Canon sx50 hs and Panasonic fz200 for birding


eismann: search my review writeup under review section.

If your sole purpose is online web upload some cropping is ok. However you can use the canon link i shared earlier to see the difference between actual 1200mm and cropping 600mm to get same view of vision.

I would not crop to preserve the resolution. Sometimes at 1200mm i have to do cropping let alone 600mm.
 

Performance in low light? I would say panasonic f2.8 is handy if u can use that widest aperture.

However under same settings my untrained eye based on raw file comparision from dpreview suggests sx50hs has better noise performance than panasonic probably by 1 stop?

In other words it depends on what you want to shoot at low light at which aperture.

AF performance i think shld not differ too much.
 

That's what I am worried about "noise", reviews I've read say not to go beyond ISO 400 for Panasonic. And given the small sensor both camera using, I am afraid that I will be disappointed in the result. It's sure a tough choice.
 

That's what I am worried about "noise", reviews I've read say not to go beyond ISO 400 for Panasonic. And given the small sensor both camera using, I am afraid that I will be disappointed in the result. It's sure a tough choice.

If you are anal about noisy control, there's no other way. Gotta go bigger sensors....
 

there is a price to pay for having a superzoom compact...i.e. small sensor which leads to inferior noise performance dynamic range compared to the same generation's bigger sensors.

No machine is perfect, best is know what you can live with or without before purchasing a camera.

That said, if you are using f2.8 often iso 400 shld be adequate for many situations. At least it is better than canon using f5.6 or 6.3 at tele end and I have to use iso 1600 which i would try to avoid.

That is why i still buy sx50hs, it allows me to take macro shots to 1200mm in a single compact body which i find it more attractive than being nitty gritty about IQ.
 

Gundamseed84,

I am a newie both in digicam and here Clubsnap.

I have my SX50HS beginning of Feb'13.
Last week in CYN,10th Feb'13, I brought along to my uncle's house. He has a FZ100.
We took some shots of distance objects. Mine was in Auto mode. Both of us did not use tripods.

Although my (tree) images were bigger than his, but when come to enlargement in the LCD display, his tree leaves were sharp and distinct, while mine were as though taken in ISO6400 or more. He has shown me several shots of birds in the neighbourhood, all were sharp and detailed. Hence I made that comment on enlarging and cropping.

Like you, I purchased SX50HS for birdie shoot. I was quite disillusioned initially until I saw your bird shots in the other fourm sectors............

Right now I reading more how to have sharp images for print with SX50HS.

Other than a tripod, how do you have those sharp images of the birds you have taken? Do you have post processing after taken them?

Thank You
 

Errr it is hard to compare things like this if there's no information of what settings your uncle applied etc. If he is using Aperture mode and you are using full auto mode then it could be Canon's auto settings pushed the ISO to a higher level, so comparison would not be fair and valid.

Don't forget also that the longer the focal length, the more prone the image will be subjected to visible hand shake too.

The images out of SX50HS alone is pretty alright just lack the contrast and colour saturation by a little, which is why I did a little processing to them. More over, I shoot them in RAW mode instead of JPEG, the quality between the modes can have significant difference.

I use a monopod for easy setup and mobility. The IS system of sx50 is pretty good, but having a monopod makes stability even better. Sharp image? Just make sure the auto focus aims correctly, making sure your shutter speed is above a certain value to reduce visible camera shake, keep your self steady and firm, keep ISO level as low as possible.

You may want to read up a little on how to use semi - auto modes such as AV, TV mode so that you have more control over the settings to give you a better output.
Why not post your "disllusioned" images here with the settings and we can help you see what's wrong with it.
 

Go for the FZ200. Large Aperture means higher shutter speed. The more likely you will catch your subject.
 

Gundamseed84,

I finally managed to find my deleted "disllusioned" images.

1) How do I cut & paste here?
2) Do I need to resize to smaller pixel sixe first? All in JPEG, 2M in size.

I re-saved them in my Desktop. I see the "Insert image" selection here and it asks for URL

Thank You
EisMann
 

what you can do is upload these pictures onto free image host websites and then paste the link of the images to the forum.
 

what you can do is upload these pictures onto free image host websites and then paste the link of the images to the forum.

Gundamseed84,

Just google & found this tinypc. Just try for 2 pictures first.


Tree 2

tinypic.com


Tree

<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=o9poo8" target="_blank"><img src="http://i46.tinypic.com/o9poo8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

Hopefully some pictures will pop out.


Is it possible to use cut & paste here?

Thank You
EisMann
 

Gundamseed84,

Just google & found this tinypc. Just try for 2 pictures first.

Tree 2

Tree

<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=o9poo8" target="_blank"><img src="http://i46.tinypic.com/o9poo8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

Hopefully some pictures will pop out.

Is it possible to use cut & paste here?

Thank You
EisMann

This easiest way to attach pics here is to upload to ur public folder in dropbox (go sign up if you haven't done so) and paste the public link here with (sq open brkt)img (sq close brkt)link(sq open brkt)/img(sq close brkt)
 

Let me help:
Picture 1
34eum40.jpg

Settings:
F6.5, 1/320, 1200mm equivalent FL, ISO 250

Picture 2
o9poo8.jpg

Settings:
F6.5, 1/320, 1200mm equivalent FL, ISO 320
 

Last edited:
The first thing that comes to my mind is were you shooting through a piece of dirty glass or was your lens dirty for Picture 1?

Picture 2 the weather looks gloomy and hazy. Was it shot through a glass also?

But one weakness of SX50 is the colours produced is a little soft (at tele end) dull and less contrasty. That's why I shoot in RAW and do processing of my images and not jpeg.
 

Last edited:
Did a quick test: F6.5, 1/5, ISO 320, 1200mm equivalent FL
Jpeg default settings
omiv.jpg


Random tweak from Raw (adjust levels , some sharpening and clarity)
2yy5xj6.jpg


Not saying that my processing skills is good but I think you may need a little bit for this camera.

Anyway it's not as bad as your sample images.
 

Last edited:
gundamseed84,

Many thanks.

That 2 photos were taken on Chinese New Year 1st Day early afternoon. If you can recall, it was a rainy day.

The 2 shots were set in Auto mode and handheld. Likewise my uncle also taken from the same position (using FZ100). The only difference was that my images were bigger than his at the full zoom (no digital zoom) when viewed from the LCD.

But came to enlarge, it was a world difference. Either you could could the number of leaves for the cropped area or the other one was as sharp as a sword.
Yes, I was too grief with the result that I did not ask whether he had do a manual setting. I thought auto mode would give a reasonable sharpness at JPEG mode.

I was questioning my decision until I googled on SX50 HS feedback and stumbled on Clubsnap fourm page and later saw your images on the bird shots.

The reasonable presentable images I have so far were the sunsets. I have tried full moon shots, but not as presentable. I just got myself a tripod to try again in April.

As for the bird shot, I have being practicing with the mynahs & pigeons. The first one on Auto shot was terrible. I have played around by adjusting the ISO and see some improvement.

I am trying to have a reasonable sharp images first before learning RAW processing and later on picture composition.

EisMann
 

The first thing that comes to my mind is were you shooting through a piece of dirty glass or was your lens dirty for Picture 1?

Picture 2 the weather looks gloomy and hazy. Was it shot through a glass also?

But one weakness of SX50 is the colours produced is a little soft (at tele end) dull and less contrasty. That's why I shoot in RAW and do processing of my images and not jpeg.


No. Both shots were taken from an opened windows. No rain water splashed in.

EisMann
 

gundamseed84,

Many thanks.

That 2 photos were taken on Chinese New Year 1st Day early afternoon. If you can recall, it was a rainy day.

The 2 shots were set in Auto mode and handheld. Likewise my uncle also taken from the same position (using FZ100). The only difference was that my images were bigger than his at the full zoom (no digital zoom) when viewed from the LCD.

But came to enlarge, it was a world difference. Either you could could the number of leaves for the cropped area or the other one was as sharp as a sword.
Yes, I was too grief with the result that I did not ask whether he had do a manual setting. I thought auto mode would give a reasonable sharpness at JPEG mode.

I was questioning my decision until I googled on SX50 HS feedback and stumbled on Clubsnap fourm page and later saw your images on the bird shots.

The reasonable presentable images I have so far were the sunsets. I have tried full moon shots, but not as presentable. I just got myself a tripod to try again in April.

As for the bird shot, I have being practicing with the mynahs & pigeons. The first one on Auto shot was terrible. I have played around by adjusting the ISO and see some improvement.

I am trying to have a reasonable sharp images first before learning RAW processing and later on picture composition.

EisMann

You must understand that there is only so much that a "compact" superzoom can do, when it comes to moonshot or birding. The ability to have a long zoom with small sensor means optical quality is very much compromise. Things that would help would be really good light, a tripod, and lotsa patience. But even so, it may not b enough, because superzoom lenses are relatively crappy (not sure about the leica badged panny lens) and the best sharpness is still not within your expectations.

Instead of learning to get better jpegs before moving to raw n composition, why not shoot raw and make your image sharper post production? There's not much to composition when it comes to super telephoto shots, just get your subject in frame.
 

No. Both shots were taken from an opened windows. No rain water splashed in.

EisMann

Point is, it was still raining. It's unrealistic to expect good and sharp photos when your conditions are lousy.
 

Agree...sx50 is capable of good shots under good lighting conditions. good enough for hobby purpose or online sharing. Other than that you cannot compare the image quality with the pros using tens of thousands of dollars lenses and dslr.

I will not say the image quality or the lens is crappy but neither can you rely totally on auto mode or the camera entirely. It really depends partly on the user's skills to see if there are methods to compromise the weakness of his gear.

Anyway I am sure sx50 can deliver better images than the ones you shown so right now you have to shoot more and improve your skills. enjoy the process of improving your shots.