One of the reasons for my search for a new camera is the advent of the Back Illuminated CMOS sensor super-zooms. I love my Canon SX20IS and, for a small camera with a longish zoom it produces very satisfying image…but it only shoots something like .8 frames per second at its fastest…not so good for moving birds and especially limiting for birds in flight. The new BIS CMOS cameras are capable of 8-11 frames per second at full resolution, and much faster (like 120 fps) at lower resolutions. The zooms have gotten longer too. The Nikon Coolpix that I am using at the moment reaches 81o mm equivalent field of view, and over 900 if you set it to capture an 8 mp image (instead of its native 12). And it goes to 23 mm equivalent field of view at the other end. And it focus to 1 cm from the lens. All this in a camera slightly smaller and considerably lighter then my Canon SX20IS. Given the kind of photography I do, why would I not want one?

Of course, it has to actually work. Specs are wonderful stuff for sales people and web pages, but it is really all about what the camera can do in the hands of a particular photographer. In my hands in this case. Yesterday at Matanzas Cut, I got my first real chance to test it on flying birds. Preliminary conclusion: it works pretty well. 🙂

This bird was at the limits of reach even given the 810 mm zoom. Both images are cropped from the full frame. The camera has a built in Sports Scene mode, which sets it for things like continuous focus and a burst of 5 frames at 8 frames per second when you press the shutter release, but I concocted my own birds in flight mode and saved it to the User memory, so all I have to do is twist the control dial to U, and the camera sets itself at full zoom for birds. Which is probably more information than you wanted, but…

Nikon Coolpix P500 at 810 mm equivalent field of view, f7.1 @ 1/800th, and f6.3 @ 1/1000th at ISO 160.

Processed lightly in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness. Some Recovery for the highlights.

And today I am off to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Rookery where I hope to get the opportunity for more birds in flight.