BIRD NEWS:602

 

Alas, as soon as I used the first zoom, instead of getting a closer shot - I got a blurrier shot of the sparrowhawk. On full zoom, instead of being closer still....a blurry blob was the result. iI definitely do NOT recommend buying yourself a Kodak camera these days - it used to be a good make, but not any longer.

I then tried automatic instead of manual....with a similar poor result.

My next excursion was a solo hike up Swillage Lane - I did not go very far as it was puddled and wet. My camera surprised me by taking a fairly good shot - for once - of Goggles with the mallards.

Although not the usual clarity of my Fujifilm camera, the Kodak was at least capturing reasonable images on this occasion...

I took several shots of Goggles & his mallard pals, in case the camera misbehaved, as it generally offers up blobs and blurrs.

Goggles stayed around and even chattered to me a little bit today - maybe he is getting used to my visiting, stopping briefly near his pond and holding a box-thing to my face a few times in passing...

Very unusually, on this trip most of my photos came out fairly well. As the one below illustrates - close up birds using zoom come out ok - as do far off birds not using zoom. I would rather they all came out with or without zoom as they did on my old camera though...

HERE is an article about birds and happiness...

HERE is an article from WWT - of which I am a member and used to visit monthly pre-Covid.

BIRD NEWS:601

 

I managed ONE decent shot of the blackbird - out of a dozen or so. On my former camera, I would have gotten 4-5 good shots and a half dozen fairly good ones with maybe 1-2 duds.

My new camera continues to disappoint me. This blackbird should be clearly in focus - not a blur.

Above you can see a shot of the bird area in my back yard - feeder poles, bird baths, and pond. It came out OK, unlike most of my shots. It is not lack of practice - just a poor quality camera. It only takes decent shots at a specific distance on a specific zoom. I need a camera that takes what it sees - without the need to be fussing about or obtaining blurry blobs as the subject. I am not a professional that needs to sell my shots, but I like the pictures to be quick to take and good quality. My old camera was great....sigh.

You can see the sparrows in this shot - taken on partial zoom. But I cannot always take a picture from the coffee lounge at a semi-zoom or zero zoom....birds move and go all over the place, after all! My old camera caught what it saw and I could simply change the size of the picture and crop it on the computer afterwards to have perfect shots....

Using full zoom, this sparrow is a blur - showing I cannot take photos on full zoom in the back yard on THIS garbage-camera.

I really do not like this camera....This should be a great shot of a wren at the bird bath... On my lil pink box it would have been perfect, but on this blue thing - nope.

There was something large on the garden fence...for once, the camera decided to get an average shot...

A sparrowhawk methinks.

BIRD NEWS:600

 

Bye bye Goggles - maybe by the time I take my next trip I will have figured out how to get the camera to act the way I want it to!

I was in the garden pulling out the former pond liner which I had wrapped into a huge heavy heap. I was going to cut a chunk off to take down the alotment and place underneath the weed bin. Mr Bob spotted my activity - and that a few bugs and worms had moved on to the liner....

I took several shots - but he kept turning his back. The piece I wanted had been cut off and I was waiting on Mr Bob to finish his meal before wrapping it up to take with me to the plot.

My new camera is really annoying me. My old one just turned on, zoomed or not, then I pressed to take a picture, this one.....well, I DO NOT like it. I hope I can find a better model and dump this one asap. I liked my old camera...if I took bad pictures on that, it was me to blame, not the camera.

Mr Bob kept turning aside as I clicked....He was not helping me take great pictures either!

I managed a reasonable photo - which would have been excellent if taken on my old camera.

I spotted a blackbird on the edge of the pond a day or to later - but once again, the new camera let me down. I shall start searching for the same model as my old one as soon as lockdown lets me get out and about again. Even if I manage a few good shots - my old camera rarely let me down, and I am fed up with being disappointed more than 50% of the time with this model.