Can the Olympus TG 6 or 7 be used for birds?

Nature Talk
1

I’d like to have a camera that comes both with macro and a considerable telephoto lens (I know the focal length is equivalent to 25-100mm) for birds as well. But I don’t know if it’s worth buying for those things.

2

I think you would be disappointed. The zoom is not very long. The camera was designed for photographing small things, up close (macro) and underwater (for those who do underwater photography). And one can do focus stacking.

But it was not designed for photographing birds. Sure, you can get some ok shots if you are close to the bird, but I expect you will end up wasting time. That’s a very small focal length which is just not going to give you what you want for bird photos. One review says that the TG-6 is a 4x zoom and that the image quality degrades when zoomed fully. I wouldn’t venture out to photograph birds without at least 30x. Plus, at least for my purposes when taking photos of nature, I want at least a 16MP sensor, or better, 20 (which is what I have now). The TG-6 is 12MP.

3 Likes
3

Unfortunately, the TG 6 or 7 isn’t very good for distance shots… the TG 7 has a 4x magnification… I recommend it for macro and underwater shots though.

1 Like
4

Look for bridge cameras. They’ll have telephoto and macro features. They won’t excel at either but may be good enough for your needs. I use a Canon SX70HS which also meets the size and weight limits for what I’m willing to carry.

1 Like
5

Thanks for the answer. This one seems to be a solid choice for me.

6

Can the Olympus TG 6 or 7 be used for birds?

Only if the birds are very close or very large.

Take a look at this arbitrary selection of my TG-7 bird photos, and you’ll see why no one would ever recommend this camera for birds. However, these are all research grade. iNat users only need about 5 pixels to identify a bird.

10 bird observations

Cropped, of course.

Disclaimer: I’m not a real photographer and I don’t know what I’m doing.

I don’t want to leave anyone with a bad opinion of this camera. It’s amazing what it can do if you’re within a few inches.

7 close-up observations

I also have the FD-1 Flash Diffuser attached, in these recent observations. You don’t need it, though.

Close or far, these are probably all at the full 4x zoom (100mm equivalent). It’s very rare that I use any other zoom level.

3 Likes
7

Any camera can be used for birds. There just will be trade-offs between cost and features. You also want to consider the weight of the camera–you always take better photos with the camera you actually have with you, not the one you leave in the car because your arms are tired. :sweat_smile:

I love my Nikon Coolpix P950, which is about as much camera as you can get without having to actually know how to use a camera. The zoom goes up to 83x, which is a lot. You’d have to pay a lot more to get a spotting scope that would be significantly better, especially given how much easier it is to carry around. It is not nearlyas fast as a DSLR, and it’s not as adaptable, but you can pretty much turn it on and turn the dial to the little bird icon and start shooting.

The P1000 actually goes up to like 125x, but it’s so heavy I wouldn’t get more benefit from it.

My previous camera had like maybe a 34x zoom, and it was pretty good for birds. Not as good as the P950, but I think it did better macro photography. It is tough for the same camera to be equally good at extreme distance and very close.

1 Like
8

I used Canon SX730HS for years. Compact, 40x optical zoom and 1cm minimum macro distance gave reasonable results. The 740 is the current version, with improved but still flawed AF - still the best pocketable camera for birds and priced accordingly.

Now I carry a TG7 for stacked focus macro and SX70HS for everything else.
The Canon SX70HS has 65x optical zoom, wide angle, great colours and 0 cm minimum macro distance. AF does not have a bird mode, often need to go manual; no focus stacking.
The OM TG7 is great for macro (with the light diffuser ring) can do stacked focus and zoom from 1 cm apart. Also great for children playing, can take birds in flight in sports mode. The back screen does not flip, not many pixels, no wide angle and bleak colours.
I heard a lot of good things about the Nikon Coolpix P950, bigger zoom and dedicated bird mode.

2 Likes
9

What does AF stand for?

1 Like
10

AF = autofocus

1 Like
11

I’ve got a TG6 and have used the P950 a little. The TG6 is really good with photographing flowers, leaves, stems and other parts of plants and lets you see fine detail like stamens, hairs, etc. It is also good for getting photos of entire trees. I’ve found it to work well for insects in the daylight but haven’t enjoyed it as much for closeups in low light. Maybe there is a trick I am missing so I keep looking.

The P950 is amazingly good for zoom shots on birds. It doesn’t produce the quality of a high-grade mirrorless camera but for the price it is outstanding. It’s about twice the price of the TG7 and I never tried to get macro quality shots with it.

1 Like
12

Even during daytime the camera can cast a shadow. I would recommend getting a light diffuser ring. It gives good photos even at dusk.
Example https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/251446549

TG6 and TG7 accessories are interchangeable.

1 Like
13

Thanķ you all for the answers. I think I’m going to buy the Canon Powershot sx70 hs

14

Underwater compact optics tend to scatter light, ruining images ie towards the sun (also when birds are active)in older “beach” cameras

1 Like
15

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.