Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

[LEOHUNTER]

So I'm looking for a camera for hunting, I wanted to get some footage of some long range shots at yotes and deer.....wanted to see if you guys have any experience with Sony or Canons or any other brands that had good (40-60x) optical zoom that was HD.

price range max is around $550

Thanks in advance

 

[B3dlam]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

If you have a good spotting scope I know there are adapters for cameras to fit to your spotting scope it might be a decent option as the zooms on a camera in that price range likely wont help at extreme ranges much.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

You are not going to get a "great" camera for $550.

"Great" cameras are in the thousands of dollars range. Most cameras that you see with the 40-60x zoom are for consumers. The picture quality will be "meh". If you are just trying to record that an event occured, they work. If you are looking for stunning visuals (what constitutes a "great" camera) then it's going to fall way short.

My Sony HDR-SR11 was about $400 and it's acceptable for some things. However it doesn't have super zoom and it's not what I will use on an important project. If I want to evoke an emotional response with what I shoot, then I use a Canon DSLR and high quality lenses. My longest right now is a 200mm that doesn't get close to the 20x zoom you are looking for. It ends up being about 6.5x if I am doing my math right. However what it produces is amazing.

If you aren't looking for something to stick on a HD Tv, then you will probably be OK with either a Sony or Canon in the $550 range. Although I use a Sony camcorder, my preference is for Canon.

 

[blksno]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

HD and 40-60x OPTICAL is going to be pretty hard to find in that price range.
You'll be lucky to find 20x in that price range.

 

[tolnep]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

any canon DSLR capable of video and this (well you did say 'great') was gonna suggest red one but couldnt find big magnification lenses for that stuff.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM Autofocus Lens

 

[caelumatra]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

I like the spotting scope idea personally because I'm cheap. If you have a spotting scope there may be an adapter for an GoPro camera.

You can get the base one for $130
http://gopro.com/cameras/hd-hero-naked-camera/

I do NOT own one of these, so I am unsure if it lives up to the HUGE amount of hype behind this product

 

[LEOHUNTER]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

Caelumatra- Just dawned on me that I could get an adapter for my gopro to mount to my Swarovski spotter......I like the idea. only thing is sometimes the gopro has that fisheye look...not sure how that would turn out...but I'll report on it once I got it dialed.

 

[LEOHUNTER]

Re: Whats a great HD camera for shooting long range

oh yeah and the best deal I found in HD with the max zoom was the sony cx260...had 30x zoom and still had good quality....not to good on the optical zoom, but seemed to have enough to see a deer drop around 450yds or so.