Requiescat in Pace - Again

I'm sad to announce that my Pigeon pal died this morning.  Perhaps he wasn't so tame perhaps he was just so unwell that he couldn't be bothered flying off.  Perhaps he thought I could make him well again.  Do Pigeons think to the point of reasoning?  Anyway just before lunch I went to put up the new bird table I made yesterday and there he was outside my Study.  There was no sign of injury of any sort and he'd not been dead very long.  I say that not because I have any special knowledge of the period at which rigor mortis sets in but because I saw him feeding earlier on in the morning.  So I've made a note of his ring number and I'll see where racing pigeons are registered and let them know.  I don't like Pigeons in general but I'd grown quite attached to this one.

A Replacement for My Olympus SP550UZ

A few days ago I dropped my Olympus SP550UZ with fatal results.  It had served me well for over 20,000 images over the last few years.  Fortunately it's not my only camera but it is the one that I use the most and for all my telephoto shots - it had an 18X optical zoom giving it a 28 to 450mm lens in conventional lens terms. Sandy of It's a Jungle Out There was wondering with what I would replace it.

What indeed?  I've been very satisfied with the Olympus with certain reservations: the lens is long and has a fragile and loose feel about it (mind you few camera lenses would survive a direct 1 metre drop onto a solid wood floor!)and the manual focussing was never entirely satisfactory.

So what are my requirements now?

Size is of paramount importance.  In this case small is good!  I would love (and have toyed with) going back to a full blown SLR with good telephoto and wide angle lenses.  In reality my lifestyle completely rules that out.  I travel a great deal by air.  Putting thousands of £s or $s worth of equipment in hold luggage is a lottery and virtually uninsurable.  My old camera and lenses weighed far more than my carry-on baggage allowance which has to include my lap-top as well as things I need on my journeys and my camera.  And the international carry-on allowance is generally 6 kilos (I don't travel first class!).  So I have restricted myself to a cross-over digital.

After size the optical zoom (focal length length equivalent) is very important.  I would like at least 560mm equivalent.  Good manual focussing (for flying birds) is on the agenda.  An in-camera panoramic ability would be good too. I also prefer re-chargeable AA batteries as a power source because one is always guaranteed power.  As all the following are fairly similarly priced price is not an issue.

So the question is "which one best satisfies those criteria?".  On the short-list are:

 

I tried the Canon SX!-IS because I am quite pro-Canon but  I absolutely could not get on with the manual focussing system.

 

I liked the Nikon Coolpix P90.  It has a 24X optical zoom giving a 26 - 624 mm equivalent. It has good write-ups and I liked the feel when I tried it.

The Olympus SP590UZ has a 26X optical zoom which is apparently very good.  Reviews criticise the noise when anything over ISO 200 is used and the fragility of the lens mechanism.  I have reservations as to whether the manual focussing system has been improved over the 550.

 

 

The Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ28 only has an 18X optical zoom but the lens is very much more compact than the Olympus and most of the others but at over a kilo it is very heavy. It does have excellent write-ups however.

CJ/Scriptor and Helen are Sony fans.  This is the DSC HX1 which CJ has.  I've tried it.  It is very intuitive and comfortable to use (though not, for me, as comfortable as the Olympus)  It meets most of my critera and is the only one with an inbuilt panoramic function.  It uses Sony-only lithium ion batteries and dedicated data cards and does not use mini-USB which most manufacturers have now agreed upon I am told.

So, on the basis that it is the only one with the panoramic function and meets most of my criteria, I have ordered the Sony.  Hopefully it will arrive soon.  The spare battery pack has already come.  So watch this space.

A Good Day For Birds

I am really missing the Olympus at the moment.  Yesterday and today I have had the best opportunities ever to get some close shots of a Rock Pippit, a Meadow Pippet, a Robin and  Buzzard.  I was in the garden in full sun yesterday when three Rock Pippits came to join me.  Two stayed a respectable distance but the other was curious and came within two metres of me.  All the time he was looking at me and when he got really close he popped his head on one side and gave a few quiet cheeps as though talking to me.  It was a magical moment and it lasted for about 10 minutes.  I have to admit that by that time I was getting cold and because my eyes were watering in the wind I had to be careful wiping them but the movement didn't seem to frighten him.

The Meadow Pippits have been looking for food around the Study this morning in perfect light.

Today a Robin decided that I was an interesting prospect whilst I was unloading some wood from the car's roof rack.  Robins are naturally more companionable with humans anyway but this one was quite unconcerned.  The odd thing is that it's only recently that I've seen a Robin in the garden here so much.

My friendly Pigeon continues to regard me as his pal.  If I go outside and all the other Pigeons fly away he simply stays and chats.  He'll walk up to about a metre and a half from me as he gets more used to me.  On the whole he's now started coming when the other Pigeons are not here but they seem unconcerned with him.  He seems to be accepted as a Pigeon but not quite 'one of the boys/girls'.

But the real treat was seeing a Buzzard just riding the updraught above the water's edge as I drove into town.  I was within 5 metres of him.  I'm not sure what he'd have done if I'd stopped but I'd probably have got a few photos before he's floated off.  He was certainly unconcerned with cars passing with a few metres of him.

And my Sparrows are back home in force.

A Word Too Far

I've heard some wonderful words used in my time but I've just heard a Government spokeswoman use the word 'disincentifised' as in 87% of people are disincentifised by the system.