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| 800mm hand held. AF-C Burst-M. The ferry is about a kilometer from the camera. There is a sign above the entry way "Welcome Aboard" in cursive script with letters about 100mm high. I can easily read this in the original file. You may not be able to in the reproduction on Google Blogger. I think this is pretty good for a budget camera hand held photographing a moving subject 1000 meters away. |
The FZ80lens is actually quite decently sharp at 1200mm (equivalent).
Resolution is good in the center of the frame, a bit less at the edges.
On my tests using matched subjects and side by side examination of files, the FZ80 at 1200mm has better resolution and contrast than the Nikon B700 at the same focal length with less flare.
So the lens is good.
But when out and about taking photos I find the proportion of keepers falls steadily as the focal length increases above about 600mm (equivalent).
There are several possible reasons for this.
* Resolution and contrast decline towards the long end of the zoom. This characteristic is present in every superzoom camera I have tested.
It is possible to make very sharp long lenses.
Canon did several years ago make to order the legendary 1200mm f5.6. This behemoth is no longer in production.
Used copies sell for USD180,000. And it does not have an image stabiliser.
When we consider the FZ80 can be had for less than USD400 I think the optical performance of the lens is quite remarkable.
On my distant casuarinas test (see accompanying photos) the lens can resolve casuarina fronds 2mm in diameter at 500 meters, but only when the camera is on a sturdy tripod, there is no wind, the early morning sun is on the subject and the air is very clear.
* Focus speed and accuracy are not as good at the long end of the zoom as at shorter focal lengths and very small changes of focus can have a big effect on image sharpness.
* The effects of camera shake are greatly magnified at the long end. The OIS works very well but we are talking about hand holding a 1200mm lens here, something that would never have been considered possible a few years ago.
* Atmospheric interference is greatly magnified by distance from the camera. Haze, smog and distortion due to air turbulence wreak havoc with image definition regardless of the equipment used.
Strategies for good results at the long end
* Pick your subject. A clear, simple subject like a bird or animal is best. Long distance landscapes with lots of complex detail do not usually come out well.
* Pick your light. Bright sunlight is good preferably shining across the subject for maximum rendition of shape and detail.
* Get as close as possible. Closer is better. Closer may allow you to use a shorter focal length and puts less air between the camera and subject.
* Pick your season and time of day. Every location has a season when haze, smog and the like are least prevalent. Some wind directions bring clearer air than others.
Atmospheric distortion is usually least in the early morning.
* Use the fastest shutter speed possible in the light available. For hand held work set S on the Mode Dial. Adjust the shutter speed so the aperture is the widest possible (smallest f number) and the ISO setting is as low as possible. Do some self research to find out how slow a shutter speed you can use and still get decent results at the long end.
* Practice camera work: holding the camera steadily without tremor, viewing through the EVF with the camera firmly but not forcefully against the forehead, mini meditation, breathing control and shutter release control.
If possible sit down and rest your elbows on your knees, turning your limbs into a type of tripod.
* Use multiple exposures, pick the best later. There are three ways to do this.
1. Re focus on each exposure separately pressing the shutter for each shot. The value of this is that focus at the long end can be a touch off sometimes so refocussing for each shot increases the chances for one frame or more with perfect focus.
2. Set AF Single and Burst M. When you press and hold the shutter the camera will focus once then fire away at about 6 frames per second. The advantage of this is that camera shake from repeated shutter pressing is reduced. The disadvantage is that if the focus was slightly off then it is so for every shot.
3. For moving subjects I use AF-Continuous and Burst M with live view on every frame. The camera will follow focus on the subject refocussing for each frame.
* On a tripod: Set ISO 80, cancel the stabiliser, fire the shutter with timer delay (2sec is fine) or using a smart phone, select the AF point carefully and wait until there is no wind. I have found that even when using a very sturdy tripod the slightest gust of wind will unsettle the camera enough to adversely affect the image.
Summary
The FZ80 lens is capable of very decent results at the long end but more work is required than at the wide end of the zoom. Even then the keeper rate is significantly lower with shots at the long end.
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| This is my standard long lens test subject. The casuarina trees are 500 meters from the camera. The fronds are 2mm in diameter. The lens can resolve these fronds in a large central area of the frame. 1200mm ISO 80, tripod, OIS off, timer shutter release, early morning sun. |
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| This is a 2.7 mpx crop of the photo above showing the level of detail achievable. |
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| The FZ80 can handle surfers quite well due to its long reach but the keeper rate is much lower than with static subjects up close. AF-C Burst-M 1200mm hand held |
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| The surf club house is 1.7 kilometers from the tripod mounted camera. I was shooting across a beach on a warm morning with lots of atmospheric distortion. You can see the effect this has on image quality with wavy lines on all straight edges. 1200mm. |
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| This noisy miner came to check me out while I was making some landscape test shots. So I zoomed out and made a few shots of the bird at 1200mm. This meets most of my desirable criteria for shooting conditions: direct sun across the subject, close in to the camera. Noisy miners are never still so sharpness is not quite as good as it might have been with a static subject. |
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| 1200mm AF-C Burst-M This fast moving vessel was about 150 meters from the camera. There is a round logo on the red diagonal stripe near the front of the hull. In the original file I can read the words "Marine Rescue New South Wales" on that logo. Not bad. |