I picked up one of the new super zoom point and shoot cameras (Sony HX300) the day before leaving for a surf trip. I really wanted the Canon but had to settle on the Sony because I was in a hurry the day before leaving. This camera has a 50x optical zoom and is 20 mega pixels. For the average surfer who wants to get some quality surf shots without spending $3,000+ on a Canon or Nikon SLR and lenses this is definitely the way to go. I am absolutely amazed with how good this thing performs for shooting surf pics. Every surfer with any interest in shooting pics should get one of these things. While we’ve only had a couple of days of surf on this trip here are a few shots to give you an idea of the possibilities. All of these pics were shot using the basic auto settings…I simply don’t know enough about photography to tweak things.
Each of the following shots was taken at a range of about 100 yards free hand.
Sequence of Brett Barley shot from a tripod at a range of about 250 yards. This camera will shoot 10 shot bursts.
Freehand shot at a range of over 300 yards by my wife who can barely find the button to push to take a picture.
Is this camera water proof, and if so, to what depth?
Cheers, Mik
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No this is not a waterproof camera. This thread is about land based shooting. There is a whole nother thread on here regarding water cameras. That thread is located here: http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/gopro-camera-setups
The nice thing with these super-zoom cameras is no lenses to change. Also, at 50x optical zoom is the equivalent of having a 1200mm lense or a 600mm lense with a doubler on an SLR.
My wife took this picture so I don’t know what the settings were. This was taken from where the Hatteras lighthouse used to be to where it stands now. A distance of 950 yards. Image has not been cropped.
Nice shots and what a difference a decent camera makes. After years of $100-300 point and shoots, I bit the bullet and plunked down $1000 for a Canon Rebel T3i with the kit lenses. Here is a cropped but otherwise untouched shot from Mako’s hometown last week using the 250mm lens that came with it. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in photography but not wanting to completely break the bank.
I use my Gopro almost daily with my daughter. Riding bikes, skateboarding, playing with the dogs, at the pool, etc… You must to be really close to the action for the Gopro. The super zoom seems like the perfect compliment.
To give you an idea of the potential of the zoom of these 50X zoom cameras here is a shot of a boat that is about a mile and a half away. With the naked eye this boat was little more than a speck on the horizon. This shot was taken free hand in hazy conditions at the maximum optical zoom. This is not digital zoom and the picture is not cropped.
Keep in mind these shots are being taken with a $400 point and shoot by someone who knows little about photography. I also bought the GoPro Hero3 Black edition and that was a total waste of money compared to this camera. The GoPro will be banished to the back of a junk drawer now.
Thanks. Maybe just a kook photographer but they look alright to me and better than my efforts. I’ll try some surfing shots soon. I tried photographing an island not long after sunrise and it was just too bright.
