Camera 4 scenery/wildlife?

FAOL Community Fly Anglers Online
1

Hello,
I have been in some beautiful country the last few months. Have seen wild turkey, elk, tons of deer. They are always just beyond reach of my little 4x & 6x optical zoom cameras. I want to purchase a longer digital zoom… The Canon S5IS is highly recommended. On one site in extended zoom it is ranked number one while the new Lumix DMC Z18S is ranked I think #22 out of 40. I don’t understand how those rankings are achieved. The new Lumix has features the Canon does not, and all I read about it is good. Actual 28mm effective wide angle, great optical image stabilization…night pics with infared…etc.

I can get either for under $400. I actually read enough that found one site that mentioned two things showing up as bad about the Canon that is beginning to turn people off. I don’t remember what it was.

Anyone have experience with the Lumix Z18 and can comment on which camera for taking long distance pics of wild animals…and beautiful panaramic scenery pics?

Help would be appreciated.

Gemrod

2

While I’ve never shot with either camera my brother has the an older, downgraded version of the S5IS and it has taken some great pictures of scenery and wild life. Here is a link to some of his shots: [url=http://good-times.webshots.com/album/560835960NoUEZr:04eef][/url:04eef]
once you get there, you can browse around at his other albums. I wouldn’t hesitate to go Canon over anyone else out there. (but thats just my opinion).

One thing you want to stay away from is

I want to purchase a longer digital zoom…

Digital zoom is not going to get you good pictures. You want to stick with a higher optical zoom. Digital zoom doesn’t really zoom in, it just takes all the pixels of color and enlarges them. That’s why when you zoom in really far with a digital zoom it looks blocky. Whatever you choose, stick with optical zoom.

3

Gemrod,

I had a Canon S3IS and liked it a lot. It had a 12x optical zoom and if I remember correctly, it was a 6 megapixel camera. My guess is that the S5IS is an up-graded version. If it is, you will like it a lot. The S3IS is a great camera with a lot of features that made it very versitile. The 12x optical zoom was great. It also had a macro and super macro feature that worked very well for super close-up shots. There were a lot of nifty automatic modes and the manual and image stitching features rounded it out well. The advise that Wild One gave about “optical” and “digital” zoom is 100% correct. Put digital zoom completely out of the equasion and focus on optical. Good luck.

4

Is $400 your budget or can you go higher. I ask that because a DSLR is going to give you better options that you may need like longer zoom or telephoto lenses, but at a price (including weight, size and other factors). A good resource on camera reviews is DP Review. Here is their link http://www.dpreview.com/

5

I would take Tyroneflys advice and visit dpreview.com. Check out the Panasonic forum. They are starting to get a lot of feed back on the FZ18. You can’t beat the Panasonics for wildlife photography. I have an FZ30 and I love it. Check out my gallery at http://www.zenfolio.com/bkelly and you will see what these cameras can do. Another choice you may consider is the FZ50.

B Kelly

6

Amen TFly

A DSLR is what you really want if you’re willing to pay the price. The digital noise of a DSLR is going to give you amazing quality of pictures. Most of them have high megapixels, but that doesn’t make as much of a difference as people think. Higher megapixels only means that you could enlarge the picture and keep the quality good. For example, a 3 mega pixel camera is not going to take pictures that can be blown up to an 8x10 and look good, whereas a 6, 8, 10 megapixel will blow up much bigger and still look good.

I shoot with a Canon Rebel 400D that I LOVE. While I haven’t got a telephoto lens yet, so I don’t have wildlife pictures, I do have a lot of scenery pictures that you can sample here. [url=http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/559879214GoLIgT:6dd56][/url:6dd56]

7

I have the Cannon Power Shot S2 IS 12X optical zoom 5.0 megapixel camera. Bought it last year for 299.00. It’s only problem is that it’s almost as big as an SLR. You would want to stay away from digital Zoom as much as possible. IMO Digital zoom makes for a grainey pic, stick with the highest optical zoom you can afford.
I personally look for a camera that uses rechargeable AA batteries. So I don’t have to worry about the Battery packs being discontinued. I have 2 video cameras that are useless because I can’t get Packs for them. You want a viewfinder so you can shut off the LCD screen to save battery life. LCD screens can be hard to see on bright sunny days also. I must have a macro feature for insects, my flies and blooms.
I don’t know if any company makes one but being able to disable the feature that shuts the camera off to save batteries is something I’m looking for. I missed a great shot of a Bald Eagle flying over my head on the Beaverkill River last Saturday because the camera shut itself down. You will also want to look for a feature that lets you take shots of moving objects and a quick auto focus.

Tom

8

TomTrout,

Like you stated most cameras have a battery save mode. If you want the camera to aways be in the ready, simply tap the shutter button from time to time to keep it from cycling into to the save mode.

9

I bought the Lumix FZ5 (same family as the new FZ18) a few years ago because I read great reviews on http://www.dpreview.com. I will say that, at the time, I didn’t realize how important a good optical zoom really was. After using this camera for a while now, there’s no doubt in my mind. Some of the best pictures I’ve ever taken were because of the 12X zoom on the Lumix. Anyway, here are my thoughts and suggestions on this…

DSLR or Not: One of the main reasons I went with the light, compact Lumix is because I thought I’d use it more if it was easy to carry. That ended up being true. A DSLR with a zoom lens is IMHO a real piece of luggage. Add fishing gear to that and you’re going to need to hire a sherpa for your trips. :shock:

A DSLR may give you a higher quality picture technically - I say technically because if you really know how to use a good digital camera well, it would be almost impossible for an amateur to tell by just looking at a computer screen or a print. It’s kind of like fishing - even the best equipment isn’t going to make up for bad technique.

Then there’s cost. Last I looked, by the time you get a DSLR (even a ‘starter’ Canon or Nikon) and a zoom lens, you’re close to if not over $1000.

Zoom: the point has been made already, but a digital zoom is no substitute for an optical zoom. And the Lumix optical zooms (Leica lenses) are about the best on the market for the money.

Megapixels: IMO and from what I’ve read, unless you plan to blow your pix up to the size of a billboard, you’re not getting much benefit from having anything over about 6 or 7 megapixels. On a computer screen, website or normal size print (8x10 or less) you won’t see a difference b/w 6-7-8 megapixels.

Anyway, I have nothing but great things to say about the Lumix and would buy one again in a heartbeat. You might even consider the Lumix FZ8 which is $100 less than the FZ18. The FZ18 looks nice for sure, but if you don’t think you’ll use some of the bells and whistles that make that one more expensive, you could save some money.

I also agree with the others who suggested you should read up on http://www.dpreview.com. It’s the best site I’ve found for researching cameras and learning how to use them.

10

I have a Panasonic DMC FZ7, and it takes pretty good wildlife pics. It has been a good performer, with over 2000 photos in the past year or so. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another, although I would prefer more megapixels, since I DO blow up shots for the wall (at work).

An example pic (reduced in quality to fit on the website) http://wwwnotes.fs.fed.us:81/wo/wfrp/fi … 14_low.JPG

I know conventional wisdom is that it takes a certain # of megapixels to blow up a photo for the wall, but I have a 24X36 print above my desk that was taken with a 1.3 mp camera. But it was a Sony with a GOOD piece of glass, not just a cheap plastic one like many point-and-shoot cameras have. Then again, it helps to have an HP plotter to print on…

One recommendation I have for any camera is to buy a decent skylight (UV) filter for the camera, and LEAVE THE FILTER ON. It will act as a permanent, see-though lens protector, preventing any chance of scratches or fingerprints on the actual lens.

11

Thank you for bothering to post your information. I don’t care about the extra $100. I know I do not want to get involved with a DSLR. But…I have purchased many things that were supposed to be “enough” only to find them in-adequate. Sooooo…I would rather purchase a Lumix FZ18…than any 12x…just to hope I have not wasted my money and purchased another item that is not satisfactory for what I want it to do. If I HAD a god 12x optical zoom and already knew whether it was enough for me I wouldn’t be wondering about it. I just do not KNOW it will be adequate…so I wanna go to the 18x optical. Everybody knows Canon makes an excellent camera. But I am stuck on the Lumix DMC FZ18S. I guess I never follow the sheep…or the crowd/herd or majority opinion. I like to read and then go out on my own…and usually end up suffering the consequences.

Thanks again all.

Gemrod

12

Tyrone,

Thanks for the tip. The only problem is that while your fishing or when at a Sports event you do forget to hit those buttons, well I do anyway. So when the time comes the camera is off. A stand by mode instead of total shut down would be so much better.

Tom