We bought a lake house. All of a sudden I'm a bird watcher! I want a camera with a great zoom. How do you feel about the zoom and ease of use?
194956
..this camera has very nice Zoom, i use it at work all the time.. as with any cam or scope the longer the focal length the smaller the field of view, and, the harder it is to keep the subject in that FOV.. btw this cam also does Macro images very well, for a point and shoot cam im happy with it.. the Android OS just makes it that much better..
194957
Yes it is very easy to use, but doesn't match the capabilities of a DSLR. But it it does work well.
194958
This camera has a great zoom and its easy to use but not really fast at taking moving shots.
2187921
In my opinion the best lens for birding and another wild life is Lumix 100-300mm.I used that in Nebraska crane's migration and was absolutely satisfied. This lens in not light and compact, but best choise for tele diapason.
178704
I find them to be fantastic for general use. Recently used them for inspecting the roof and upper parts of our house from the ground. They are superb for birding and wildlife watching. They focus quickly and work well if tou wear glasses. Well worth the money.
588408
I don't know why they dropped the MP . I really like the bigger zoom , but the lack of MP is a big disadvantage . I also take my older version with me on photo shoots because of the better MP. My idea was to get a better camera for distant wildlife shots , but now I have to carry 2 cameras . It's a good camera , but would be much better with greater MP .
963496
I'm located near the Brandywine River and use the D3100 for waterfowl, raptors and songbirds including hummingbirds. No issues at all with the camera. The package lenses are fine for reasonably close pictures, but as nps notes, better glass with longer focal length is needed for longer range pics. Eagles/osprey at about 100m, for me, is about the limit, beyond that its a snapshot.
1018675
It is an awesome camera. I love mine. Takes very good close ups as well. Good detail. Best digital camera I have had so far!! Good luck on Ebay.
1746411
That is what I needed to hear! I have the Canon EOS 7D and love it, But...as you said by the time you carry around all the gear for "sight seeing", I'm exhausted. I too am looking for that mid level (super zoom) companion to go along with my Canon when called of. I was a little hesitant to go with a Panasonic but everything I have read about this camera has been positive.I have yet to actually find a store who has one on display, looks like I will have to order it blindly and pray!
49732
Thank you for the tip.I like the camera very much, great zoom, it also has facial recognition.If you get it, one little note, make sure the rec, is on when your recording.I believe I hit it too quick when I put the camera on, and it did not register.Yes I did not record a whole chunk that I thought I did.Wish you the best with your camera stuff.
974226
I got camera from Amazon yesterday. I've done lots of playing with it. You can change white balance and even set it to a custom level.Auto-stitching of panoramas is quite nifty.Zoom motor very noisy during movies.Battery life is only fair and re-charging seems a bit slow.Pretty impressive stills in full sun. I bought Sony to replace Panasonic DMC-ZS3 that died and Panasonic service department has not satisfied me.
709355
We use ours from our deck or inside the house to watch birds and activities on a bay off of Puget Sound. We have ours mounted on a taller tripod than the one that comes with it. It seems to have clear images from a mile or so away. It is ideal for our purposes.
565036
Hello.Would anyone please comment on the zoom function of the camera? I intend to take pictures from a far distance. Thank you. Corinne
787438
Yes! I do a blog on fb about the little island I live on and people have noticed a difference in my pictures. I took a pic of a dragonfly up in a tree with the sony and you can count the hairs in its back. Great camera! Well worth the money.
2037093
I am a Nikon user but the Rode was recommended by two different videographer friends who are in the business.. Put on your hotshoe, plug into camera input and switch on.. This is my first project... Note ambient sounds and birds chirping... Client was thrilled! http://youtu.be/i79Bcz4WWBM
57480
Myrna, Have you gotten your camera, yet? If so, what do you think of it? This would be my first digital camera, and what attracts me to this is that it has manual controls. I would be learning photography on it, so I figure I should have manual and auto controls. I am looking to get a Panasonic because a sales person at Best Buy raved about them and said they have the best lenses. To be honest, I know practically nothing about photography, but have had an interest in it for many years. Do you think this camera would be a good plact to start, at least digitally? Thanks, M
1199114
its def. worth the price, i was a bit skeptical in the beginning because all cameras i owned before were from nikon. i bought this one as a gift to my mom(simply because of the good reviews), and she took a lots of great quality pics and videos during our family vacation. quite easy to operate. ps i have an old, similar quality Nikon, and this camera takes way better pictures and have an amazing zoom for such small camera.
963497
It all depends...the two stock zoom lens that come in the package are fine for birds within a large backyard area on trees and feeders...if your looking to take pics of eagles etc. at great distance an upgrade to longer zoom or focal length will be needed..but the camera itself is fast enough to handle good outdoor/wildlife pics. for an entry level.
387950
Zoom in works for me BUT for just $100 how much camera are you really looking for? I get very good airial photos, but bounding around up there, I snap a lot and save a few. Don't zoom much from the plane.