I stood in my front yard and looked at this grove of Redwoods. Up at the tippy-top, I could see something. I thought it was a bird. I watched closely and saw it’s head turn. But, I couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was. So, I grabbed my camera and took this picture. Oh, and just to give you an idea of the height of those trees, look at the street light/telephone pole at the bottom of the picture.
Then, I zoomed in as close as I could.
Ah, a robin. Of course.
My camera is a Panasonic Lumix FZ7. It has 12x zoom and image stabilization. It was new in 2006. 3 years may not be long but this is a camera I have used nearly daily for those 3 years. It is almost a part of me. I rarely go anywhere without it. It may not be a fancy digiscoping rig with changeable lenses and amazing bells and whistles but it brings the birds to me and that is enough for me.
mother. wife. friend. teacher. writer. reader. photographer. birder. quilter. blogger.
Liza Lee Miller 
I often use my camera instead of binoculars anymore. I’m almost too lazy to carry both.
😉
I sometimes do that too. But your zoom-ishness is better than mine.
I feel the same way about my camera. I take it with me when I walk out to get the mail! You never know what critter is going to make an appearance.
I use the camera zoom instead of the bins a lot, too. It gets me closer.
I agree. I feel the same about my camera. It’s part of me, too. I use my camera’s zoom for identifying birds more often than using bins. It’s easier to carry one piece of equipment instead of two. Yes?
Sweeeet! I love my Canon for the zoom but it takes old fashioned batteries (and goes through them like water), so I don’t use it, and I can’t zoom like this with my SONY and I miss it!
Sweet for sure and I am said to say that I am “Camera Crazy” . . . . I have way too many cameras!
Glad to know I’m not alone in my camera love. And, Pam, glad to say my camera takes rechargeable batteries — and I was smart to buy another battery so I can change them out or take the extra one with me.
Oh, and Mon@rch, anytime you want to get rid of a camera, I’ll help you out! 😀
I just bought a Panasonic FZ series (mine is an FZ35). And I came to your site by googling “I love my camera”.
If you ever feel inspired to give any sort of “clinic” or “tips” on lighting or zoom (right now I’m using my camera mostly to photograph tennis, but I have a feeling I’ll be pressed into “general family service” fairly soon, lol) here on the blog, by all means, please go ahead! 🙂
Thank you for all your lovely shots!
Thanks for the visit. I’m by NO means an expert photographer. If there wasn’t an auto setting, I wouldn’t be able to take shots at all. 🙂 Enjoy and take LOTS of pictures . . . that’s my best advice! 🙂
” If there wasn’t an auto setting, I wouldn’t be able to take shots at all.”
LOL. I take tennis pictures, so I admit to a great love for “indoor-” and “outdoor-sports” modes.
“Enjoy and take LOTS of pictures . . . that’s my best advice!”
Thank you for it! At a match the other evening I took more than a thousand shots; I was a little flabbergasted. I didn’t know machines could even do that all at one setting.
(And then there was the editing … but that’s another discussion altogether. )
How long have you had your camera? And how long did it take before you felt really comfortable with it and like you could really use it?
I’ve had my camera for about 5 years. I think it took a couple of weeks before I felt comfortable. Just take lots and lots of shots. Enjoy!