Canon SX30is..Photographing Iceland Birds? Any good? (1 Viewer)

[phil baber]

A quote from a friend...

"We are off cruising on Saturday. Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Belgium. Never been north on holiday before, (apart from Scotland), so should be good. Doing a couple of tours around Iceland, so hope to see plenty of interesting features and birds. Am toying with the idea of getting a Canon SX30is, a compact digital with 35 x zoom. Do any of your birding friends have one? Be interested to hear if it is rated by the birding community. The reviews in the internet tend to let you make up your own mind."

Any info on this model which might help a Northern trip?

Many thanks in anticipation! :t:

 

[njlarsen]

According to recent discussions it is one of the top 2-4 superzooms, see here:
http://birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=192909

Niels

 

[IvanCavallazzi]

A quote from a friend...

"We are off cruising on Saturday. Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Belgium. Never been north on holiday before, (apart from Scotland), so should be good. Doing a couple of tours around Iceland, so hope to see plenty of interesting features and birds. Am toying with the idea of getting a Canon SX30is, a compact digital with 35 x zoom. Do any of your birding friends have one? Be interested to hear if it is rated by the birding community. The reviews in the internet tend to let you make up your own mind."

Any info on this model which might help a Northern trip?

Many thanks in anticipation! :t:

I got one of those.

Its main flaws are the poor LCD and the the incredibly slow shots/sec rate.

It main advantage is the unbelievable image stabilization(what is important at higher zoom).

If you have any specific question... it is right here by my side.


Also, you should take a look at the topic mentioned above by njlarsen.

 

[phil baber]

Thanx!

Very helpful! :t:

 

[malc1]

My wife has had one for about three weeks, she's very pleased with it. Has difficulty getting the bird in the frame at full zoom. I'm trying to get her to read the manual. Apparently the Fuji HS20 is the main rival, 30x zoom, better viewfinder, the hand twist zoom put my wife off.

 

[Bob Thompson]

I own a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS and have had considerable success taking bird shots

Check out these shots

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingbar/sets/72157624905782755/

 

[lmans66]

I own a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS and have had considerable success taking bird shots

Check out these shots

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingbar/sets/72157624905782755/

Nice shots bob

 

[Steve Babbs]

This, or one of its competitors, will do the job as long as you don't expect it to be as good as a SLR. Or as easy to use. The slow rate of picture taking can be infuriating. The picture quality of superzooms is fine in good light but poor if you have to increase the ISO, due to poor light. So if you can't afford, or don't want to carry, a SLR I'd get one. I chose the Fuji HS10 (now replaced by HS20) due to the manual zoom, which I much prefer, and the reviews said its image quality was better at 400. I also like the fact that you could take RAW shots, however that makes it so slow I never do.

I took it on a recent trip to Romania and really wished I'd taken my SLR but it was much, much better than nothing. I personally doubt there's much difference between the superzooms.

 

[crazyfingers]

My wife has had one for about three weeks, she's very pleased with it. Has difficulty getting the bird in the frame at full zoom. I'm trying to get her to read the manual. Apparently the Fuji HS20 is the main rival, 30x zoom, better viewfinder, the hand twist zoom put my wife off.

The button on the top right close to where your thumb would rest is the frame assist. If you're zoomed in and can't find what you were looking at, press and hold the button with your thumb. The camera zooms out to let you re-aim. Release the button and the camera will go back to your previous zoom.

It works very well. Just need to remember to use it.

 

[nantrax]

I own a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS and have had considerable success taking bird shots

Check out these shots

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jingbar/sets/72157624905782755/

I have to admit I wasn't sure if I wanted to purchase the SX30is but your pictures have convinced me!! Really incredible stuff.

 

[hga]

There are 6 shots taken with the SX30 IS in my gallery:

http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/99885

My impressions are along the same lines as what has been said earlier on this thread:

PROS:
1. Image quality at low ISO is good
2. Zoom range is amazing
3. It is very light, easy to hold
4. Image Stabilization, even at full reach, is good

CONS:
1. Dynamic range is rather limited, it is hard not to blow highlights when working in sunny weather
2. AF could be inconsistent and slow, to one learns how to deal with this
3. Shutter release lag is slow
4. Shot-to-shot delay is painfully slow

Overall, for the price and reach, it is definitely a good deal. Other than the slow response issues, I am reasonably happy with it. However, it is nowhere near a replacement for my DSLR and telephoto lens.