Happy, happy new camera!

I've lost count of the number of years I've salivated over professional digital SLR cameras. So long, in fact, that DSLR technology has passed and gone. The pro cameras these days are mirrorless -- so I managed to miss an entire generation of technology. But --

There's something to be said for patience. The technology came of age, matured, had its bugs shaken out ... and the price came down. I won't say mirrorless cameras are cheap -- they're not, and they're never going to be -- but they're affordable enough, in a sale... 

...and at the same time, the technology matured enough for enormous, gallumphing devices (that's not a word, but it ought to be) of yesteryear to become small enough for a person with extremely small hands, like mine, to be able to manage the camera easily, comfortably. I like it!

It would be pretty fair to say that Dave got sick enough and tired enough of me moaning about the shortcomings of the Lumix FZ-80 to take the initiative: save up for six months or whatever, and get a Canon EOS R50 kit, which included the body plus two lenses. Now, I'm not going to knock the FZ80 too much. It is what it is: a superzoom bridge, with all that means. When you want a 1200mm zoom lens on a semi-affordable (read: under a grand) digital camera that is small enough to use 100% handheld while hiking -- well, when you ask for all that, and the Lumix FZ80is what you get. But. But...but...

The FZ80 has a phenomenal reach, at 1200mm, and it's light enough to carry, and it costs around $900. Those are the high points, and if you want a superzoom bridge at a price you can afford -- take the good stuff and accept the rest with a smile. But there's rather a lot about the camera that could have been better, and I have to wonder why Panasonic pulled up short of building a truly amazing camera. The processor is so slow that it takes a couple of seconds between shots. If you're photographing crashing surf or birds, this can be a serious problem, because the time lag is enormous, when the subject is moving so fast...

...and, sure, you can shoot on burst mode. But with several shots in the buffer, the time lag while the sloooow processor saves multiple images is painful. Your bird has flown away, gone, before you can get another shot. So, don't use burst. I would have to guess that putting a faster processor into the build would have added $200 to the price of the camera, and given the FZ80's other shortcomings, this might have made for marketability concerns. The second issue I have with the FZ80 is that the available, useful ISO is just not enough. So many times, I put the camera away because the day was too dim, or twilight had come on. Above ISO 400 -- forget it. The images are so grainy, you might as well not bother. Yet, at 400, in low light conditions, you end up with huge apertures and impossibly long shutter speeds. 1/8th of a second? That's too long, even for me. I can hold a camera steady at 1/15th of a second, but not 1/8th. Dang.

This shot, above, was done at 1/15th ... nice water blur, at Byards, two days after I got the Canon. And yes, the Lumix would have done this, but you'd have run into the last of the problems I have with is ... and it's not the Lumix's fault!! There's nothing Panasonic can do to change the laws of optics, and physics! To get a 1200mm zoom lens, you need to put a shedload of lenses in front of the virtual film plane, and this gives you a soft image. A very soft image at the best of times. Long shutter speeds and/or big apertures are going to exacerbate the soft-image problem. Result: yes, you'll get a picture, and I've done it many times. You'll also have a lot of work to do in Photoshop, to get a usable image, and sometimes, you just can't get one. Trying to photograph a dawn or sunset, for instance, all those lens elements fill the picture with pink beachballs ... lens flare. It could be the lens coating, but I doubt it; I'm sure it's just a trade-off for the extremely long zoom, and -- nope. Not even Photoshop can get the pink beachballs out of the shot.  So --

--so, why didn't Panasonic provide a useful ISO range? Something to do with the processor again? Some things, they can't change -- like the trade-off of swapping 1200mm of zoom for tack-sharp pictures. But a useful ISO range, and a faster processor, would have made the FZ80 a camera that was actually worth $1,100, whereas at $900, it tends to be a bit of a "one-trick pony." Meaning, its forte is longshots, birding, wildlife at a great distance, and in great lighting conditions, without a weight penalty or price penalty. That's what it was made for, and it does it well Take it off that work, and you might be left moaning and groaning as often as not, because it's a specialist, not an all-rounder -- ah! --

Yes. As I said, Dave was sick and tired enough of listening to the aforesaid moaning and groaning. Result: Canon EOS R50. Small enough to fit my hand perfectly. Powerful enough that ... if there is a weakness to it so far, I haven't found it -- aside from the unavoidable facts of photographic life: when you run  zoom lens to 100% maximum, you will soften the image. That's just how it is, and there's no way around it. Now, the R50 kit has two lenses, both modest zooms: 18-45mm and 55-210mm. Both useful ... and the wide-angle is pretty fabulous for landscapes ... the telephoto is not quite long enough to permit full-pro birding, unless the bird is pretty darned close. Like, sitting on the end of the lens! 

Having said that -- yes, of course I'm using it for birding. At 25MP, there's enough depth in the mages for me to crop deeply inside them, and I judge that, quality wise, I'm within 15% of what a pro would achieve with a looooong lens and good light. And because the mirrorless is a body + lenses, I have the option of adding on a longer lens. Ah! But not a zoom, which will run out to max and soften the images again, right? A fixed lens ... say, 400mm ... and a 2x or 3x teleconverter, which will take me to 800mm or right back to 1200mm, without a whole bunch of lenses in front of the virtual film plane. 

Well, that's for next year, or even the year after. I'm tickled pink to be able to get great landscapes again, and I will grab the FZ80 in its right time and place. When you're wanting to photograph birds, you want the long zoom. When you're looking at capturing landscapes, you want something like the 18-45mm wide-angle. All in all... oh, yes, I'm happy. Tickled pink. Happy new camera!! And thank you, thank you, to my one and only!