Canon Showcase First still images with Canon SX720 (at 960 mm view)

D

dalethorn

Guest
First/test images with the Canon SX720 small pocket camera.

The first was at a 1/4 mile distance, from one end of the pier to the other. I have to reduce the images from 20 mp to 8 mp on average (best case daylight BTW) to get a fairly smooth-looking final image. This first image is also cropped about 25 percent.

The second image, not cropped but reduced about 40 percent, was taken from exactly 3/4 mile distant. In the original image, the faces were large enough that the people should have been easily recognizable, but between a slight atmospheric distortion and lots of noise, this is the best I could do. BTW, the pelican is over the ship.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/160 handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant_Pier05_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/400 handheld, ISO 80.
Charleston_Harbor36_s.jpg
 
Next images are the local wetland - the second one is at high tide, where a fisherman is trying his luck at catching the fish who feed in the marshes created by the high water. The blur in the rushes in the first image is from panning the birds at a slow-ish shutter speed.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/160 handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant_Park34_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f5.6, 1/20 sec. handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant_Park35_s.jpg
 
Next images are the local wetland - the second one is at high tide, where a fisherman is trying his luck at catching the fish who feed in the marshes created by the high water. The blur in the rushes in the first image is from panning the birds at a slow-ish shutter speed.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/160 handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant_Park34_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f5.6, 1/20 sec. handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant_Park35_s.jpg
Dale,

Nice shots! Am I correct that this camera has no viewfinder? If so, won't it be really difficult to handhold at full zoom?

Cheers, Jock
 
Dale,
Nice shots! Am I correct that this camera has no viewfinder? If so, won't it be really difficult to handhold at full zoom?
Cheers, Jock

Correct - no viewfinder. And unlike the Panasonic ZS50 (the closest equivalent), the stabilization is a little weak, so it is very difficult to steady at full zoom, even though I've had lots of practice. But I manage to get the shots anyway, either by taking several bursts, or by utilizing nearby objects to brace my arms against. The next 2 shots I post will show some extremes of that.
 
In the first image, the camera seems to have focused on the sign rather than the face, but close enough for a little cleanup and a brochure cover. Adding to the difficulty was me forgetting to raise the ISO a notch, which should have produced a cleaner picture. *Take 50, keep one*. The second image is my classic night test photo. I had to raise the shadows here, which I expected to be a serious problem (and would have been with Panasonic's equivalent camera), but the noise remained under control. This is as good a result as I've gotten with any pocket zoomer that uses the 1/2.3 sensor.

Canon SX720, f3.3, 0.5 seconds handheld (braced), ISO 80.
City_Lights09_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f5.0, 6 seconds, ISO 80.
Charleston_Bridge39_s.jpg
 
#1: My favorite small park, in the morning with sunlight breaking through the trees.
#2: A common gull in South Carolina, just before sunset. Full zoom on this one, from ~85 yards away.

Canon SX720, f4.0, 1/160 handheld, ISO 80.
Charleston_Downtown37b_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/50 handheld, ISO 80.
Gull17_s.jpg
 
The Gibbes museum roof - a most unusual roof for any building, although it undoubtedly fits whatever era it was created in in Charleston's history. This roof is under some kind of major repair, as are other parts of the museum. There are very few places from which to photograph this roof, since buildings in the vicinity are tall enough to obscure part or all of the roof. I used a parking deck roof about 1/4 mile distant from the museum.

Canon SX720, f5.6, 1/20 sec. handheld, ISO 80.
Charleston_Downtown_Gibbes01_s.jpg
 
My first small bird with the Canon SX720 pocket camera. Easy enough. I expect some much better examples in the next week or so.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/250 handheld, ISO 80.
Redwing_Blackbird11_s.jpg
 
Today's new photos are:

1) Carnival cruise ship. Located 1-1/2 to 2 miles across the harbor, the atmospheric distortions are apparent.
2) Fishing boat running thru marsh/wetland at high tide, just before sunset.

Canon SX720, f6.3, 1/640 handheld, ISO 80.
Charleston_Harbor37_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/250 handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant55_s.jpg
 
Today's new photos are:

1) Carnival cruise ship. Located 1-1/2 to 2 miles across the harbor, the atmospheric distortions are apparent.
2) Fishing boat running thru marsh/wetland at high tide, just before sunset.

Canon SX720, f6.3, 1/640 handheld, ISO 80.
Charleston_Harbor37_s.jpg


Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/250 handheld, ISO 80.
Mtpleasant55_s.jpg

Impressive!

I realize that fishing boat is the type that is often used for bonefishing (tarpon and the like in Florida) but the image tickled my funnybone. Suggested caption: "Coach, are you sure this is how I learn pole-vaulting?"

Cheers, Jock
 
Impressive!

I realize that fishing boat is the type that is often used for bonefishing (tarpon and the like in Florida) but the image tickled my funnybone. Suggested caption: "Coach, are you sure this is how I learn pole-vaulting?"
Cheers, Jock

And to think, that is exactly how I looked when I attempted pole vaulting in high school.
 
Add' note: Original sizes with the SX-720 are 5184x3888, or 20.15 mp. I find that I have to reduce the image size to between 6 and 8 mp (depending on the content and contrast etc.) to get a clean image at 100 percent. The biggest problem is lots of noise in daylight shots at the lowest ISO.
 
My first Moon photo with the Canon SX-720 (960 mm zoom equivalent). This is the clearest image I've ever gotten of the Moon's surface, even better than the much larger Canon G3x with its one-inch sensor. The 960 to 600 mm zoom advantage translates to a 2.56 to 1 advantage to the SX-720 in how large the Moon is in the image, and the 4 times bigger sensor of the G3x can't make up for that advantage in optical zoom.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/80 sec. tripod, ISO 80.
Astro_Planet_Moon_Sx7201_s.jpg
 
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