New Fuji X-S1..the birders choice? (1 Viewer)

[earleybird]

I thought that the biggest problem with using P mode on birds particularly at full zoom is loss of control of DOF ? which is why A Aperture priority mode with auto shutter speed is often recommended for birds or am I misunderstanding here ?

 

[chilu]

I thought that the biggest problem with using P mode on birds particularly at full zoom is loss of control of DOF ? which is why A Aperture priority mode with auto shutter speed is often recommended for birds or am I misunderstanding here ?

If you use whatever the camera figures out on its own, yes P mode wont give you what you need. Most cameras allow you to adjust what the camera comes up with on its own in P mode. You can do this on DSLR's and the X-S1, not sure if the HS30 allows you to but I would think it does. Its called program shift or something to that nature. It shifts the shutter speed/aperture up or down while maintaining exposure. Its like changing aperture in shutter priority mode or shutter speed in aperture priority mode, only in P mode, it adjusts both at the same time.

 

[chilu]

52X on Fuji X-S1

Here are two pictures that are using Fuji's intelligent digital zoom to make it 52x. The quality is outstanding for digital zoom. As long as you dont go over ISO 400 and ensure the shutter speed is high enough to avoid shake I was amazed at how they turn out.

 

[O.Reville1989]

Here are two pictures that are using Fuji's intelligent digital zoom to make it 52x. The quality is outstanding for digital zoom. As long as you dont go over ISO 400 and ensure the shutter speed is high enough to avoid shake I was amazed at how they turn out.

Very impressive!

 

[chilu]

There are two issues that I see after trying out the digital zoom some more.

1. There is no mention in the EXIF that you used digital zoom, not even in finepix software view of EXIF. The only way for you to know is to remember. Granted the quality is pretty good but it would be nice to know if you come back after a while to a picture.

2. When you use the digital zoom, the image on the viewfinder/LCD is not as crisp(you will definatley know you are using digital zoom). This is not a problem as the picture taken is crisp, just a bit odd.

From my testing, if you use it, dont go beyond ISO 400, make sure you have a high enough shutter speed and you will have great images with digital zoom. I must say they did a good job with this feature.

The next test I will do is print an image taken with digital zoom. I dont think I would go beyond 8x10 but from what I see I can get a very good 8x10 with the digital zoom if the exposure is good and there is no shake.

I will let you know.

 

[chilu]

I tried 8x10 and the image is ok but not crisp enough for me.

I printed these pictures with the intelligent zoom to a maximum of 5x7 and get great results.

Also, don't crop the intelligent zoom images as you wont get great results. If you zoom to 100% it will look like there is more noise reduction than images without but as long as you don't crop you can get great results.

Basically you can use the intelligent zoom, frame a far off object and print to 5x7 and get great results with a little bit of post processing before printing(at least I have).

For me this is a good feature that works as long as you keep print size in mind.

 

[O.Reville1989]

Hi Oli glad to hear you are getting on well with your HS30. Loved looking through your flickr gallery, some lovely captures there and lots of variety , Norfolk is known for its excellent light qualities and superb variety of bird species as is Cornwall .

I am still at the bottom of a steep learning curve regarding manual camera settings , i attended a surprisingly good day-long basic digital camera course last month but I regret I didn't plumb for the intermediate course now.

I have found numerous online tutorials including the superb free Karl Taylor video courses and the concensus of opinion seems to be to use A Aperture priority mode for birding rather than S Shutter priority.
http://mikeatkinson.net/Tutorial-4-Camera-Settings.htm
Why do you feel shutter priority mode is better for bird photography ?

Hi there,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.
For me personally I have found shutter priority to work well, it may not be the best in general but I get nice results with it.
Hard to achieve in the UK but I try to aim for a shutter speed that is equal to the amount of zoom I have on the camera (Eg: 1/500 for 500mm etc).
This, I find, minimizes blurring and I have found that the Fuji is far more flexible in poor light than my old Panasonic was.
I have yet to experiment with Aperture priority on birds but its use does make a lot of sense.

 

[earleybird]

the main advantage to using A Aperture mode in birding as far as I can understand it is to have some control over DOF which is pretty critical at near max zoom which we birders usually are.

i believe in the past with film cameras it was considered a rule of thumb to use a shutter speed of say 1/500 for a 500mm lens hence using S Shutter priority mode but with digital cameras where you can change the ISO and make other compensation for low light levels it was more advantageous to use Aperture priority mode for birding subjects

I found the tutorial by Mike Atkinson very informative and he explains it far better than I could.

 

[earleybird]

I tried 8x10 and the image is ok but not crisp enough for me.

I printed these pictures with the intelligent zoom to a maximum of 5x7 and get great results.

Also, don't crop the intelligent zoom images as you wont get great results. If you zoom to 100% it will look like there is more noise reduction than images without but as long as you don't crop you can get great results.

Basically you can use the intelligent zoom, frame a far off object and print to 5x7 and get great results with a little bit of post processing before printing(at least I have).

For me this is a good feature that works as long as you keep print size in mind.

interesting to see that Fuji have included digital zoom on the X-S1 as I believe they removed the option from the HS20 and HS30 ?
I have found it very useful on the HS10 to get me in that little bit closer.

On the HS10 you select the up button and the area that will be cropped is shown in a blue rectangle so you can frame and compose your picture .
It is not so much an increased magnification but rather an in-camera software cropping of the image.
It gives a superior result to post-image cropping in editing software.

Does the X-S1 not give you the same frame guide in the evf and on the lcd?

 

[chilu]

interesting to see that Fuji have included digital zoom on the X-S1 as I believe they removed the option from the HS20 and HS30 ?
I have found it very useful on the HS10 to get me in that little bit closer.

On the HS10 you select the up button and the area that will be cropped is shown in a blue rectangle so you can frame and compose your picture .
It is not so much an increased magnification but rather an in-camera software cropping of the image.
It gives a superior result to post-image cropping in editing software.

Does the X-S1 not give you the same frame guide in the evf and on the lcd?

The X-S1 does not give you a frame,the entire image on the LCD is magnified. I believe it crops the image internally then increases the size to maximum resolution(the same thing you can do with software though its pretty good). Probably some kind of interpolation. It is pretty good but you cant print more than 5x7 if you want crisp results.

 

[earleybird]

ah ok so the X-S1 just takes it a bit further and expands the cropped area out to fill the screen. Pity as you cannot see the software cropping effects in comparison with the natural optical zoom image size as you can on the HS10

 

[nobbyball]

Earleybird
Just for information, the HS30 does have digital zoom. Like the X-S1 it can either be at 1.4x or 2x. With the HS30 this takes you to 42x and 60x. I like the digital zoom because it does allow you to focus in better on smaller or more distant birds. When cropping a 30x image I can't guarantee the bird is the main point of focus. So what I may lose in absolute fine detail I gain in better focus with the digital zoom.

 

[earleybird]

Earleybird
Just for information, the HS30 does have digital zoom. Like the X-S1 it can either be at 1.4x or 2x. With the HS30 this takes you to 42x and 60x. I like the digital zoom because it does allow you to focus in better on smaller or more distant birds. When cropping a 30x image I can't guarantee the bird is the main point of focus. So what I may lose in absolute fine detail I gain in better focus with the digital zoom.

just the HS20 then that lost the digital zoom ?
why can't you crop your images exactly where you want to ? what editing softwhere do you use ? I use basic Picassa and I can crop any image anywhere and re-crop endlessly with perfect positioning.

 

[nobbyball]

I was referring to the point when actually taking the picture. For example if taking a picture of a bird in trees at 30x I may not be able to guarantee the focus is on the bird but on a branch instead. This may only become obvious when cropping. With the digital zoom the bird becomes a greater part of the image and therefore more likely in focus. Hope this makes it clearer.

 

[earleybird]

yes sorry nobby I'm with you now. My attention was part on the tv earlier lol.
Quite agree with you. One of the biggest bugbears with my HS10 at higher magnifications into dense foliage is being sure what the camera is actually focusing on. It sure likes to focus on adjacent hard surfaces at the same focal distance at times instead of the subject :C

 

[chilu]

yes sorry nobby I'm with you now. My attention was part on the tv earlier lol.
Quite agree with you. One of the biggest bugbears with my HS10 at higher magnifications into dense foliage is being sure what the camera is actually focusing on. It sure likes to focus on adjacent hard surfaces at the same focal distance at times instead of the subject :C

Did you try resizing the focus box? Sometimes smaller works better for focussing on objects surrounded by other things(unless its the smallest). I am assuming you can do this on HSx0? If not, nevermind.