[Tweeters] Better Camera - an update

[jimbetz at jimbetz.com]

Chirp, Chirp = Hi again,

   So we went out around Bowman's Head yesterday.  I had my old Lumix,
and my nephews had the R7 and D500.  We started just after 4 and
finished just before 7 - so 3 hours.  What a beautiful place!  I'd
been there before ... about 50 years ago ... still pretty much the
same - and being a Monday not very many people on the trail.  The
advantage of being retired!

   We got lucky and there was a Bald Eagle sitting on one of the trees
on that 'hump' you go over at the end of the parking lot.  Right at eye
level and under 30 feet away.  We also saw an Oystercatcher out in that
grassy area along the Pass ... and a beaver (on the way back in the
pond to the left of the trail as you're leaving the parking lot for the
Lighthouse Point trail).

   In all 3 situations the subject was still so a birds-in-flight kind
of capture wasn't necessary.  The D500 and the R7 out-performed the
Lumix ... significantly.  In terms of the quality of the image, accuracy
and speed of the auto-focus, and "keeper percentage".  The sensors in
the D500 and R7 are essentially the same.  For me the R7 wins between
the two due to its far superior ability to acquire focus for a moving
subject - both in how fast it acquires and how well it stays with the
bird when it is flying.  I need to mention that I have used the R7
every day since it arrived except yesterday and I used the D500 for a
full birding session.  The other thing about the R7 is the weight!
The D500 is at least twice as heavy ... and the software in it is
not as good (especially for b-i-f but also for stationary subjects).
   The "hit rate" for the Lumix was 'typical'.  A week ago I would
have been -very- happy with the pics I got of the Eagle and Oystercatcher.
Having used the R7 for several days ... I'm more 'critical' of what the
Lumix isn't doing.  ;-)

   Overall Bowman's Head was a good experience ... but not particularly
"birdy".  There were Robins and White-Crowned Sparrows everywhere,
some TUVUs that were -very- far away (yesterday), and an occasional
RWB ... with a few starlings thrown in.  Oh yes, some crows/ravens
that were making a lot of noise but we never saw them.  Speaking of
noise - there was a Bald Eagle calling from the tree tops near the
parking lot both when we arrived and when we left ... so probable
nest somewhere up there but we didn't see anything there.  Oh yes,
and 3 Canada Geese that seem to be nesting in the large grassy
area (same places and sitting down both when we left and when we
came back 3 hours later).
                                                             - Jim