While on the subject of possible future directions for digital cameras Pentax is about to release a mirrorless body that is compatible with its existing SLR lenses http://www.pentaxforums.com/news/pentax-k-01-officially-announced.html while i don’t see myself hanging up the SLR anytime soon it will be interesting to see if this is the direction we are heading in
Cheers,
Kailash > Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 15:56:48 +1100 > From: “Michael Hunter” > To: > Subject: [Birding-Aus] Nikon superzoom > Message-ID: <21820382DBB447BAA4072FDE635100E3@UserPC> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”iso-8859-1″ > > Thanks for keeping us uptodate on the latest electronic wonders Carl. > > The new Nikons look absolutely fabulous EXCEPT that they don’t have manual focus, which means that, unless they have an absolutely pinpoint, fast, autofocus capability, trying to focus on a bird in the bush results in autofocussing on twigs and leaves in the foreground, particularly at high zoom, the bird itself being out of focus. > > I have a Panasonic compact with a zoom equivalent of about 500mm, good, but with a very cumbersome manual focus mechanism, only worth trying if the bird or beast behind branches sits still while you fiddle. ( It also packed up in the humidity of rainforest, but came good after drying out in front of the campfire, so check on waterproofing or appropriate waterproof cases if you want to go there.) > > Cheers > > Michael > > Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:37:47 +0930 > From: Denise Goodfellow > To: Michael Hunter , Birding Aus > > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Nikon superzoom > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”ISO-8859-1″ > > Hi Michael > Lack of a manual focus is my particular bugbear as well. It’s the only > thing that’s put me off buying one of the new Nikons. > Regards > — > Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow B.A. Grad.Dip.Arts > 1/7 Songlark Street, Bakewell NT 0832, AUSTRALIA > Ph. 61 08 89 328306 > Mobile: 04 386 50 835 > > Birdwatching and Indigenous tourism consultant > PhD Candidate (Southern Cross University, NSW) > Interpreter/transcriber, Lonely Planet Guide to Aboriginal Australia > Vice-chair, Wildlife Tourism Australia > Nominated by Earthfoot (2004) for Conde Nast’s Traveler International Award > > > =============================== > > > Date: Thu, 2 Feb 2012 16:33:42 +1100 > From: Carl Clifford > To: “Michael Hunter” > Cc: birding-aus@vicnet.net.au > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Nikon superzoom > Message-ID: > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > > Yes it is lacking a few features, notably, lack of external flash > ability. Lack of manual focus is definitely a minus. also, trying to > shoot hand held at max zoom would call for a very steady hand. > > It will be interesting to watch future developments though. Don’t > think I will be ditching my DSLR for one just yet. > > Cheers, > > Carl Clifford >
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The new Nikon 1s are mirrorless but have phase detection sensors integrated into the main imaging sensor. I don’t know if this is the future, but DSLR mirrors are looking like dinosaurs.
I’ve decided to upgrade the old shirt pocket compact I take bushwalking, kayaking etc when an SLR isn’t convenient/safe – and I’m impressed by what you can get now, e.g. Nikon AW100, Pentax WG-1, Panasonic’s FT3/4. The Nikon is 180g, waterproof to 10m, gps+compass, VR, 1080p video@30 FPS – $250 grey market on Ebay or ~$400 in Australia. Unfortunately maximum focal length isn’t great for birds – maybe next year.
Andrew ===============================
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A Google search says it gives you “reduced focusing time”, so perhaps it’s at the expense of focusing accuracy. I’m not sure if this is the type of delay Allan was talking about.
Peter Shute
My common garden Canon compact camera has a dial setting called ‘Kids & Pets’ which is supposed to reduce the lag time. It certainly works better for these subjects than the ‘auto’ setting but I’m not sure what is compromised to achieve this. Paul Osborn
Peter
Call it a conspiracy theory but I reckon shutter lag in point and shoots is one of those annoying little things that the manufacturers will retain to encourage people to go to SLRs.
Greg Little
Peter,
I think it may be some time before electronic viewfinders will out-do a good split-screen optical viewfinder.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
I do think that mirrorless cameras is where photography is heading, and it’s good to see a manufacturer maintaining compatibility with current and legacy lenses. But this camera has neither optical nor electronic viewfinder, not even as an option, so I hope it’s not where bird photography is heading.
I think an electronic viewfinder is potentially better than an optical one if the resolution is good enough, but it’s disappointing that there are so many photographers who don’t need one at all that manufacturers can simply leave it out.
I suspect that some time in the future the viewfinder/no viewfinder divide may be bigger than the mirror/no mirror one.
Peter Shute
I am a Pentax person, both photographic and optics, but they have lost me with the lack of a viewfinder. I can’t stand chimping. Even a hot- shoe mounted viewfinder would make it more useful. It is good to see a compact camera that takes inter-changeable lenses and an APS-C sized sensor, though. It should give the 4/3 and micro 4/3 market a bit of a run for their money.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
While on the subject of possible future directions for digital cameras Pentax is about to release a mirrorless body that is compatible with its existing SLR lenses http://www.pentaxforums.com/news/pentax-k-01-officially-announced.html while i don’t see myself hanging up the SLR anytime soon it will be interesting to see if this is the direction we are heading in
Cheers,
Kailash
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I’d forgotten about lag since I got a DSLR. I must admit I always thought lag was the time from pressing the shutter to taking the picture, and that you could eliminate it by half pressing first, but after googling it, it seems there’s more to it.
It appears it’s quite common for compact cameras to have lags of half a second or more, but according to http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/olympus-pen-ep3-improves-almost-everything/, the Olympus E-P3 has “a lag of just 60 milliseconds. Compare that to Nikon’s official lag for the D700 — 40 milliseconds …”
Whether manufacturers will bother to keep lag low is another matter, but at least it seems possible.
Peter Shute
________________________________________ Sent: Friday, 3 February 2012 6:17 PM Cc: ‘kailashw@hotmail.com’; ‘birding-aus@lists.vicnet.net.au’
The problem with this type of design is that you are using the picture capturing sensor to generate an image on the rear screen of the camera. When you push the shutter release the camera must then switch form display mode to picture taking mode. This is why the compact cameras (even those with an electronic viewfinder) have an inherent delay between the pressing of the shutter and when the photo is captured.
As a consequence anybody photographing active subjects, such as people (especially children), pets, flowers, on anything but a dead calm day, and you guessed it, birds, will likely encounter grief during the photographic process.
Some birds are so fast in their reactions that they can move into a poor position when they hear the shutter on an SLR release, let alone a camera that shares it’s sensor with viewing capability.
Allan Richardson Morisset NSW.
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Yes, but I think they’ll get there. One advantage of an electronic viewfinder is that you can magnify the image, or just the central portion, at the press of a button. Because current EVF resolution is still way below that of the sensor, this is possible without any interpolation.
I suspect 2x or 3x magnification might let you focus as accurately as a split screen (just guessing), and they’ll commonly let you go to 10x. Holding it still enough to use that magnification is another matter. I’ve used it on a tripod with the live preview on my DSLR, and it makes accurate focusing easy in that situation.
I’ve also used it on my old Canon S3 compact superzoom with some success even with its low resolution EVF, but just activating manual focus on that camera was a difficult feat by itself.
Peter Shute ________________________________________ Sent: Friday, 3 February 2012 7:04 PM Cc: ‘kailashw@hotmail.com’; ‘birding-aus@lists.vicnet.net.au’
Peter,
I think it may be some time before electronic viewfinders will out-do a good split-screen optical viewfinder.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
I do think that mirrorless cameras is where photography is heading, and it’s good to see a manufacturer maintaining compatibility with current and legacy lenses. But this camera has neither optical nor electronic viewfinder, not even as an option, so I hope it’s not where bird photography is heading.
I think an electronic viewfinder is potentially better than an optical one if the resolution is good enough, but it’s disappointing that there are so many photographers who don’t need one at all that manufacturers can simply leave it out.
I suspect that some time in the future the viewfinder/no viewfinder divide may be bigger than the mirror/no mirror one.
Peter Shute
The problem with this type of design is that you are using the picture capturing sensor to generate an image on the rear screen of the camera. When you push the shutter release the camera must then switch form display mode to picture taking mode. This is why the compact cameras (even those with an electronic viewfinder) have an inherent delay between the pressing of the shutter and when the photo is captured.
As a consequence anybody photographing active subjects, such as people (especially children), pets, flowers, on anything but a dead calm day, and you guessed it, birds, will likely encounter grief during the photographic process.
Some birds are so fast in their reactions that they can move into a poor position when they hear the shutter on an SLR release, let alone a camera that shares it’s sensor with viewing capability.
Allan Richardson Morisset NSW.
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I do think that mirrorless cameras is where photography is heading, and it’s good to see a manufacturer maintaining compatibility with current and legacy lenses. But this camera has neither optical nor electronic viewfinder, not even as an option, so I hope it’s not where bird photography is heading.
I think an electronic viewfinder is potentially better than an optical one if the resolution is good enough, but it’s disappointing that there are so many photographers who don’t need one at all that manufacturers can simply leave it out.
I suspect that some time in the future the viewfinder/no viewfinder divide may be bigger than the mirror/no mirror one.
Peter Shute