Panasonic HC V510; Tele Macro mode

M Stewart

Always a sucker for something out of the ordinary, 3 years ago I bought a used HC V510 for £70.  My interest was in the advertised 50x optical zoom (and of course, 80x Intelligent Zoom...!).  Being the same make as my HC-X900 with a modest 12x optical zoom, I reckoned that I could swap the memory card from one camera to the other, and see on screen what difference there was.  I used a tripod to point the cameras at the same feature and was pleasantly surprised when I viewed the results on a TV screen later.  (Both cameras claimed similar wide-angles of view.)

The compact HC-V510 is not blessed with a viewfinder, so for videoing small garden wildlife, it's worth making use of the Tele Macro feature - accessed via the Menu and Touch Screen, with the camera mounted on a tripod.  Using it to capture video of butterflies visiting my garden, it's worked well focusing on and getting the flower and butterfly in focus.  Better than that, on later TV viewing, I've seen micro-ants and similar on the flower which my eyes certainly didn't see at the time.
A similar feature with the same name is available on my HC-X900, but that doesn't have anywhere near such a high ratio optical zoom, and is much less useful.

12harry

Good to read yr recent purchase is a Good'un - My own Sony CX410 has
similar: The optical zoom is really 30x and then to the 55x is done by reducing the pixel density ( Not quite the same as digital zoom, where you end up with a somewhat grainy picture, having lost many pixels ).
It also sports "Tele Macro" and mine allows insect close-ups from about 5-6ft away ( so less likely to be stung filming wasps! ).
I recall that the focus is more-or-less fixed, so one has to move with the subject.
However, it tends to be the case that the longer the "times" of a zoom lens, the worse the definition.... probably due to it needing a much smaller sensor.
Recent Camcorders for 4K will usually sport even shorter zooms ( some Sony are 12x ).... whilst you can "move-closer" - this is not always convenient..... yet Pro camcorders and DSLR's used in movie-mode will usually have an even more restricted zoom . . . maybe due to their "Stills-background" and the need for high shutter-speeds demanding the lens aperture is large.

Do you tempt the butterflies with sugar-water?

Cheers.

chrishull3

The very cheap 4K Pana FZ82 has been out for years,with a great zoom Specs - LUMIX Digital Bridge Camera DC-FZ82 | Panasonic UK & IrelandSpecs - LUMIX Digital Bridge Camera DC-FZ82 | Panasonic UK & Ireland
In 4K video recording the 1200 crops to 1660mm 3330mm izoom
the more recent Nikon P1000 has double the FZ82s

M Stewart

No, I haven't tried any form of bait.  
What is welcome is that my laziness in the garden and allowing nature to take its course, has perhaps allowed the species taking root in my garden to revert to what was once common in this area, and I regularly see more/varied damselflies than at a local Nature Reserve.  (Not so good with dragonflies, but perhaps that's because I tend to be a late riser.)