Mike Warren
Well-known member
Anyone out there shoot wildlife? What cameras do you use?
I've been trying to find a suitable camera for about 3 years now without luck. It seems like every new camera released is missing a critical feature I need.
But I'm starting to get desperate, as using a modified consumer camera is so frustrating.
The ideal camera for me would have a 2/3" sensor and a constant aperture telephoto zoom, but I realise I'm not going to get anything like that this side of $60K, more like $100K. Also, it would be pretty large and heavy.
The reason I'm posting now is because I started to get excited over the new Sony FDR-AX1 and PXW-Z100, but they are going to have dismal low light performance.
My budget: < $10K for the complete kit including cards and a couple of batteries.
I need:
-1080p50/60
-Long telephoto (at least 500mm (35mm equiv))
-Reasonable low light performance. Wildlife tends to be most interesting just on dawn.
-Not too heavy because I need to carry the gear long distances in the bush.
I have a very long list of wants, many of which are mutually exclusive, so I'll skip them for the moment.
So, I have tentatively eliminated these cameras:
All large sensor cameras including DSLRs:
Long lenses within my budget are not able to be zoomed smoothly while filming. Being able to operate the camera quickly is a strong requirement for fast moving wildlife.
Panasonic AC160A:
Nothing specific disqualifies this camera, but a combination of things together make it not ideal.
1/3" chip and lens combination means the usable aperture range is very limited. I'm not comfortable with the layout, specifically where the LCD is mounted.
JVC HM600:
Looked very promising until I discovered that it does not do 1080p50/60.
Sony AX1:
Very poor low light response.
I've been trying to find a suitable camera for about 3 years now without luck. It seems like every new camera released is missing a critical feature I need.
But I'm starting to get desperate, as using a modified consumer camera is so frustrating.
The ideal camera for me would have a 2/3" sensor and a constant aperture telephoto zoom, but I realise I'm not going to get anything like that this side of $60K, more like $100K. Also, it would be pretty large and heavy.
The reason I'm posting now is because I started to get excited over the new Sony FDR-AX1 and PXW-Z100, but they are going to have dismal low light performance.
My budget: < $10K for the complete kit including cards and a couple of batteries.
I need:
-1080p50/60
-Long telephoto (at least 500mm (35mm equiv))
-Reasonable low light performance. Wildlife tends to be most interesting just on dawn.
-Not too heavy because I need to carry the gear long distances in the bush.
I have a very long list of wants, many of which are mutually exclusive, so I'll skip them for the moment.
So, I have tentatively eliminated these cameras:
All large sensor cameras including DSLRs:
Long lenses within my budget are not able to be zoomed smoothly while filming. Being able to operate the camera quickly is a strong requirement for fast moving wildlife.
Panasonic AC160A:
Nothing specific disqualifies this camera, but a combination of things together make it not ideal.
1/3" chip and lens combination means the usable aperture range is very limited. I'm not comfortable with the layout, specifically where the LCD is mounted.
JVC HM600:
Looked very promising until I discovered that it does not do 1080p50/60.
Sony AX1:
Very poor low light response.
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