Zoom Dilemma

Please help me choose a camera. I am torn between the

- Sony DSC-F505V
- Canon Pro90 IS
- Olympus C-2100UZ

I will use it to take outdoor photos of the natural world. Therefore, I think I want as much zoom as I can get. That is the appeal of the Canon and Olympus with their 10x optical zoom. However, when I look at the sample shots at dpreview.com and imaging-resource.com, the Sony 505V’s look better than the other two, but it only has 5x optical zoom. Would I be sorry without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Also, is it a pain to do exposure bracketing with the Sony 505V because of having to go into the menus for exposure control?

Is there another camera I should consider? I don’t want to spend more than $2000 US dollars for a camera, flash, more memory, extra battery and wide angle lens.

Thanks for your help!
--Teffy

You can take a look at Olympus E-100RS too, you should find it "pre-capture" mode useful.
I don't think Sony 505V is a good choice for the type of work.

Teffy said:

Please help me choose a camera. I am torn between the

- Sony DSC-F505V
- Canon Pro90 IS
- Olympus C-2100UZ

I will use it to take outdoor photos of the natural world.
Therefore, I think I want as much zoom as I can get. That is the
appeal of the Canon and Olympus with their 10x optical zoom.
However, when I look at the sample shots at dpreview.com and
imaging-resource.com, the Sony 505V’s look better than the
other two, but it only has 5x optical zoom. Would I be sorry
without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Also, is it a pain to do exposure bracketing with the Sony 505V
because of having to go into the menus for exposure control?

Is there another camera I should consider? I don’t want to
spend more than $2000 US dollars for a camera, flash, more memory,
extra battery and wide angle lens.

Thanks for your help!

--
Teffy

Click to expand...

Teffy37820 said:

Would I be sorry without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Click to expand...

I hope you get a lot of opinions here because I know that not everyone will agree with me.

The amount of zoom you require depends on what type of nature photography you do. I saw some excellent examples done by a man that uses a 20mm lens for his landscapes.

On the other hand, if you want to take photos of little critters, you will need the 10x zoom. You will probably want to increase that by adding a telconverter.

For some good examples taken by a member of this forum, go here:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1005&message=860547

These were shot those with a C2100 and a 1.7x teleconverter. Hide Takahash's photos have convinced me that I need a teleconverter for my C2100, since I would love to photograph birds.

Olympus 2100UZ is my preference for a few reasons: 1) proven user interface and image qualities (from 2000 and 2010), 2) 10x optical zoom with image stablizer, 3) can be had at $799 at Circuit City (for the week of 2/25-3/3, at least in the Washington, DC metro area).

Words of caution. 2-mg pixel cameras could produce excellent images for full-screen viewing on a PC or TV, but for actual printed images, 5x7 is probably the best you could get without some fancy advanced photo-editting software. Some experts could make up to 8x10 but that really requires skills. 2100UZ is a 2-mg camera so your expectation should be put into that perspective.

I personally believe that a 3-mg version of 2100UZ (maybe 3100UZ?) would be eventually available. If that's the case, a 3-mg could give you decent 8x10 printed images.

Harry

Teffy said:

Please help me choose a camera. I am torn between the

- Sony DSC-F505V
- Canon Pro90 IS
- Olympus C-2100UZ

I will use it to take outdoor photos of the natural world.
Therefore, I think I want as much zoom as I can get. That is the
appeal of the Canon and Olympus with their 10x optical zoom.
However, when I look at the sample shots at dpreview.com and
imaging-resource.com, the Sony 505V’s look better than the
other two, but it only has 5x optical zoom. Would I be sorry
without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Also, is it a pain to do exposure bracketing with the Sony 505V
because of having to go into the menus for exposure control?

Is there another camera I should consider? I don’t want to
spend more than $2000 US dollars for a camera, flash, more memory,
extra battery and wide angle lens.

Thanks for your help!

--
Teffy

Click to expand...

Don't forget the Fuji Finepix 4900 with it's 6x zoom and 5fps continuous shooting mode.

All camera's mentioned are great performers (only the Canon has got to proof itself, because it is just out now) The stabilized zoom from the Oly and Canon are great for wildlife in low-light, but those two camera's are not the cheapest. And if you live in Europe the Oly is sold without batteries and charger and only 8Mb Smartmedia.

A couple of months ago I was torn between the Fuji and Oly, but the high Oly price (without extra's) here in the Netherlands put me off. So I purchased the Fuji. A friend of my has the Oly and I must say I only miss the zoom-stabilizer. The Fuji has less zoom, but a wider lens and higher ISO.
Maybe you can try them with your dealer for comparison.

Some examples of the 4900: http://community.webshots.com/user/chrasher

Chrasher.

Teffy said:

Please help me choose a camera. I am torn between the

- Sony DSC-F505V
- Canon Pro90 IS
- Olympus C-2100UZ

I will use it to take outdoor photos of the natural world.
Therefore, I think I want as much zoom as I can get. That is the
appeal of the Canon and Olympus with their 10x optical zoom.
However, when I look at the sample shots at dpreview.com and
imaging-resource.com, the Sony 505V’s look better than the
other two, but it only has 5x optical zoom. Would I be sorry
without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Also, is it a pain to do exposure bracketing with the Sony 505V
because of having to go into the menus for exposure control?

Is there another camera I should consider? I don’t want to
spend more than $2000 US dollars for a camera, flash, more memory,
extra battery and wide angle lens.

Thanks for your help!

--
Teffy

Click to expand...

Harry,

I don't think that some of us who own a C-2100 would agree with you about the quality of an 8X10 printed with a 2MP camera. I don't often print at that size, but the few I have printed (Without extensive photo editing) were quite nice, and were suitable for framing and hanging on the wall.

Where Teffy is concerned, the problem I see with nature photography and the Sony, is the shot to shot speed (or lack thereof).

When shooting small animals, it is sometimes necessary to both bracket (they might be in partially shaded areas, or areas that are in dappled light which bracketing would help get the perfect shot for), and shoot multiple shots to track a moving animal. Here is where the Stabilized lens, and shot to shot speed of the C-2100 would make it the camera of choice. I would go along with the suggestion of the Fuji, if it weren't for the lack of the stabilized lens. The 10X zoom isn't absolutely necessary, 5X might do the job.

Mike D.

Harry said:

Words of caution. 2-mg pixel cameras could produce excellent
images for full-screen viewing on a PC or TV, but for actual
printed images, 5x7 is probably the best you could get without some
fancy advanced photo-editting software. Some experts could make up
to 8x10 but that really requires skills. 2100UZ is a 2-mg camera
so your expectation should be put into that perspective.

I personally believe that a 3-mg version of 2100UZ (maybe 3100UZ?)
would be eventually available. If that's the case, a 3-mg could
give you decent 8x10 printed images.

Harry

Teffy said:

Please help me choose a camera. I am torn between the

- Sony DSC-F505V
- Canon Pro90 IS
- Olympus C-2100UZ

I will use it to take outdoor photos of the natural world.
Therefore, I think I want as much zoom as I can get. That is the
appeal of the Canon and Olympus with their 10x optical zoom.
However, when I look at the sample shots at dpreview.com and
imaging-resource.com, the Sony 505V’s look better than the
other two, but it only has 5x optical zoom. Would I be sorry
without the extra telephoto for those nature shots?

Also, is it a pain to do exposure bracketing with the Sony 505V
because of having to go into the menus for exposure control?

Is there another camera I should consider? I don’t want to
spend more than $2000 US dollars for a camera, flash, more memory,
extra battery and wide angle lens.

Thanks for your help!

--
Teffy

Click to expand...

Click to expand...