The Moon and Saturn (with rings)

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Great shot of Saturn but I am also impressed by the sharpness of the moon with the 1200 mm FFE setting. I have been thinking about buying a longer lens for my occasional wildlife shots (my longest is 300 which is not enough sometimes especially with my full frame 6D), but your shot makes me wonder if I should get the SX50 HS which would be a lot less money. Any wildlife experts out there that have any thoughts about this?

Steve,
Thank you for seeing and commenting.

About your idea of purchasing a SX50 HS instead of buying a longer telephoto lens to take photos of wildlife, I have some comments (I like to photograph birds and nature in general):
1- The autofocus of your 6D is much faster and accurate than SX50 HS (is almost impossible to take photos of fast flying birds with a SX50 HS);
2- The optical viewfinder of your 6D is much better than electronical viewfinder of SX50 HS;
3- Color depth, dynamic range, lower noise at high ISO are much better in your 6D than in SX50;
4- The maximum ISO of SX50 is 6400, but the maximum usable ISO is between 800 and 1600. The maximum ISO of 6D is certainly much higher than that;
5- The maximum aperture of SX50 varies from f/3.4 (at 24mm FFE) to f/6.5 (at 1200mm FFE). It is not a fast lens.

I know that a Canon SX50 costs about US$ 340,00 (much less than a telephoto lens for a FF camera) and this is a strong argument in favour of this small camera

I like very much my SX50, but I'm thinking to buy a DSLR camera (keeping my SX50):
a- With a Canon APC-S camera (18 MP), a 300mm zoom and a 1.4 TC, I can reach 871 mm FFE with the same resolution than SX50 HS (300 x1.6 x 1.4 x 5184/4000 = 871);
b- With a Nikon APC-S camera (24 MP), a 300mm zoom and a 1.4 TC, I can reach 941 mm FFE with the same resolution than SX50 HS (300 x1.5 x 1.4 x 6000/4000 = 941).

The Canon SX50 HS has 1200mm FFE and apparently wins this comparative, but the DSLR APC-S cameras are better than SX50 in the aspects listed on my comments #1 to #4.
Best regards,
Antonio.

[steve welle]

Antonio, thanks much for the breakdown of the sx50 vs dslr. The main advantage of this compact other than cost for me would be the much lighter weight. I never should have given away my cropped sensor 550D to a family member since it would allow me to turn my 300 mm lens into 480 mm FFE. After reading more reviews about the sx50 and seeing sample pictures, and reading your comments, probably won't go for this, although several reviewers did say they got the sx50 for wildlife. Also, I saw a couple of impressive shots of Jupiter and it's moons done with this camera which is incredible to me for a compact. But for night sky you cannot expose longer than 1.3 sec at ISO greater than 80. So it limits the use for astrphotography although maybe it is worth it just as a replacement for binoculars to view the night sky. Am I trying to talk myself into this again?

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Antonio, thanks much for the breakdown of the sx50 vs dslr. The main advantage of this compact other than cost for me would be the much lighter weight. I never should have given away my cropped sensor 550D to a family member since it would allow me to turn my 300 mm lens into 480 mm FFE. After reading more reviews about the sx50 and seeing sample pictures, and reading your comments, probably won't go for this, although several reviewers did say they got the sx50 for wildlife. Also, I saw a couple of impressive shots of Jupiter and it's moons done with this camera which is incredible to me for a compact. But for night sky you cannot expose longer than 1.3 sec at ISO greater than 80. So it limits the use for astrphotography although maybe it is worth it just as a replacement for binoculars to view the night sky. Am I trying to talk myself into this again?

Steve,
I have a friend that had a superzoom camera (definitely not so good as SX50). Then he bought a DSLR and he did not want more to shoot with his superzoom and gave the camera to his brother. And he says that he didn't regret of it. He is very happy with his DSLR.
In the times of film I used a 35mm SLR and now I intend to buy a APS-C DSLR for me. I like very much my SX50 (because it is compact, is all-in-one, its IS is fantastic, has RAW and many interesting features) and I want to keep my SX50. But, who knows? Perhaps I fall in love with my new DSLR and sell my faithful SX50 (??). LOL!! But I don't believe this. I think that each kind of camera has its peculiarities and is better for specific occasions.
I've never got a good picture of a fast flying bird with a superzoom, but I know two photographers that had succeed with this task, including the friend that I mentioned. Surely, the problem is ME! Small birds are the principal targets of my photos, and, because they are very skittish, the 1200mm FFE is very useful in such situations. I have to take some extra care when the bird is in the middle of a tree (or the background is near the subject) because the autofocus can be easily fooled.
The software CHDK allows to bypass the ISO 80 limitation, but I never used this software.
I suggest that you the visit the very interesting thread Safari with a Canon SX50 HS where there is some photos taken with a SX50 on a safari.
Cheers,
Antonio.

[steve welle]

Thank you again Antonio. I hope you get your DLSR soon. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.