Which Bridge camera?

[KernowSid]

My wife would like a new camera for Christmas; mainly for taking photographs of our Son, our dogs, and nature/wildlife when the mood suits.

After looking today, we've roughly narrowed it down to the following options:

Canon Powershot SX60
Nikon Coolpix P610
Sony Cybershot HX400

They all seem similar, roughly the same specs, all under £300.

Which of the 3 is better, or is there a better option? Any help is appreciated

[Golaboots]

Doubt there will be much love for bridge cameras on here.
"Size of a dslr, quality of a compact", "great for taking bad photos of things far away " etc.

£300 just about gets an entry level dslr or mirrorless camera. Second hand you get get something even better.

These will be a lot better at focussing, much better in low light, and generally just provide much better quality images.

[littleredrooster]

I had an SX50 for a year or so and, although I had some reasonable snapshots from it, it wasn't actually as good as my wife's SX220 which was about one-third of the size and had much the same (small) sensor and controls.

However, after moving on to a Sony NEX-6, I can now appreciate the big difference in image quality that a larger sensor can make. Does it have to be a bridge camera?

[Pints]

If you simply must go for a bridge camera, then the zoom on the P610 is truly impressive. However, the pictures are a far cry from even the most basic DSLR.

[KernowSid]

I've read online whilst doing a bit of research that bridge cameras aren't universally liked.

It doesn't have to be a bridge camera. We currently have a 7 year old Panasonic Lumix compact camera, but my wife wanted to upgrade, and price wise a bridge camera seemed to fit regarding specs. She doesn't want separate lenses like a DSLR, and for our (small) budget we are right at the bottom of the scale for a DSLR. Therefore we thought bridge camera.

Edited by KernowSid on Monday 9th November 20:22

[RobDickinson]

Forget the 'bridge camera'.

Get a good higher end compact. Sony RX100, one of the fuji's, canons G7x or something.

You dont need a bazzilion times zoom, just a quality normal range lens and a good sized sensor.

[KernowSid]

Thanks very much for the replies.

Seems after discussing this with my wife, she doesn't want a "bridge" as she found them too large and un-wieldy.

So Im now looking online at compacts. The capabilities of a compact have really improved since I bought our Panasonic 7 years ago!

[mike9009]

Peeps don't seem to be recommending the EOS-M anymore, but I highly rate it.

I used to own a DSLR (Canon 450D) but found lugging it around with a variety of lenses meant I wasn't photographing stuff as much as I used to.

I then went to a compact (Canon SX220) which was all-right. I was using the camera more again, but the image quality did not come close to the DSLR.

Next I bought an EOS-M and have not looked back. Image quality plus portability.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EOS-Compact-System-C...

I think there is a newer version out, but this one is great.

Many years ago I also owned a bridge camera (can't remember the model) but it really was not that good. Great zoom on paper, but it really did not focus well at those distances.


Mike

[KernowSid]

Currently deciding between the Canon G7X and the Sony RX100 ii.

Seem very similar, reviewers mention the ergonomics of the Canon, so will have to have a feel of both and make a decision.

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Swordman]

KernowSid said:

Currently deciding between the Canon G7X and the Sony RX100 ii.

Seem very similar, reviewers mention the ergonomics of the Canon, so will have to have a feel of both and make a decision.

Thanks again for all the advice.

The Sony RX100 iii and iv have a pop up viewfinder, so go for those rather than the ii.

[KernowSid]

The RX100 iii and iv are starting to push the budget too far for a camera that will primarily be used by my wife for taking photographs of our Son (18 months old. We live some distance from both sets of family, so lots of photographic updates) the budget has already increased by £150 just by posting on here

Edited by KernowSid on Tuesday 10th November 10:21

[GetCarter]

KernowSid said:

The RX100 iii and iv are starting to push the budget too far for a camera that will primarily be used by my wife for taking photographs of our Son (18 months old. We live some distance from both sets of family, so lots of photographic updates) the budget has already increased by £150 just by posting on here

Edited by KernowSid on Tuesday 10th November 10:21

I have an RX100 mk 1 and Mk 3... unless you want the pop up finder (and a few other changes), the Mk 1 is fine. Not much point in the Mk 2.