries like we have on our old Nikon D70 DSLR.

[Zorro]

12. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

Not the latest model but a truly great camera for around $330 on Amazon. SLR-sized though.

[Baitball Blogger]

16. I'm thinking of a Lumix LX100

Tough to get it in my price range, however, with all the options that are needed.

[nate5]

18. Need camera advice.

The same here. Wanted a decent camera, as I have taken a keen interest in Photography

[nate5]

19. need camera advice

What about the Nikon D7200? It's pretty affordable

[OriginalGeek]

20. I just bought a Nikon Coolpix S7000 with 20x OPTICAL zoom

to take on our upcoming cruise (Because yeah, if I bring my DSLR I'll be worrying about taking good pictures instead of just enjoying being on a cruise. Plus lugging around all that stuff...). The 20x optical is what sold me - digital zoom is worthless. It also has built-in wifi and NFC for easy transfer of pics and full HD video. We paid about 170 bucks which included a nice little accessory kit that included a 64gig SD memory card. (Ordered from Amazon)

It just arrived so I haven't had a chance to test it out but I think it will be perfect for cruising. That long range zoom should be good for birding too.

There were a lot of people selling these on Amazon and all had different accessory kits so pay attention to which ones suit your needs - I liked the huge SD card in the one I got.

Forgot to add this is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket easily. Only downside is I thought I could get a waterproof housing for it but apparently not. Should have checked that before purchase lol.