Daughter Needs Advice (Page 3): Be aware that it is very difficult to hold any camera steady enough to avoid image blur at the very long focal lengths being suggested unless the camera...

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

finalimage wrote:

My adult daughter wants a new camera and has $1000 to spend. Wants a point and shoot with some reach, she is tired of changing lenses on the Canon camera she has and does not use it. Wants to photograph birds but not birds in flight. I know there are Canon cameras with 50X lenses but are there other brands with similar reach? Many thanks!

Be aware that it is very difficult to hold any camera steady enough to avoid image blur at the very long focal lengths being suggested unless the camera has an outstanding image stabilization system.

oldgeezer3 Loc: SoCal

finalimage wrote:

My adult daughter wants a new camera and has $1000 to spend. Wants a point and shoot with some reach, she is tired of changing lenses on the Canon camera she has and does not use it. Wants to photograph birds but not birds in flight. I know there are Canon cameras with 50X lenses but are there other brands with similar reach? Many thanks!

I have several very good bird photos that I took with my Canon T3i with a Tamron 18 - 270 lens. Tamrom now has a good 18 - 400mm lens for $600 something. That has me salivating!

Check the thread about the Tamron 16 - 300mm lens on today's date. You'll find it also informative.

Kuzano

dpfoto wrote:

The Nikon P900 would be a good one for her. It has a zoom range of 24mm to 2000mm.

Probably as big as the Canon she has been changing lenses on, just not as big a sensor, but with fixed lens long zoom.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

oldgeezer3 wrote:

I have several very good bird photos that I took with my Canon T3i with a Tamron 18 - 270 lens. Tamrom now has a good 18 - 400mm lens for $600 something. That has me salivating!

Nothing wrong with the 18-270 ... other than a little lens creep ....

Oh, er ... the 18-400 is $649, Geezer ....

oldgeezer3 Loc: SoCal

Chris T wrote:

Nothing wrong with the 18-270 ... other than a little lens creep ....

Oh, er ... the 18-400 is $649, Geezer ....

I have been looking at the Canon 100 - 400mm lens for birding. Now Tamron has the 18 - 400! I would like to see a thread on UHH with some downloaded photos using that lens!!! compared with the Canon 400mm or 100 - 400mm lenses. I know, the Canon lenses are faster but the price....

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

oldgeezer3 wrote:

I have been looking at the Canon 100 - 400mm lens for birding. Now Tamron has the 18 - 400! I would like to see a thread on UHH with some downloaded photos using that lens!!! compared with the Canon 400mm or 100 - 400mm lenses. I know, the Canon lenses are faster but the price....

Oh, right ... $1300 minimum ... and it goes up from there ...

You could buy TWO Tamron 18-400 lenses for that!!!!

There's been several posters putting up pics taken with that lens - on the home page, recently ...

Go back a week, or so, Geezer - see what you can find ....

paul j svetlik Loc: Colorado

I would not advice her a zoom going over - let us say 700 mm. She woul not be able to use it without a tripod.
Panasonic Lumix line with the range 24 - 720 mm is a very practical package fitting into a shirt pocket, Leica optics, electronic viewfinder and RAW filling.

Paul Buckhiester Loc: Columbus, GA USA

finalimage wrote:

My adult daughter wants a new camera and has $1000 to spend. Wants a point and shoot with some reach, she is tired of changing lenses on the Canon camera she has and does not use it. Wants to photograph birds but not birds in flight. I know there are Canon cameras with 50X lenses but are there other brands with similar reach? Many thanks!

The two super-zoom bridge cameras I know of both have small 1 2/3 sensors. I own the Canon SX50 and it’s great for grabbing a quick shot when my gear is not handy, but it suffers from all the limitations of small sensors.
Both of these cameras (the other is the Nikon P900) would be great complements to your daughter’s slr and might help get her back to using it, but I doubt she will be happy with either as a sole camera.

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

jackpi wrote:

Be aware that it is very difficult to hold any camera steady enough to avoid image blur at the very long focal lengths being suggested unless the camera has an outstanding image stabilization system.

It has been said that the Image Stabilization System in the Nikon Coolpix P-900 IS outstanding, Jack ... especially at its farthest reach of 2000mm (35mm eq.)

Chris T Loc: from England across the pond to New England

Paul Buckhiester wrote:

The two super-zoom bridge cameras I know of both have small 1 2/3 sensors. I own the Canon SX50 and it’s great for grabbing a quick shot when my gear is not handy, but it suffers from all the limitations of small sensors.
Both of these cameras (the other is the Nikon P900) would be great complements to your daughter’s slr and might help get her back to using it, but I doubt she will be happy with either as a sole camera.

Two?

Paul ... the latest iteration of the Canon Powershot is the SX-60 HS - which zooms from 21mm to 1365mm (35mm equiv.) ...

Several Nikon Coolpix bridges (other than the P-900) zoom from 24-1440mm (35mm equiv.)

The Sony H400 - zooms out to around 1550mm (35mm equiv.) ....

radiojohn

Be sure to avoid ones with ONLY a rear screen! Trying to compose in bright light and holding the camera out in front of you (like holding a baby with a wet diaper) is not a good idea.

It's interesting that both Sony and Panasonic offer high-end bridge cameras these days. I have a 16 MP Fuji with WiFi that allows me to see and control the camera on a tablet.

PaulR

Agreed....Panasonic FZ1000...Absolutely the Best.

jdub82 Loc: Northern California

I would recommend the Canon SX60. It has a 65X Zoom and a price point under $500.00. I own the SX50 (Previous model) with a 50X zoom and was able to get some amazing shots with the long zoom on a safari during a trip to Kenya this past summer. I noticed other people struggling with huge 600mm lenses, and my zoom was double that without the hassle of the huge lens. The quality of the pictures it produces is very good, even with the small sensor.

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

dpfoto wrote:

The Nikon P900 would be a good one for her. It has a zoom range of 24mm to 2000mm.

And it only costs about half she has budgeted. Hand-held!!

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

digit-up wrote:

And it only costs about half she has budgeted.

*********** P-900 yesterday***** RJM

(Download)