I live and kayak on a river. Critter photos - particularly birds and butterflies are the most important to me. Will the X5 handle the action shots?
1585216
I found some answers for you. I've pasted a link to a website that lists 10 waterproof pocket sized cameras, they range in price from $99 to $269. Most have about a 4x or 5x zoom lens built in. Shutter responses are usually a bit slower (shutter lag) when you press the button, but that may not present a problem for you. The water resistance should provide a measure of relief for you if it gets wet. read up on them and pick what sounds good to you. If the link doesn't work, then just type in the info into the browser bar, Jim.http://waterproof-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/
1585217
I would not recommend the X5 anymore. Do some more looking as the camera proved to be marginal in image quality.
1585218
More than a 500 equivalent zoom and great image stabilization. You'll still have to be within 10 or 20 yards. The view is sort of like that you get through a set of not too powerful binoculars. But the image stabilization is good enough that you can forget the tripod most of the time. I wouldn't take it in a boat. So much better than anything around 6 or 8 years ago. There are lots of cameras with better specs, but I think it's adequate and unbeatable at the price.
1585219
Well, yes and no would be my answer. Yes, in that it has a good shutter response time for when you push the shutter button to capture the moment, and no, in that the write speed to the SD card is a lot slower that a good DSLR camera would have. Also, a no answer because the camera is not water-resistant to use in kayaking on a river. If this is the kind of photography you want to do, I strongly suggest you consider buying a Pentax X-5 DSLR with a Pentax lens. The camera is a lot more capable for what you want to do and most importantly, it is a water-resistant camera. This doesn't mean waterproof to go deep sea diving, mind you, for that you would need a Nikon waterproof camera or a waterproof housing. Water-resistant means just that, it is water-resistant to getting water splashed on it and even to getting completely submerged briefly if the kayak was to turn over in the river. Having that kind of camera would put your mind at ease for doing what you like to do. It would be more expensive to purchase, however. I think Amazon has a K-5 with a Pentax lens for about $600 with the kit lens and about $800 if you want to buy a longer Pentax zoom lens, which is probably a better choice for your purposed of photographing birds and butterflies. As far as the X-5 camera goes, it is really a great family and vacation camera, just not for using it the way you want to use it. Jim Towns
1710424
No, this is a very cheap and worthless action camera. If you are looking for an action camera I suggest you spend the extra money and buy a GoPro.
1053339
Kim, the short answer is yes. This is a great waterproof camera and truly unbeatable at its price point. I do not think you will be disappointed with it.
1186141
3200 stops hummingbird wings! I shoot church cityscapes night... Handheld action is GREAT.Nikon has a long term winner here! Love this camera!
2170406
As long as you're not doing fast or low-light action, this is a fantastic outdoor telephoto - a real image-quality champ. It works quite well with the Canon 1.4X tele extender, too. (I don't have a 2X so I can't say with that one.) For fast action or action in low light, save up and get the 70-200mm 2.8 (II not I; the new version is super sharp, the old version a bit lacking). And start pumping iron ;) If you're doing birds a lot, this may not have the reach you need. In that case the 100-400mm is better - not quite the same image quality but pretty good nonetheless. If you're doing a lot of portraits, the 70-200mm 2.8 II will give you better background blur. Or go cheap with the 135mm f2.0 or the 200mm f2.8 for portraits.
638413
At low power, it's great for nature. Across the pond, out to sea, soaring birds from a parking lot, jets coming and going. At 100x or more but the tripod is too jiggly. Favorite use: herons, turtles, fishers on the river bank 100 yds away. May need some hand-steadying. If it doesn't aim low down enough, reverse direction in the mounting yoke. Binocs are good for 50-200ft. This is great for 70-yds to a mile.
236184
My son and I are both birders. He has the Monarch 5 and I have the Bushnell Legend. He is 40 and I am 64. We have switched back and forth and are pleased with the performance and features of both. He claims the Nikon lenses are superior but he has a Nikon camera and is biased...I would go with either.
1298990
I shoot butterflies, as the most critical situation. More pixels= better cropping, the autofocus is supposedly improved (comparespecs), and the low noise sensor gives better results at highISO, which allows greater depth of field with high shutter speed;only ISO noise has been tested as the butterflies are not outyet. So far for general and landscape I am pleased, but my photosare not hugely better than this class with the K5. It seems thatprice goes with performance, so how much performance do you needfor your main application?
1872430
no first of all it cant take the payload of a go pro also if you need a higher quality camera get the Syma X5C I wish I had really thought of it before however know this it is in the place #11 in helicopters but the U818A won #3
474710
I have been looking into buying one of the two as well. One of my interests is birds. The have the highest zoom Nikon 36 zoom and canon 35 zoom and all in one piece. Does anyone use either for birding?Thank you!
2242582
Funny thing, I have not used the panoramic mode. (Which is crazy because I live on a river!) But I do love my camera!it takes awesome pictures.
1850458
I found on my X-A1 that the focusing is pretty fast though it does Hunt a bit. hunting may be less on cameras with phase detection.
1187804
First off, I'm not an expert or professional photographer and I normally take panoramic views. With that said, I've taken a few shots around the airport of planes coming in to land, and it really does the job. I guess that for sport events like basketball, and with the standard lens, your going to be just fine. If you're into fast pace sports like biking or skate boarding, I would actually recommend something with a viewfinder. I hope this helps.P.S.If you decide to buy this model, get the 200 mm telephoto lens and the DSTE Kit 2pcs BP-1030 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery + Charger. They are worth it! First off, I'm not an expert or professional photographer and I normally take panoramic views. With that said, I've taken a few shots around the airport of planes coming in to land, and it really does the job. I guess that for sport events like basketball, and with the standard lens, your going to be just fine. If you're into fast pace sports like biking or skate boarding, I would actually recommend something with a viewfinder. I hope this helps.P.S.If you decide to buy this model, get the 200 mm telephoto lens and the DSTE Kit 2pcs BP-1030 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery +... » Read More First off, I'm not an expert or professional photographer and I normally take panoramic views. With that said, I've taken a few shots around the airport of planes coming in to land, and it really does the job. I guess that for sport events like basketball, and with the standard lens, your going to be just fine. If you're into fast pace sports like biking or skate boarding, I would actually recommend something with a viewfinder. I hope this helps.P.S.If you decide to buy this model, get the 200 mm telephoto lens and the DSTE Kit 2pcs BP-1030 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery + Charger. They are worth it! « Show Less
298679
Sure--wildlife viewing is primarily what I use them for. I keep them by a window overlooking my bird feeders and a vacant lot that's full of quail, doves and the occasional hawk. The only possible problem I can think of is the 7x magnification--it's fine at suburban range, but I live in Nevada, where it's common to be able to look for 20 or 30 miles across the desert. If you'll be some distance from your objective, Nikon makes a 10x50 version of these that might suit you better. The tradeoffs would be increased weight and a smaller field of view at a given distance. For general use, though, I like the 7x35s. Sure--wildlife viewing is primarily what I use them for. I keep them by a window overlooking my bird feeders and a vacant lot that's full of quail, doves and the occasional hawk. The only possible problem I can think of is the 7x magnification--it's fine at suburban range, but I live in Nevada, where it's common to be able to look for 20 or 30 miles across the desert. If you'll be some distance from your objective, Nikon makes a 10x50 version of these that might suit you better. The tradeoffs would be increased weight and a smaller field of view at a given distance. For general use, though,... » Read More Sure--wildlife viewing is primarily what I use them for. I keep them by a window overlooking my bird feeders and a vacant lot that's full of quail, doves and the occasional hawk. The only possible problem I can think of is the 7x magnification--it's fine at suburban range, but I live in Nevada, where it's common to be able to look for 20 or 30 miles across the desert. If you'll be some distance from your objective, Nikon makes a 10x50 version of these that might suit you better. The tradeoffs would be increased weight and a smaller field of view at a given distance. For general use, though, I like the 7x35s. « Show Less
711269
Stacey, I rolled my kayak in rapids and was caught up in a fallen tree for almost a half hour. The bag was completely filled with water. To be fair, I don't think I had compressed all of the air out of the bag when I rolled it up and snapped it shut, but the camera was a total loss. I'm not sure that it was meant for such extreme conditions, but I'll never take an expensive camera in this bag again through rapids.
651811
It does pretty good action shots. I've done some of my people jumping into the pool, my dog chasing ball, and my dog swimming. Just make sure you get the nikon 1 j2 or j3 series because because I owned the j1 first and it takes horrible action pictures. Hope this helps.
54421
I have the older version of the Pentax waterproof camera, the Optio WR43. It has worked great for me. I was thinking of upgrading to the new Optio 90. It supposedly does HD. I used my older optio WR43 for taking kayaking. I have special helmet that I strap it onto so I can film going off of waterfalls and stuff, 20 to 25 footers. I also used it Paragliding one time. Here is my Kayaking video using the Optio 43WR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udX2ERY7R0s-Scott