Olympus SP100 EE
G'day Quadzilla. I'm keen to learn surf photography as my son gets into surfing next year. Going to Uni in Geelong. Can you advise of instructors / courses in the Torquay region? Also advice on quality Sh equipment appreciated. Cheers. JD.
Whats your budget?
If I was starting again, I would consider
a/Pentax Q10 or Q7.These cameras are a compact size but punch well above their weight. 5.6 or 4.7 crop factor brings the subject up close no matter how far the break is from shore.Adapt an old film era zoom onto them and a 100-300mm becomes 14-1700ish.might cost you $2-300 used depending on chich model and if theres a lens with it.
b/A superzoom, the Olympus I have, canon sx50, Nikon p900, panasonicFZ 2/300, theres a recently released Sony that is extra good but costalotta.Plenty of others too.
c/A weathersealed DSLR(pentax k50 is best bang for buck with 55-300WR lens)
Theres many other options too. look at www.snapsort.com they have lots of reviews in their database
Thanks Quadzilla for your reply.
Budget? Probably up to a grand - 1200 tops to start with.
You're right about the many options! Head spin!
OK, surf photography needs telephoto....ive just scored an advanced compact...only had it a few weeks so haven't mentioned it on here and haven't taken any surf footage( tomorrow maybe.)
Panasonic TZ80 or ZS60( for some reason different regions around the world have different codes)
Typical small sensored compact but this size is fine for up to a 48inch tv, I project to wall size and the resolution is below ideal from small sensors( but go pro do ok).It zooms far enough and shoots 4K video(uhd).Has a viewfinder, wi fi,touch screen and plenty of features like pulling 8mp still off the video in camera. .It punches a long way above its weight.au$$ie 450 delivered.Buy a diapac waterproof bag and its weather sealed.$60.
This may cover all bases, its made a few of what ive got redundant.
Great stuff thanks Quadzilla for your advice and prompt reply's.
I'll look forward to your appraisal after you have taken it to the beach.
Any further advice regards an SLR with telephoto and WP housing? (Apart from being exxy)
Again; appreciate you help. Cheers. JD
As far as Dslrs go,most are large and heavy.If you put them in a WP housing,they are bigger and heavier.There are plenty of smaller lighter mirror less options available which are capable of capturing great stills and mirror less is leading in the video side of things.
Panasonic models to consider are gx8,g7,gh4(ably falzon and jack McCoy use this model).gm5 is tiny but does well.The recently announced gx85 is a game changer.These are micro 4/3rds sensor size and crop factor of 2x.So adapting a cheap 100-300 gives you double the reach.Panasonic and Olympus both have a good range of lenses,as well as the 3rd party lenses makers if you need auto focus.Adapters abound for all the good old elcheapo lenses out there.
well, after a month of owning this model I'm impressed with its versatility.
EE, eagle eye....24-1200mm(optical) equivalent bridge camera....digital takes it a lot further but IQ scales down at the longest FL
A very good " basic" photography tool....
For a 2/3rds point and shoot sensor it does OK
I own plenty of ILC too and play with some LONG focal lengths.....the down side is if you lose the subject, one has to zoom out to find it again and miss plenty of shots
The EE eagle eye fixes that problem....its a red dot sight that shows the wide angle, so the subject is lined up with the dot and you capture the subject easily....
NO other camera offers this option so its great value, especially if ya pick up a used model like me
Reviews are good but marked down because of no NFC, built in wi fi , flip u screens ect(which I can do without)
Excellent for surfing footage and distant fast action sports