Choosing a Camera for Bird Photography
Serious bird photographers can choose from a variety of point and shoot or single lens reflex (SLR) digital camera models on the market today.
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The professional photographer's never ending search for the perfect picture walked hand in hand with technological developments in the photography industry throughout the twentieth century.
Today is no different. The price gap between the high end digital SLRs and point and shoot cameras can reach the thousands of dollars range.
Fortunately, technological advances in the high end point and shoot cameras have made bird photography affordable for the serious amateur. More specifically, serious amateur bird photographers around the world are using cameras with image stabilization technology and extended focal length capability built into the lens system.
IS technology on a lens allows it to adapt to hand movement and still produce clear pictures. Think for a minute about your excitement level if you were you to meet up with any bird you need for your life time list. For many birders, that chance encounter commonly causes physical changes producing a slight trembling of the hands or weakening at the knees. In those situations, a camera lens with IS technology helps you take a clear picture to share with your friends back home.
Focal length is the second important camera lens technology of interest to serious amateur birders. In camera talk, the term focal length is built on the idea that the average person sees objects at a 50 mm distance. Consequently, most cameras are designed with a 50 mm lens to capture images the same way the average human eye sees them. A telephoto lens lengthens the focal length in order to magnify the view.
Assuming a distance of ten to fifteen feet between you and your subjects, the birds, you will need a telephoto lens in the 200 mm to 300 mm range. In everyday language, these lenses will make the birds four to six time larger than you see them with the unaided eye, resulting in larger bird pictures.
Well known camera brands, such as Panasonic with their Leica lenses, Sony with their Zeiss lenses, Nikon with their Coolpix models and Canon with their PowerShot models, incorporate both IS technology along with zoom lenses with a macro to 400mm range. Bird photography enthusiasts report generally high levels of satisfaction with these models and competing models on photography forums around the internet.
One final lens point concludes the memo. Digital camera lenses are commonly divided into optical and digital zooms. Optical zoom settings instruct the camera lens to magnify the image in question. Most digital cameras translate their optical settings into traditional 35 mm language. For example, a 3x optical zoom commonly translates into an approximately 100 mm focal length.
Digital zoom settings, on the other hand, instruct the camera to enhance the image in question, that is, enlarge it. Because the camera rather than the lens, does the work, the image loses some clarity during the enlargement process. If you are seeking sharp, clear pictures, stay away from the digital zoom.
© 2002-2007. Patricia A. Michaels. All rights reserved.