Bird photography and video with the Canon SX30 and Panasonic Lumix FZ100 cameras

With the 834mm 35mm equivalent focal length of the canon sx30 would this camera be a worthwhile addition to the bird photographer rather than a dslr, long (aka expensive) telephoto lens and the need for a monopod/tripod. This demo video shows some of the issues with the canon sx30 when used for this purpose. The fz100 can't match the optical zoom of the canon and even with cropping the image is no where near as good as the canon image. for this purpose of long lens photography the Fz100 has to be dismissed. The only question remaining is the shortfalls I point out within this video. If it's just stills your after then this might fit your needs and for simple video again the results are pretty good for most users, although you need to be aware of all the issues when deciding. I wish the FZ100 had better zoom as the camera features are excellent with total control in manual mode, maybe an additional teleconvertor may give enough resolution? Filmed at heaton Park in Manchester, edited with canopus edius 5 and rendered as WMV file.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• canon sx30
• panasonic lumix fz100
• heaton park

[gobbisharon]

Excellent video, thanks for taking the time do it. Fz looks much better for video, but any views on "regular" photos?

[ghough12]

@gobbisharon Hi, thanks for the feedback. For general pictures it really depends where you want to view these as prints or screen shows etc. For prints the A4 from max 16m file is OK but if you are a "pixel peeper" you may see some slight jpeg artifacts and macro blockiness. On screen you really don't notice anything. For prints I would shoot raw+jpeg mode. Preview the jpeg then process the raw using less sharpening and you can get better images. The FZ150 is a better bet now with lower pixels

[xXEatCookieXx]

Notice the slight jello effect on the video from camera shake on the FZ100 CMOS sensor, but you get smearing from the SX30is CCD sensor with bright lights.

[ghough12]

@xXEatCookieXx Thanks for viewing, yes this is one of the cmos v ccd issues. CMOS gives higher readouts so we can get 1080p and faster still burst rate but IQ is higher on the CCD but it suffers in other areas like the overloading of the photosites and resulting smearing.

[1wun]

you did not state whether the Canon SX30 was on manual or auto for focus

[ghough12]

@1wun both cameras on auto focus

[Iamtubuler]

Thank You for taking the time to do this and let the photos do the talking! I ordered the SX30

[pramathsb]

CMOS vs CCD :)

Can you plz tell me the pro's n con's of each?

And which according to you is the best in these two Bridgies :D

BTW nice video!!

[ConFuzRv]

Watched this on my Apple TV, Amazing Quality =)

[fjeh]

Thanks for a great video. I think I now have made up my mind. The FZ100 looks like the better option.