yet another new camera question (possibly wildlife usage)
Discussion
I've seen (and participated in) several new camera threads and, probably even started some myself. However, we're now getting to the point where we've agreed that money needs to be spent, the issue is that there is just sooo much choice it makes buying a car seem straightforward 
Currently, we have a Canon G3X which is (allegedly) weather/dust resistant with a 25x optical lens (IIRC this translates as 600mm) but, whilst I don't mind it and the quality of the pictures it takes (some of the poorer shots are due ID10T error
) there are things I'm not happy with - mainly poor boot-up time (easily avoided by leaving the camera on and having a few spare batteries) and slow autofocus.
My initial thought was just to upgrade to a Sony RX10 IV but it seems to be quite a lot to shell out for something that may not be a big improvement over the existing.
Sooooo at this point, I'm in a quandary and hopefully, you helpful peeps can point me in the right direction...
Thoughts, I hope that I'm a little clearer in what I think I need:
- must have a good autofocus
- good telephoto lens
- image stabilisation (see telephoto lens)
- must have reasonable low-light ability (dusk, we'll be on safari so I'd imagine that this is quite useful?)
- from what I can gather a decent touch-screen is a very useful 'gimmick' to have
- weather sealed (or is that just pointless since water will screw everything up if there's a downpour)
- from the pictures I've seen I'm not overly enamoured with 'sharp-edged' cameras, not too bother about how it looks but it strikes me that they may not feel particularly comfortable
- budget... I'd rather not spend too much, the Sony is c£1,400 so I'd imagine that £2k would be quite a healthy ceiling for us
- size/weight/portability... not too bothered but I'd rather not carry around extra lenses (hence why the bridge camera has worked until now)
- new vs used... not too bothered about getting a lightly used body and lens, though would naturally prefer new
- important stuff I've not thought of/mentioned?
the G3X will, possibly, be kept depending on the flexibility of the new camera (since for a lot of what I try and take it seems fine - plus Mrs DG can use it)
Currently, we have a Canon G3X which is (allegedly) weather/dust resistant with a 25x optical lens (IIRC this translates as 600mm) but, whilst I don't mind it and the quality of the pictures it takes (some of the poorer shots are due ID10T error
) there are things I'm not happy with - mainly poor boot-up time (easily avoided by leaving the camera on and having a few spare batteries) and slow autofocus.My initial thought was just to upgrade to a Sony RX10 IV but it seems to be quite a lot to shell out for something that may not be a big improvement over the existing.
Sooooo at this point, I'm in a quandary and hopefully, you helpful peeps can point me in the right direction...
Thoughts, I hope that I'm a little clearer in what I think I need:
- must have a good autofocus
- good telephoto lens
- image stabilisation (see telephoto lens)
- must have reasonable low-light ability (dusk, we'll be on safari so I'd imagine that this is quite useful?)
- from what I can gather a decent touch-screen is a very useful 'gimmick' to have
- weather sealed (or is that just pointless since water will screw everything up if there's a downpour)
- from the pictures I've seen I'm not overly enamoured with 'sharp-edged' cameras, not too bother about how it looks but it strikes me that they may not feel particularly comfortable
- budget... I'd rather not spend too much, the Sony is c£1,400 so I'd imagine that £2k would be quite a healthy ceiling for us
- size/weight/portability... not too bothered but I'd rather not carry around extra lenses (hence why the bridge camera has worked until now)
- new vs used... not too bothered about getting a lightly used body and lens, though would naturally prefer new
- important stuff I've not thought of/mentioned?
the G3X will, possibly, be kept depending on the flexibility of the new camera (since for a lot of what I try and take it seems fine - plus Mrs DG can use it)
I'm very much in the same boat and went for a Sony ɑ6700.
Tried it with the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS
Really impressed with it and its a big saving on the Sony proprietary lenses. Looking to get it in the next few months.
Hoping to get the Sigma 28 - 105mm when funds allow and that should be enough to cover all bases
Tried it with the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS
Really impressed with it and its a big saving on the Sony proprietary lenses. Looking to get it in the next few months.
Hoping to get the Sigma 28 - 105mm when funds allow and that should be enough to cover all bases
T1berious said:
I'm very much in the same boat and went for a Sony ?6700.
Tried it with the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS
Really impressed with it and its a big saving on the Sony proprietary lenses. Looking to get it in the next few months.
Hoping to get the Sigma 28 - 105mm when funds allow and that should be enough to cover all bases
hmmm reading some reviews and that does seem to tick a lot of boxes - added to the fact that it's a relatively new release so (I would expect) has more gubbins that you can use (not to mention loads that you won't Tried it with the Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS
Really impressed with it and its a big saving on the Sony proprietary lenses. Looking to get it in the next few months.
Hoping to get the Sigma 28 - 105mm when funds allow and that should be enough to cover all bases
). Looked at the Sigma and there's currently £150 off if you buy before Nov 30th 
T1berious said:
£150 off the Sigma? Can I ask where that's from?
Cheers,
T1b
currently with Sigma direct - though one of the online stores has an extra 50 off that too. Will try and look it up shortly Cheers,
T1b
ETA: https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/sigma-100-400mm-f5-6...
Edited by DodgyGeezer on Thursday 24th October 21:54
DodgyGeezer said:
currently with Sigma direct - though one of the online stores has an extra 50 off that too. Will try and look it up shortly
ETA: https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/sigma-100-400mm-f5-6...
Muchas gracias!!ETA: https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/sigma-100-400mm-f5-6...
Edited by DodgyGeezer on Thursday 24th October 21:54
T1berious said:
DodgyGeezer said:
currently with Sigma direct - though one of the online stores has an extra 50 off that too. Will try and look it up shortly
ETA: https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/sigma-100-400mm-f5-6...
Muchas gracias!!ETA: https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/sigma-100-400mm-f5-6...
Edited by DodgyGeezer on Thursday 24th October 21:54
Had a play with one at my local store and loved tge size/how it felt so collection is next week T1berious said:
My most humble apologies!
What lens did you go for?
we decided on the Sigma 100-400 and a standard 18-50 lens - truth be told I wasn't going to bother but Mrs DG was persuasive (and as the shop pointed out having the smaller lens will/should increase its usability). Should collect sometime this week What lens did you go for?
DodgyGeezer said:
we decided on the Sigma 100-400 and a standard 18-50 lens - truth be told I wasn't going to bother but Mrs DG was persuasive (and as the shop pointed out having the smaller lens will/should increase its usability). Should collect sometime this week
Nice, I've got the standard 16 - 50mm, so I'm looking to get the 100 - 400 in the next couple of weeks! Congrats!
T1berious said:
How are you getting on?
Goofed with the ISO but lesson learned.
nice - just come back from holiday so am eager to find out how crappy my fotoskillz really are (on the basis that I can no longer blame the camera). At this point I've decided to cheat and use 'auto mode' until I'm a little more au-fait with things (and in fairness, most of the reviews I've read seem to indicate that auto mode is actually pretty damn good!). I'll try and see if there's anything even part-way decent to pop on here over the next few days.Goofed with the ISO but lesson learned.
One thing I have discovered is that the 100-400 lens is a hefty bit of kit and (obviously) quite unwieldy - I guess it'll just take some getting used to.
DodgyGeezer said:
nice - just come back from holiday so am eager to find out how crappy my fotoskillz really are (on the basis that I can no longer blame the camera). At this point I've decided to cheat and use 'auto mode' until I'm a little more au-fait with things (and in fairness, most of the reviews I've read seem to indicate that auto mode is actually pretty damn good!). I'll try and see if there's anything even part-way decent to pop on here over the next few days.
One thing I have discovered is that the 100-400 lens is a hefty bit of kit and (obviously) quite unwieldy - I guess it'll just take some getting used to.
Yup, I felt like a total plank at the park. I would also try M Mode but with iso set to Auto. That way you're able to setup the shutter speed. One thing I have discovered is that the 100-400 lens is a hefty bit of kit and (obviously) quite unwieldy - I guess it'll just take some getting used to.
When I first got the camera I tried AUTO but moving objects weren't great. I'll put up an example.
A guy at work was telling me to up the shutter speed that way it looks less blurry.
Upped it to 1600 ss and was getting decent movement when getting the birds in flight and landing on the pond.
Next bright day I'll take it out again.
right, it seems as if there's an ID10T error with the camera - all good though, it's a learning process but as promised some pics to take the piss out of...
I'm finding that once I go above 175%(ish) the pics get rather pixelated - not sure if this is usual or not but something for me to work on. I've looked at the settings and it's on the default of 'fine' which has now been changed to 'extra fine' and see how much difference that makes
but as promised some pics to take the piss out of...I'm finding that once I go above 175%(ish) the pics get rather pixelated - not sure if this is usual or not but something for me to work on. I've looked at the settings and it's on the default of 'fine' which has now been changed to 'extra fine' and see how much difference that makes
Edited by DodgyGeezer on Monday 9th December 16:36
T1berious said:
DodgyGeezer said:
well I managed to use the camera on holiday and there were.... mixed results. Some pics I'm more than happy with, others not so much. Some of the better ones are below...
If I end up with a few photos looking this good, I'll be a happy bunny.Did you do much in post?
I do have some rather lovely rhino pictures but due to poaching concerns we have been requested not to post on SM (so, naturally, I won't 
)
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