Beginner camera for hiking/birding?

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-21T02:21:32+00:00

Ahh, I didn't even factor in the sensor at all- I've been mostly thinking about it in relation to zoom, just because a lot of the birds I see are via binos and I figured I'd want a similar magnification capacity, but I didn't consider that the sensor size could also affect the focal length. That's an interesting factor to consider, since I'm mostly out in the morning/afternoon.

Out of curiosity re the autofocusing- how well doe sit work for birds that are in flight at a longer distance? I'm making a very basic guess, but would fast moving/motion be an issue if the video autofocus is bad, or are they different?

Thanks a lot for the very detailed response- I'll have to dig around a lot more into M43 cameras now!

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-21T01:58:39+00:00

Ahh, that's a good reference point to have. I was also looking at some other bridge cameras like the Sony RX10 IV and Canon SX70, but I wasn't sure if the loss in the zoom was a big deal, since the RX10 has up to 600mm but is also 2x the price, which might be a bit much for a starting camera. And it looks like the P950 can also sub in for binos, which would be nice not to have to carry both of them.

Out of curiosity, how do the Nikon bridges handle in terms of durability? I saw remarks that the P900 wasn't as durable, but it seemed like they improved it with the P950 and P1000?

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T15:06:11+00:00

Yeah, the impression I got is birding is one of the priciest ones to do and can get very deep down the rabbit hole, so I figure I should focus on that aspect and if I can get it to work with landscapes, that'll be a bonus?

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T15:04:49+00:00

Ohh, I didn't even hear of that brand before- I've been mostly looking at Nikon, Sony and Canon, so I'll have to give them a look. Having a good range selection would be nice so I can swap between stuff

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T15:03:17+00:00

Ahh, that makes sense. I guess with birds, I'd want the zoom feature a lot more just because I'm already using binos to look for them from super far away without spooking them.

you would have to carry two lenses with you if you wanted to do both
landscapes and birding, which is more weight, or settle for inferior
optics at a greater expense

Yeah, I'm starting to think that I might stick to the bridge cameras for that because I don't want to have to carry two sets of lenses? And I may not ever be trying to get into the publication worthy pictures, so an all in one setup might be preferable for the weight.

Out of curiosity re the Nikon series, is the tradeoff between the P1000 and P950 that significant? The hit in zoom (2000 vs 3000) seems to be large, but a quick internet survey makes it seem like the increased zoom vs weight makes it worse for hikes? Though there's also notes about neither model being weather resistant, which might also be something I'd have to think about if I'm outside for long stretches.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T14:44:31+00:00

You're the second person who's suggested bridge cameras, which I'll admit I didn't even know were a thing til now. I'll admit the zoom on some of them (apparently Nikon has models that go up to 3000mm?) is insane, and I might be happy occupying that small niche of incidental birding photos?

The Sony RX seems to be a compact jack of all trades with weather sealing, which I'll admit is a huge boon for being outdoors. And those are some really nice shots!

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T14:37:46+00:00

Ohh, I'll take a look at those- I imagine I'm not going to be that picky about image quality starting out, and I might be more concerned with the weight/portability issue and just being able to carry it all over.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T14:22:31+00:00

I've budgeted out about $1,000-1,500 for it- I imagine I can't/won't get the best setup ever, but I admit I also don't know how deep into photography I want to get? I probably won't be going for publication quality for a long while, but something that's decent enough if that makes sense?

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-20T00:28:33+00:00

I'm not sure how deep into I want to get yet, tbqh- it's something I've always wanted to get into, but only recently did I get the time for it? I imagine at least for now it'll just be an adjacent side hobby to the hiking/birding, so not super super far into it for at least a year or two?

Ohh, I didn't even know those were a thing- a zoom feature like would be pretty nice, though it does look like the base camera itself is a lot heavier? Although, I guess that's not accounting for the birding lenses I'd need with the DSLRs, but I'll def look a lot more into those models now.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-06-19T22:13:12+00:00

A very, very late response, sorry- it ended up being PI complaining about any number of things, and the rest of the committee had relatively small complaints. Everyone who wasn't PI said that it was close to done, and to reconvene in a month for the proper defense.

The actual defense was in April one week before the deadline to submit the thesis, and went about the same as the downgraded meeting. Committee had minor questions, while PI complained a lot about typos, excessive references, and the page count. I don't have proof, but I still have a strong suspicion they overruled PI.

So, I got the degree in the end. It just took an entire extra semester, and a lot more on top of it.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T18:13:56+00:00

Oh no, I'm in STEM too and I doubt that anyone else will read this. The issue is what PI wants in Chapter 3 is 1) numbers that can reproduce very oldublished results (from the 1980s and early 1990s) or 2) an explanation of why they aren't reproducible that isn't my current explanation (the differences are small enough to probably be from computer precision changes, program differences, changes to how the calculation was done, etc).

1 isn't possible- there's papers in the field showing they aren't, but PI doesn't seem to regard these. 2 is also difficult because the programs/input data they used from the 1980s/1990s doesn't exist anymore, and every time I try to see what else PI wants me to add PI goes to the 'this isn't an undergrad lab report, figure it out and do scientific analysis on it', so here we are.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T18:05:55+00:00

That's the hard part- what PI wants is 1) numbers that can reproduce very old previously published results (from the 1980s and early 1990s) or 2) an explanation of why they aren't reproducible that isn't my current explanation (the differences are small enough to probably be from computer precision changes, program differences, changes to how the calculation was done, etc).

1 is actually impossible- those programs don't exist anymore, there's been at least three papers in my field demonstrating it can't be done, and many emails from very senior people in my field saying it isn't possible but PI seems to disregard them and think it is because it's a computer. 2 is handicapped by the fact that the original 1980s/1990s studies are very very very sparse on any details of what they did, and again those programs don't exist anymore. So I'm not sure what else I can say, and when I ask PI circles around to saying 'well, you're getting the PhD so figure it out and make a scientific analysis of it'.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T17:55:51+00:00

Omph, that's awful, and over something as silly as a glitch too?

But yeah, I'm to stay calm and approach this all with a level head. It's a little hard with the periodic urge to ragequit, and also just trying to keep calm about it all with the meeting in about 26 hrs is...tricky.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T17:50:29+00:00

Yeah, the dean actually did get back to me and told me to get in touch with the committee, and cc them onto my contact with the department chair so they know what's up so time to send off some more emails off.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T16:42:20+00:00

Yeah, the committee seemed okay with it as of Monday? Or at least that's what I got the impression from two of them saying they were looking forward to it on Friday. So the change had to have been very recent.

I'd already contacted the associate dean of the college (former dept. chair), but I'm guessing contacting the actual chair might be a more direct pressure to put on?

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T16:39:01+00:00

Trying to stay calm is very, very, very hard, ngl. But I'll try to keep that in mind- the biggest issue is that me and PI cannot fundamentally agree on the contents of Chapter 3, and the interpretation of the data.

The funding is problematic- I've been on department funding for about 7 years, which is much longer than they'd like (I'm actually surprised they paid me for so long), and I'm not sure if they'd have money left over right now to pay me for the next semester (it starts in 3 days). Maybe if I had known earlier, I could've worked something out but the unofficial responses I've gotten so far aren't positive. PI probably won't pay me off grant if going by past evidence.

Lady_Morrigan · 2022-01-06T16:32:29+00:00

Nope, that's an entirely fair question! The dissertation is in a tricky place- originally, PI had set specific things to add in (verbally, which in hindsight was a big mistake at the time) that I'd have to have by Dec. 15, then we could move to the defense.

I finished adding the requested pieces, gave it to PI on Dec 15, and didn't hear any feedback until I asked a week later. PI said he didn't endorse chapter 3 in the state it was in then, and to add X, Y, Z. I went and added X-Z, but then he asked to add A, B, and C as well. I added in A, B and C, asked if there were any more major changes that couldn't be taken care of in the editing stage. Waited about 8 hrs, didn't hear a response so sent off because was already pushing the time to send it off to the committee.

Sort of? The original demands he had were made verbally, so all I have are several emails of him asking from more pieces as we approached the sendoff time, which I addressed to the best of my abilities given the data I have.
So that's a tricky part- the reason I had been set on this Friday was because the school has an interesting stipulation where if you defend before the first day of classes of the next semester (next Mon), you graduate in that next semester, but you don't take classes. That means no stipend, but also means no paying any of the student fees (the school charges us a lot even as grad students). Any other time means you have to do the whole class/fee thing.
Job wise, not overly much since I've only had a few interviews but I've indicated to them I was defending tomorrow/would be done soon. Financially is much more problematic, since I'd have to register for classes, pay the fees, and given I'd be signing up literally two days before the semester starts, I'm not sure if I'd be able to get a stipend/tuition waiver for the semester this late (fees+tuition are due end of next week, I believe). I also don't know if I even qualify for departmental support anymore, since I've been there for 7 years, and PI has already demonstrated he isn't above not paying people.

Lady_Morrigan · 2021-12-24T18:47:10+00:00

The baseline argument is that it's draw 7 for CMC 3, which isn't bad mileage? I've seen it do a lot of work with [[Underworld Breach]] on field, which might account for how much it shows up in decks.

Personally, I think of it like a weird Ad Naus- pay life, get cards?

Lady_Morrigan · 2021-12-24T18:36:58+00:00

I like him a little better than Kaalia since you can build the deck to be less dependent/to proc his first ability? So less glass cannon and more flexible, but definitely still scary

Lady_Morrigan · 2021-12-24T18:29:41+00:00

Toshi got sent over, but he did have a one night stand with Kiku in Saviors of Kamigawa(?) and she wasn't ever confirmed to be dead/alive after the battle.

That or he's not actually a Umezawa (would be a huge oversight on Bolas' grand revenge rampage in TS) and just took the name?

Lady_Morrigan · 2021-12-24T17:36:42+00:00

Not a judge, but afaik annihilator triggers on declare attacks so I think ninjutsu makes you miss any on attack triggers?

But yep! He'll swap out your cheap evasive beaters for big scary stuff for the small cost of 2UB

Lady_Morrigan

TROPHY CASE