I've owned the Panasonic Lumix line of ultrazoom cameras --- FZ10,'20 and '30 --- since January 2004 and with the Leica lens, image stabilization and 12x optical zoom (out to approximately 420mm) I've learned to appreciate birds as I never had with my previous cameras. My interest became an obsession after my recent (October 2005) purchase of a Red-Dot Sight, a device usually found on guns to track targets. I now "hunt" and "shoot" birds with the RDS mounted on my current FZ30's flash hot shoe using an Xtend-a-Sight.
Then she finally took off...and in the right direction for once. This and the following pic were part of the 5-photo, high-burst sequence.
This sequence of 4 photos was completely off-the-cuff and I had no time for pre-focus. This Heerman's Gull was chasing off a Black-Crowned Night Heron at Cabrillo Beach here in San Pedro, CA. It was an overcast day and my shutter speed was pretty slow (1/400 sec) but the 3-area high-speed Auto-focus of the FZ30 locked in focus quickly for the succession of shots. ISO was at 100.
Another completely spontaneous sequence...I was concentrating on nearby Brown Pelicans when this Royal Tern flew by me, coming to within perhaps 15 feet. I didn't even have time to sight thru the RDS; all I knew was I achieved focus lock on "something" and was amazed to find out it was the Tern.
This is probably the best shot of a Tern that I can ever hope to get. And it was all done thanks to the FZ30's high-speed auto-focusing.
This Red-Tail Hawk juvenile lives on the hill opposite my condo and somtimes spies for food from atop a nearby telephone pole. Lighting conditions were perfect and I had my FZ30/RDS at the ready as it took off...
in this box:
New comment: Requires approval