What camera?

[Tornado]

My hubby has just treated me, I had a Nikon Coolpix 3100 which took some fantastic macro shots, but now I have a Canon PowerShot S3 IS with a 58mm Close-up lens for my beloved butterfly and other insect shots.
Its proving a little more of a challenge than the Nikon but I'm sure I will get the hang of it.............eventually!
Tornado

[paulthomas]

Colin,

Teleconverters in general slow the AF system down a little as they reduce the light by one stop (for 1.4x TC). But you'll probably only notice it when light levels are low (today!). In good light it'll be fine.

[Boddie]

Originally Posted by colincurry

Hallo again Boddie

Thanks for the info which I have checked out along with other threads on this topic. Some say that they have no problem with the tape. Others say that the AF is slow and has to hunt around in the dark or in a monochrome situation. Others also say that it is no good to snap flying birds.

I just wondered what your experience was (and that of any other 100-400 WABers).

I promise I'll leave you alone after this!

Colin

Don't worry about it.

I would concur with that information. The AF is slower in bad light, and by bad light I mean bad light, not dark. Like today, the weather was rubbish, raining and overcast and it would take some time to search.

Have to say I have not tried on flying birds.

In my opinion the extender is fine for a good clear bright days. I would not venture out with it much at the moment - May have it handy, but 400 mil is usually more than enough

[nitsch]

Originally Posted by colincurry

Hallo again Boddie

Thanks for the info which I have checked out along with other threads on this topic. Some say that they have no problem with the tape. Others say that the AF is slow and has to hunt around in the dark or in a monochrome situation. Others also say that it is no good to snap flying birds.

I just wondered what your experience was (and that of any other 100-400 WABers).

I promise I'll leave you alone after this!

Colin

Hi Colin,

Are you talking about shooting birds in flight using the 100-400 with the taped 1.4x TC fitted? You may get a small percentage of keepers using this combo if you are only panning slow moving birds like herons but generally speaking I'd say based on my own experience that this setup is not be useable for birds in flight. The 100-400 on it's own would perform much better for birds in flight and is OK for this task but if you get serious and want to really up your keeper ratio you might want to consider the 400 prime but that is a less versatile lens for other subject matter. HTH!

Cheers,

Nick

[canny]

Originally Posted by matt_xyz

Sorry not to have seen your post earlier Colin. I use an FZ30 with a TCON17 teleconverter and have been very pleased with both. For bird photography I use centre spot autofocus and I use centre weighted metering (not spot metering). I have very occasionally used a monopod but the vast majority of my shots (probably all the shots in my WAB Gallery) were taken handheld. I tend to use aperture priority set to maximum aperture with -0.5 EV (or thereabouts) exposure compensation to increase the shutter speed. This is the only real way to increase the shutterspeed to a reasonable level since raising the ISO results in too much noise. That is the one area in which an FZ30 is poor compared to a DSLR. If the shot is then underexposed I adjust in photoshop. Alternatively, I shoot in manual mode and choose aperture level and shutter speed to suit.

For bird photography I think a teleconverter is a must and the TCON seems to be the teleconverter of choice for FZ30 users (judging by the Panasonic forum at www.dpreview.com).

I hope this answers your questions.
best wishes,

Matt

I am also looking for a new set up and reading your earlier post thought this combo sounded good (FZ30 plus teleconverter) until I read the above re compensation, aperture, increasing shutter speed etc. Does this mean you cannot get good results by point and shoot?
I don't want to go down the DSLR route because of weight. Equally I find changing settings etc difficult as I have a disability therefore point and shoot suits me fine but I still want the best quality. (a lot to ask I know)

[colincurry]

Morning Canny

The FZ30 has an automatic mode. I have never used this. According to the manual, the following settings are installed when you use this mode:

White balance - auto
Sensitivity - Auto
Audio reception - Off
Metering mode - Multiple (The whole screen is measured to achieve the best exposure at the time)
Auto focus - 1 area focusing (around the centre)
Continual autofocus - Off (This is helpful when tracking birds in flight)
Auto focus assist lamp - On (This helps the camera to focus in low light situations)
Digital zoom - Off (Digital zoom reduces the quality of the picture)
Picture adjustments - Standard (Colour, sharpness etc)
Flip animation - Cannot be set (Effect like the old photo books that you used to flip through to give the impression of movement)
External flash - Preset.

Perhaps other WABers have used the automatic mode and could offer their experiences.

It does seem that you could have a point and shoot camera with the benefit of the 12x optical zoom Leica lens and the teleconverter (You would have to go into the menu to set the camera up to use the converter but this is a one off for each session when you use it - you would also have to "switch it off" to use the camera without it). THe manual does NOT say that the a teleconverter may not be used in auto mode - but this would be worth checking with Panasonic or say Jessops or your local camera shop.

I hope this is helpful.

I am sure that others will also comment (particularly Matt-xyz who has had his FZ30 a lot longer than I).

Colin

[canny]

Many thanks Colin, very helpful.
If anyone else can add to this I would be most greatful.

Canny

[Interpreter]

I have a Canon 350D with one or two lenses, including the 100-400L USM. It is an OK outfit. It is on the heavy side, but causes me no problems. I also use a Bronica ETRS and a Contax RTS, which once again are great outfits, provided that you have a very good scanner to digitise the images. Film is cheap. 100 rolls of 24 exposure 35mm dated December 2007 can be obtained on ebay from one of the Drop-Shops for around the £16 mark (plus postage), but unless you intend to hand control of your printing to an outside firm, you really need to be able to scan them.
I also use a Fuji S7000 and this is my favourite camera. Left on auto, it produces fantastic results at up to A1 size. It is really easy to use and can be left as a point and shoot camera and still produce the goods. These cameras are still obtainable for about £160, if you search for them. I have posted seven photographs of myself holding A1 photographs taken with this camera on my website. jpg Resized
These photographs were printed on an Epson R2400 using the poster facility at 2 x 2.
One last point. It doesn't really matter which type of camera you use as long as you are used to it and are happy with the way it works.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Interpreter

Film is cheap.

.... well kind of, depending on what you buy , but D+P sure aint . Before I went digital I was spending somewhere arround 70 notes a month on 35mm film (Provia 400F) and D+P.

I'm not knocking the format - i still have a mamiya 645 that i use for landscapes from time to time , great piece of kit, but cheap to run it isnt

Originally Posted by Interpreter

It doesn't really matter which type of camera you use as long as you are used to it and are happy with the way it works.

now that we can all agree with , its not the kit thats important but the photos you get and also that you enjoy getting them.

[Interpreter]

Has anyone considered using a 35mm camera and a good quality scanner? It would be less expensive to keep your 'old' film camera equipment and scan the images to produce digital files which can then be used on a computer for printing.
I see that some consumer scanners will now give 4000dpi images which, in theory, should out perform most, if not all, digital cameras. Scanners no longer have to be drum scanners to give good results. Many flat bed scanners are now very good and relatively inexpensive. Some appear very time consuming, taking some 40 minutes to scan a single image at high resolution. This would equate to 24 hours per 36 exposure film. I should think that this would just not be practical. If high resolution is not important, most high street d&p shops will scan a film to disc for a few pounds. The internet will give the names of companies which will process and scan 120 and larger format films. However, they charge up to £20 for a single scan at very high resolution. (I think a scan at 'normal' jpg resolution is about £5 for up to 15 exposures. Just right for a Bronica 645?)
An ebay shop from America is offering the EOS 3000v camera body for £59 plus some £20 P&P, but they pay the inport duty. The EOS 300v is £10 more and if this camera is purchased together with the standard two lenses the whole outfit is just over £100 and has a three year international guarantee. Add another £250 for a scanner and you have an inexpensive outfit, which should cover everything. At this price you would use the camera in situations where you would not dare to risk your Hasselblad H3.
If you want to know what expensive is, try using an HP Photosmart 145 for printing digital images. I used one to print 400 6"x4" prints which my wife took in South Africa. Never again!