Nikkor 55 - 300 VR or Nikon P510 Superzoom

jgechev

New member
I like to take pictures of wildlife, and I like them to be sharp and in focus. I want to buy a P510 or a 55-300 lens. I found out that if I have to take a picture with the same DOF, it would be arround f4 with a superzoom and f11 or more with a Nikon D5100 because of the sensor size. In order to get suficient speed I need to up ISO to 800 -1600 ISO.
So I guess the final picture quality would not be that much better for the DSLR compared to the Superzoom. Also some superzooms get to arround 1000mm. Is taking a picture with the 55-300, 450mm efective and cropping better than taking it with the 1000mm superzoom?
any ideas or sugestions?
 

jgechev

New member
The P510 sounds a good choice but i wonder if I can have good printing quality with it. With the DSLR with 55-300 Im thinking about the DOF issues and short zoom for birds, but I would have good quality. I realized that there is another option. A mid size sensor in the form of some Nikon 1 camera with the adaptor for a 55-300 lens would make a 810 mm lens because of the 2.7 relation. Anybody tested some of these posibilities?
 

Rick M

Senior Member
Image quality and the ability to crop/enlarge is dependant on the size of the sensor, not just the number of MP:

P510 sensor size = 25mm sq.
Nikon Dx sensor = 370mm sq.
 

jgechev

New member
Image quality and the ability to crop/enlarge is dependant on the size of the sensor, not just the number of MP:

P510 sensor size = 25mm sq.
Nikon Dx sensor = 370mm sq.

I know, but what do you think it will be a more detailed picture. A bird that occupies all the P510 superzooms sensor at an equivalent of 1000mm, or a crop of the birds image with the DX sensor at the equivalent of 450mm?
not to mention that the DOF will be much narrower in the DSLR at the same aperture.
 

Rick M

Senior Member
At small print size they will both look great. At large print size the D5100 will look better, the P51o pixels will be blown out. That much pixel density leads to noise and sensor diffraction at a very low f stop. As far as DoF, with the 55-300, you'll be shooting at f5.6 or above, plenty of DoF if you are on target. If you just want small prints of far away birds get the P510, but you will be limiting your future possibilities.
 

jgechev

New member

I guess that Sigma would ruin my wallet and portability. Also my DOF problem would be worse. Thats why the last option i was thinking of was a Nikon 1 sensor,( 4 times the area of a superzoom ) with the 55-300 lens, would make a good 810mm equivalent. And with the sensor 4 times smaller than DX, better DOF.

A good experiment but expensive. It would cost me the extra of a Nikon 1 body + the adaptor + the lens. I guess arround 900 USS, two times the superzoom or more than two times the 55-300 alone.
 

jgechev

New member
At small print size they will both look great. At large print size the D5100 will look better, the P51o pixels will be blown out. That much pixel density leads to noise and sensor diffraction at a very low f stop. As far as DoF, with the 55-300, you'll be shooting at f5.6 or above, plenty of DoF if you are on target. If you just want small prints of far away birds get the P510, but you will be limiting your future possibilities.

I agree that the colors and dinamic range would be much better with the DSLR, but I dont know about the rest. Ive been doing some maths. Look in DOF requirements in these webpage
Digital Camera Sensor Sizes: How it Influences Your Photography

A 1/2" sensor with f4 with a 200mm lens, (712mm equivalent) would have the same DOF as the DSLR with 712mm with f14. With such a narrow diaphragm It will have some difraction blurness and I would have to slow the shutter speed pretty much and/or increase the ISO to 800 -1600. That would increase the noise quite a bit. Also as im using a 300 mm lens (450 effective) i would have to crop. So instead of 16 megapixels I would have 8 or less. So when I print the picture, I really dont know if the final print would be much better than the superzoom.
 

Rick M

Senior Member
There are other factors. How good is the lens on the super zoom? How much more noise will there be? I think you would have to do tests to determine which will look better. DoF is not an issue (except for the fact that you may have too much with the P510). The pixel density is gonna be a real problem in regards to noise, heat and light sensitivity. But again, if you don't want or need the potential of a DSLR, get the P&S. What if you get a great shot of something 20 feet away? You will be limited on print size because the miniature sensor.

If they were as good as larger sensors, all cameras would have miniature ones.
 

jgechev

New member
If they were as good as larger sensors, all cameras would have miniature ones.

you are right on that,
I guess that i was pointing out an extreme case with limited budget for wildlife pictures. For everyday photography, and in most cases the DSLR is much better.
 

Rick M

Senior Member
If you have a friendly dealer near you, bring a memory card and ask them if you can take some test shots from both. You can then go home and blow them up on your computer to see the difference. The 510 may be good enough for your needs.
 

jgechev

New member
If you have a friendly dealer near you, bring a memory card and ask them if you can take some test shots from both. You can then go home and blow them up on your computer to see the difference. The 510 may be good enough for your needs.

I finally got a Nikkor 55-300 VR. First pictures are better than my brothers P510, but he has more zoom than I do. Also more DOF and its easier to take pictures with the P510, but I think that when i get used to the new lens i will think that it was the wisest choice. Need time to get use to it.
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
I finally got a Nikkor 55-300 VR. First pictures are better than my brothers P510, but he has more zoom than I do. Also more DOF and its easier to take pictures with the P510, but I think that when i get used to the new lens i will think that it was the wisest choice. Need time to get use to it.

Don't forget....when on a tripod, turn of VR!
 

Rick M

Senior Member
There is a much longer learning curve on a DSLR. Once you get it down, you will get better results. You have endless possibilities down the road. Great ultra-wides or macro lenses will leave the P510 in the dust. You can also shoot RAW and the post processing possibilities are endless.
 
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