ShayTay

Most of the "point and shoot" or "superzoom" cameras have both an optical and digital zoom. The first is via lens glass and should give you the same number of pixels for a photo. Once you move into the digital zoom, you're just cropping an optical shot, resulting in less pixels. I usually turn off my digital zoom unless I REALLY need the extra zoom (a leopard on a distant cliff, for example.)

cary999

Agree with ShayTay, don't use digital zoom.
If you want to "zoom", or "crop" an image do so in a PC/Mac program made to do such things. And if you're not using such a program for cropping, color, contrast, brightness, saturation, etc, for image optimization, then you are missing over half the capabilities/advantages of digital photography.

regards - tom

jaydh42

OK Shay and Tom , thanks for the quick lesson.....optical....digital!

JH

fb

I agree with most everyone about the advantages of Point and Shoot cameras (light weight, large zoom), but I still prefer DSLR for two reasons. Having gone on many group tours, while everyone else is holding their little camera at arms length trying to frame the picture in the bright sun with the LCD viewfinder, missing some shots because of shutter lag and delay between pictures, I have taken several pictures with the optical viewfinder up against my eye with no shutter lag/delay. For me, that leads to better pictures and is worth the extra hassle, but I recognize those advantages may not be worth it to everyone. Pray that no one in your group takes photos with an iPad - really annoying when they hold that giant tablet up, moving it all over the place to frame their picture while blocking everyone else's view.

ShayTay

My Canon SX-10 and SX-40 cameras all had eye-level viewfinders. I agree that using the LCD screen outdoors doesn't work very well. The SX-40 has very little shutter lag, one of the reasons I upgraded from the SX-10. I actually saw a lady taking all her photos with an iPad... didn't work very well! She was traveling alone, however, and didn't block anyone else's view. She had thrown the trip together at the last minute and hadn't really prepared for a safari.

cary999

I agree, I can not use a camera by holding it out arms length. Too many years shooting film SLR I guess. Also, problem if you are shooting video and someone has a DSLR firing like a machine gun. (I shoot all three types, P&S, DSLR, video).

regards - tom

ShayTay

Tom, that "pow, pow, pow" is definitely noticeable in my videos. Even the photographer was surprised at how loud her camera was when I posted one of the videos. I consider it just one of the experiences of safari. If and when I ever get around to editing my videos, I'll see if I can eliminate that. You've done some editing... any luck with that?

cary999

Yes ShayTay, I have audio edited a lot of my safari videos. With the occasional click-pow you can often cut it out or lower its volume. Many times it is easier to take out most/all of the original audio and replace it. For instance, if the scene shows no faces talking (no mouth-words), just background nature/environmental sounds BUT with pow-pow-pow intruding, strip it off the original sound and replace it with other pow free sound. Or, replace it with other audio, like, if the guide has made comments in a previous clip, copy those audio comments as replacement audio. Every safari I take a few minutes of environmental audio only for such use.

Some like to replace the natural sound, or lack of it, with music. I don't, music is too personal and too emotional. And besides it was not there at the safari scene. (Well, not at least on my safaris. I've heard that at Singita camps a four piece string ensemble is with every game drive ).

Anyway, how do you re-work such audio? I use PC program, "ProShow Producer". Because I found it years ago, it is very versatile and I'm comfortable with it. Of course Apple has great video editing capabilities. Also, to "fool around" with editing audio and video you have to at least enjoy the hours it can take. Being a bit of a "media geek" helps also.

A few years ago Carolyn was shooting with a Canon P&S S3. She had the shutter sound option set for a barking dog!!! How would you like that on your video - woof-woof-woof!!! I "convinced" her to go to no sound shutter .

regards - tom

ShayTay

Thanks, Tom... great info! And I'm glad Carolyn cooperated on that last issue... whew!