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Mirrorless or Superzoom (Bridge) Camera
- Thread starter HLG
- Start date
Martin: I would like to stay between $250 and $350 for a superzoom and know that a mirrorless will be more expensive. I don't mind an older used camera. And since I only use for shooting backyard birds about 40 feet away from camera I don't need anything very expensive. I currently use a panasonic zs50 at 30x and in bright sun always get blurred photos. Probably from the small sensor and when I increase shutter speed photos get very dark.
This is weird statement for me. Can you share such photos? Sorry, but maybe it's user error, which can be easily fixed.
If you really want new camera, maybe used PANASONIC Lumix DMC-FZ1000 will be good choice - 1" sensor with 25-400mm lens FF equivalent (it's 15x zoom, so you need to consider, if it's enough)
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I think it's a small sensor and light issue, and the camera is at it's max at 30x and not enough light. I've tried on shutter priority to increase shutter speed but most of the time even in good sunlight if it goes to 1/500 or above the photos become very dark. See a sample photo. I usually don't save the blurred ones.
It's probably combination of small sensor size with softness of the lens. Don't expect miracles at 30x zoom lens. Otherwise it seems, that there was enough light, acc. your ISO/shutter speed. Switch to bigger 1" sensor will help.I think it's a small sensor and light issue, and the camera is at it's max at 30x and not enough light. I've tried on shutter priority to increase shutter speed but most of the time even in good sunlight if it goes to 1/500 or above the photos become very dark. See a sample photo. I usually don't save the blurred ones.
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L
Labe
Guest
Well your not going to get a longer zoom with a mirrorless body at that budget.HLG said:
I use a Nikon P900 myself and in poor light I increase the iso up to 1600 and live the quality reduction knowing that I couldn’t afford the kit to get a better a shot .
the first shot is iso 400 the other 2 are iso1600.
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He worships me so much he even took my name. How awesome is that!
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Labe
Guest
Yes you’ll zoom down to 24x but the lens been f2.8 and of much better quality will make up for that .
Plus if you go that route you could save up a little and add the teleconverter which will increase your zoom range .
The fz1000 is very nice and using the zoom feature will get you a little more reach and the image quality will be about as good.
Tim Reidy Productions
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a bridge camera will do a great job with birds, but the image quality will be better with interchangable lenses, but you have to buy expensive ones,
so I would choose a panasonic fz300 or fz1000
so I would choose a panasonic fz300 or fz1000
Not familiar with that particular camera but a few ideas:
Is F/6.4 the fastest the lens can go at only 129mm equiv?
Why the negative exposure compensation?
Can you shoot RAW and adjust brightness in post, if so how badly does it degrade the image quality?
As you increase shutter speed (over 1/500 you stated), and if the aperture is already wide open, either the ISO is going to shoot up or the image is going to get dark if ISO is fixed.
Do you use a tripod or some sort of stabilizing setup. At those long zoom ranges, handheld could be tough. Even a simple, not expensive tripod could make a difference.
Do you need autofocus? If shooting static birds or a fixed location a used micro four thirds camera with a legacy 135mm or 200mm manual lens could be in or close to budget. Manual lenses are not to everyone taste however.
Also using micro four thirds, the 40-150 (80-300 equiv) "plastic fantastic" lens regularly sells new (in the USA) for $99 and is actually surprisingly a good lens. A used one on a used MFT body (maybe an EM5 or something similar) would be a huge step up and maybe close to your budget.
The other bridge cameras others have mentioned will also be an improvement and are good cameras. Just tossing out some additional options.
As others have stated, a better (bigger) sensor will go a long way to improving the shots, as will a better (faster) lens, but you don't get something for nothing, all improvements will come at a higher and higher cost. For a limited budget, expectations have to be realistic and maximize user abilities to maximize the cameras abilities. Only you can say if you have maximized your abilities and the cameras abilities (and editing software's abilities) and if you have and still unsatisfied, it may be time to move on to a new set up, then it just comes down to the age old question of how much more money for how much more quality that every photographer faces.
Best of luck.
Is F/6.4 the fastest the lens can go at only 129mm equiv?
Why the negative exposure compensation?
Can you shoot RAW and adjust brightness in post, if so how badly does it degrade the image quality?
As you increase shutter speed (over 1/500 you stated), and if the aperture is already wide open, either the ISO is going to shoot up or the image is going to get dark if ISO is fixed.
Do you use a tripod or some sort of stabilizing setup. At those long zoom ranges, handheld could be tough. Even a simple, not expensive tripod could make a difference.
Do you need autofocus? If shooting static birds or a fixed location a used micro four thirds camera with a legacy 135mm or 200mm manual lens could be in or close to budget. Manual lenses are not to everyone taste however.
Also using micro four thirds, the 40-150 (80-300 equiv) "plastic fantastic" lens regularly sells new (in the USA) for $99 and is actually surprisingly a good lens. A used one on a used MFT body (maybe an EM5 or something similar) would be a huge step up and maybe close to your budget.
The other bridge cameras others have mentioned will also be an improvement and are good cameras. Just tossing out some additional options.
As others have stated, a better (bigger) sensor will go a long way to improving the shots, as will a better (faster) lens, but you don't get something for nothing, all improvements will come at a higher and higher cost. For a limited budget, expectations have to be realistic and maximize user abilities to maximize the cameras abilities. Only you can say if you have maximized your abilities and the cameras abilities (and editing software's abilities) and if you have and still unsatisfied, it may be time to move on to a new set up, then it just comes down to the age old question of how much more money for how much more quality that every photographer faces.
Best of luck.
L
Labe
Guest
the 129mm is the actual focal length which on the OP camera gives them 720mm equivalent in reach / field of view.
as stated by the OP , they need more zoom so as good as the 40-150 is , it’s just way to short.
I know the OP wants a longer telephoto, but am I wrong in assuming if the max on his existing camera is 129mm and the Oly is 150mm, between the FOV and the sensor isn't he still coming out slightly ahead? Add a 300mm manual focus lens (for less than $100) at some point in the future and you are way ahead. Save for a bit and add a MFT 75-300 auto focus and you get auto focus back at a reasonable price in the future.
All in all, it is going to be a tough task to check all the boxes the OP is looking for with his budget, but with a bit of time, flexibility and creativeness and knowledge, he should be able to do better than what he is getting now.
All in all, it is going to be a tough task to check all the boxes the OP is looking for with his budget, but with a bit of time, flexibility and creativeness and knowledge, he should be able to do better than what he is getting now.
L
Labe
Guest
no he would need 400mm on m4/3 (800mm) he is already at 720mm ( 5.58 * 129=720mm) and saying he needs more if possible.
this is what he is using 24-720 focal range (35mm equivalent)
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He worships me so much he even took my name. How awesome is that!
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Isn't the only real factor that is relevant (disregarding pixel size, which we will just call a wash in this example), the lens focal length? The Pany is a 129mm lens, the Oly is a 150mm lens. The absolute projection size of the image will be bigger on the sensor for the 150mm lens vs the 129mm lens. The % of the sensor area the image takes up will be different for each camera, but the actual image will be larger on the MFT sensor and when cropped down to the Pany sensor FOV equivalence, will be about 14% larger or about equivalent to a 837mm lens on the Pany (5.58x150mm). Where am I going wrong with this analysis?
You are overthinking it..., Labe described it correctly.
L
Labe
Guest
And his Panny still using all 12mp , your m4/3 will need very heavy cropping and have very few mp left making the image quality very poor indeed compared to the Panny that doesn’t need to crop.
I’m guessing you have never used a bridge camera with 30 times zoom .
It’s this very reason why I sold my G80 and 100-300 and kept my Nikon P900 as my Nikon gets me more reach with more megapixel covering my target
G80 300mm *2 ( crop ) =600mm
P900 357mm *5.58 ( crop) =2000mm
which is why I also recommended trying to get a P900 lightly used because of his low budget .
im sorry you can’t seem to grasp why your theory doesn’t hold up for what the OP needs.
Jon_T
Veteran Member
Precisely why getting another 1/2.3" sensor small aperture long zoom lens camera is not the solution with the existing bird feeder location.
Are you using AUTO ISO?
Do not have that issue with my ZS50 when using Shutter Priority and Auto ISO; 'providing' I do not ignore the exposure settings displayed in red.
Couple indoor low light shots with ZS50 using shutter priority, Auto ISO set to 1600 ISO max.
Are you paying attention to the display's exposure settings? When proper exposure not possible with current settings the exposure settings will be in 'RED' notifying that image will not be properly exposed.
With ANY 1/2.3" sensor camera going to NEED 'good lighting' to get good quality images; especially OOC JPG images,
ZS50 w/ i.Zoom = 1,322mm EFL
Jon
Jon:
These are the ZS50 settings I have programmed into camera: Hope this helps. The feeders are in direct sunlight and being in Florida there are a few days with cloudy weather like today, but it's still very bright.
Rec Settings (For Birds and Most other Photos)
These are the ZS50 settings I have programmed into camera: Hope this helps. The feeders are in direct sunlight and being in Florida there are a few days with cloudy weather like today, but it's still very bright.
Rec Settings (For Birds and Most other Photos)
- Program - Shutter Priority
- Aspect Ratio - 4:3
- Picture Size - 12M
- Quality - Fine
- ISO Sensitivity - Auto
- ISO Limit Set - 1600
- White Balance - AWB
- AF Mode - 1 Area
- Quick AF - On
- Face Recog. - Off
- AF/AE Lock - AF/AE
- Metering Mode - Spot
- i Exposure - On
- Min, Shtr Speed - Auto
- i. Resolution - On
- i. Zoom - On
- Digital Zoom - Off
- Time Lapse Shot - No Change
- AF Assist Lamp - On
- Red-Eye Removal - Off
- Stabilizer - Off (Only when on Tripod)
- Date Stamp - Off
- Exposure Comp (Small Dial - Top) - 0
- Flash (Small Dial - Right) - Off
- Focus Mode (Small Dial - Left) - AF
- Drive Mode (Small Dial - Bottom) - +-1/3
- MF Assist - On
- Peaking - On
- Exposure Comp Reset - Off
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