Superzoom on a budget :Pana FZ300

I’ve been using this camera on backpacking trips for awhile now. It’s a great camera, and not all that bad at a pound and a half. I have a Peak Designs clip that attaches to my shoulder strap, and clip it into that so that it’s always available while I’m hiking (unless it’s raining then It’s in my pack).

To me in the end is down to what one does enjoy using.
I just upgraded my 460 g 55-300mm tele zoom for my camera to a 1300 g 200-500mm.
I had to think long and hard because I did not want to go around with a tripod all or most of the time. As it happens I can handle it OK without it, just.
Yet several suggested the 2kg 150-500mm but if I had looked at that someone would have insisted I should get the 3500 g 500mm (13K…) so it never ends.
I sold the very first bridge cameras out (Pana/Minolta/Nikon/Sony) but this one is so much more capable in every aspect.

I’ve shot a lot of non-wilderness photos and some video on the FZ300 – and quickly found it’s main limitation. High minimum F-stops, particularly when zoomed, combined with a small sensor, means it doesn’t do well in low-light situations.

Outdoors in the bright sunlight – love it. Relatively light, easy to handle, amazing zoom range so no need for extra lenses, reasonably good IS.

Everything has tradeoffs.

— Rex

“High minimum F-stops, particularly when zoomed, combined with a small sensor, means it doesn’t do well in low-light situations”.

I suppose you mean not wide enough lowest F stop (maximum aperture) but this is the advantage the FZ 300 has over other similar bridge cameras .

It has a constant f 2.8 max aperture, most of the others start at f2.8 but slow down to 4.5 or 5.6 and slower at the tele end. (the Canon below starts at f 3.4 on wide but slows down to  f 6.5 at the tele end)

The Pana FZ1000 makes that up by having a larger sensor (you can use a higher ISO with same results) but it does top up at 400mm so not all that different if you need to crop compared with the FZ 300 at 600mm.

The FZ1000 and more so that Sony RX 10 are heavier and more expensive but as already stated depends on what you are happy with.

Both of the shots I posted above are at 600mm on f 2.8 (the cameras is set on A at f2.8)

Another shot from my wife with theFZ300

She is having fun with it. BTW, it’s weather resistant (rain proof)

yesterday a tourist was asking me about some birds he was looking at (New Holland Honeyeaters, very common here) when my wife snapped this with her camera

a white plumed honeyeater.

About 1 metre away from where we were looking at , same tree.

I have seen this bird before but have not managed to get a decent photo of it yet.

Hi Franco,

My blunder – I confused the FZ300 with the FZ2500. I’ve used both swapping back and forth, and despite a larger sensor, the f2.8 – f4.5 lens on the FZ2500 gave me problems in low light.

Next time I’ll double-check my faulty memory.

— Rex

despite a larger sensor,
Ah ….
It depends on how well the sensor is matched to the lens.

Cheers

One of her photos from today

another of her photos, from today

That’s an amazing photo.

She has had a lot of good comments in the local FB birders page. There are several very talented photographers there that post amazingly sharp photos but that one of the egret taking off does have something special. Funnt thing is that we were looking for the swift parrots (see the BIRD thread) but could not find them that day. It was really dull and cold so we settled for some egret photos. (three types of egrets and two types of heron are pretty much there all the time)