Thouhts on superzoom bridge cameras?

[pstruck]

I'm looking for a slightly smaller, lighter, do-it-all stable mate for my Canon 40D and have been reading a bit about the latest crop of 'superzoom' cameras. The like of Panasonics Lumix DMC-FZ38, Nikons Coolpix P100 and a few others have been catching my eye.

Would I be unimpressed with the image quality from this type of camera and am I better given that so much focal range is on offer (compromises somewhere surely)? Any experience or thoughts on these camera?

[jimmy156]

Yeah i had the Panasonic FZ-28, and loved it. Great little camera, can produce some nice shots. Its achiles heel is low-light capability, as is the problem with all bridge camera's. I Used it until i decided i was serious enough about photography to upradge to a dSLR set up.

ETA an example or 2.

Edited by jimmy156 on Friday 28th May 19:02

[Juicetin1]

The super-zoom bridge cameras can shoot RAW which is a plus, the Panasonic bundled software is pretty good, my mate has produced excellent photos processed into JPEGS.

[GreigM]

Does the sony R1 fall into this category? Its a bit older now, but it as close to a SLR with a fixed lens as anything I have seen - IQ was superb.

[Simpo Two]

jimmy156 said:

upradge to a dSLR

We haven't had such a good typo since the 'Nikon Owner's Clud' back in '54...

Must upradge my stuff

[Lord Pikey]

I was in exactly the same boat as Jimmy156

I have had my FZ28 for two years and I love it, but I have recently treated myself to a 50D

As an example all the shots taken in this album of mine were taken with my FZ28.

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s121/kieranpage...

Realised that that album is a little bland on colours, so here is another

http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s121/kieranpage...

Edited by Lord Pikey on Friday 28th May 20:04

[CivicMan]

I have a Panasonic FZ28 in addition to a clutch of Nikons, and I must admit it's the one I grab for a day out. Hell of a zoom and good stabilisation.

The low level light isn't too bad - this is a handheld shot, f2.8 at 1/30.

[jimmy156]

Simpo Two said:

jimmy156 said:

upradge to a dSLR

We haven't had such a good typo since the 'Nikon Owner's Clud' back in '54...

Must upradge my stuff

i think i must be missing something here

[pstruck]

Thanks for the replies guys. So I guess a long as I accept that image quality will not quite be up to DSLR (already having one of these) standards, the range and functions provided by these cameras should meet my needs (smaller, lighter, less expensive, etc than DSLR).

There are quite few available and each has pros and cons. I've read numerous reviews online and one site will favour one camera and another will slate it (nothing new there then).

[pistonheadforum]

Hi,

I'm looking to get a camera with plenty of zoom. I want to be able to take pictures from the coast to small fast sailing boats in and around the harbour area with use for windsurfing pictures.

I'd also like to be able to use it for practical things like checking roof, plane spotting, wildlife and some motorsports from the stands (though not fast stuff).

Budget is around the £400 mark. Happy to buy secondhand but appreciate new would be good for something that has a more fragile zoom mechanism.

I'd like it to have the following:

Decent optical zoom - perhaps 1200mm
Good EVF - must have an EVF
Shoot RAW
Reasonable sensor (not sure what this means!)
Recognizable brand
Reasonable size (ie not massive)
Decent video would be useful

A bit of research leads me to the following:

Nikon P950 (secondhand, physically larger, gets good reviews, bonkers zoom 2000mm)
Lumix FZ330 (secondhand, large constant aperture, 600mm max zoom)
Lumix FZ200 (secondhand, much lower price, much older)
Lumix FZ82D (new, lowish price, small sensor, 1200mm zoom, good EVF, gets mixed reviews)


The Lumix F82D is the one that I though would make most sense, but the review are somewhat mixed.

I had a look at this review site for sample photos and I would kind of agree:

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_...

Does anybody have this camera. What is your take on the options (or alternatives). Are superzooms a good idea at all - does the heat haze and low sensor size mean the pictures are generally disappointing?

For background I have a X-Pro 1 and and EM-5 Mk2 already which even though rather old now produce pictures that I'm more than happy with.

I have looked at longer lenses for the EM-5 Mk2 (75-300 which works out at 600mm reach) but it's still half the Lumix (though maybe more realistic for decent pictures?).

Anybody got any experience in a getting a superzoom they would be willing to share or just general advice?

Also, if you have one what zoom levels are you typically using - is 600mm enough or is the compromises for 1200mm worth it?

Thanks in advance

Edited by pistonheadforum on Friday 14th August 10:18

[pistonheadforum]

Posting this here rather than a new thread as it's interesting to see how things have moved on in tech.

[Dave Hedgehog]

pistonheadforum said:

Posting this here rather than a new thread as it's interesting to see how things have moved on in tech.

iphone pro max, from 3m x4 optical x8 optical x40 digital zoom

[djsmith74]

pistonheadforum said:

Hi,

I'm looking to get a camera with plenty of zoom. I want to be able to take pictures from the coast to small fast sailing boats in and around the harbour area with use for windsurfing pictures.

I'd also like to be able to use it for practical things like checking roof, plane spotting, wildlife and some motorsports from the stands (though not fast stuff).

Budget is around the £400 mark. Happy to buy secondhand but appreciate new would be good for something that has a more fragile zoom mechanism.

I'd like it to have the following:

Decent optical zoom - perhaps 1200mm
Good EVF - must have an EVF
Shoot RAW
Reasonable sensor (not sure what this means!)
Recognizable brand
Reasonable size (ie not massive)
Decent video would be useful

A bit of research leads me to the following:

Nikon P950 (secondhand, physically larger, gets good reviews, bonkers zoom 2000mm)
Lumix FZ330 (secondhand, large constant aperture, 600mm max zoom)
Lumix FZ200 (secondhand, much lower price, much older)
Lumix FZ82D (new, lowish price, small sensor, 1200mm zoom, good EVF, gets mixed reviews)


The Lumix F82D is the one that I though would make most sense, but the review are somewhat mixed.

I had a look at this review site for sample photos and I would kind of agree:

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_...

Does anybody have this camera. What is your take on the options (or alternatives). Are superzooms a good idea at all - does the heat haze and low sensor size mean the pictures are generally disappointing?

For background I have a X-Pro 1 and and EM-5 Mk2 already which even though rather old now produce pictures that I'm more than happy with.

I have looked at longer lenses for the EM-5 Mk2 (75-300 which works out at 600mm reach) but it's still half the Lumix (though maybe more realistic for decent pictures?).

Anybody got any experience in a getting a superzoom they would be willing to share or just general advice?

Also, if you have one what zoom levels are you typically using - is 600mm enough or is the compromises for 1200mm worth it?

Thanks in advance

Edited by pistonheadforum on Friday 14th August 10:18

You are asking a lot for £400. Those cameras you have listed may have a very long zoom, but I suspect they would struggle with tracking things like boats & windsurfers at the far end of the zoom range, so you'd end up with blurry shots of not very good quality. I would stick with your EM-5 which is a very capable camera, and get something like the 75-300 with a 2x teleconverter which will effectively take you through to 1200mm. You will get a subsequent drop in aperture/lens speed using the teleconverter, but it will still be more than capable than a superzoom bridge camera. I'd also look at getting a lens monopod for extra stability - the image stabiliser of the EM-5 is very good, but even it will still struggle with stability at 1200mm.

[Derek Smith]

pistonheadforum said:

A bit of research leads me to the following:

Nikon P950 (secondhand, physically larger, gets good reviews, bonkers zoom 2000mm)
Lumix FZ330 (secondhand, large constant aperture, 600mm max zoom)
Lumix FZ200 (secondhand, much lower price, much older)
Lumix FZ82D (new, lowish price, small sensor, 1200mm zoom, good EVF, gets mixed reviews)

Edited by pistonheadforum on Friday 14th August 10:18

I've had two Panasonic FZ bridge cameras, max zoom around 600mm. Couldn't fault them. I used them to illustrate an A4 full colour magazine for a few years, and the bloke who did the picture editing was fussy. Had a couple of front pages. Couldn't fault them. Both were very reliable and my daughter still uses one of them. A Nikon bridge came with the role, but as soon as I bought the first Pan (to up the quality) I put that away and didn't use it gain.

A friend uses a current Nikon bridge with an awe-inspiring superzoom range. His images of the Moon on clear nights are remarkably good (and so frequent!)

They have limitations, especially when lighting is poor, and a powerful flash is all but essential. The one on-camera is adequate for head/shoulders. But if you don't want to carry a lot of camera gear, they are class of the field.

[pistonheadforum]

djsmith74 said:

You are asking a lot for £400. Those cameras you have listed may have a very long zoom, but I suspect they would struggle with tracking things like boats & windsurfers at the far end of the zoom range, so you'd end up with blurry shots of not very good quality. I would stick with your EM-5 which is a very capable camera, and get something like the 75-300 with a 2x teleconverter which will effectively take you through to 1200mm. You will get a subsequent drop in aperture/lens speed using the teleconverter, but it will still be more than capable than a superzoom bridge camera. I'd also look at getting a lens monopod for extra stability - the image stabiliser of the EM-5 is very good, but even it will still struggle with stability at 1200mm.

Thanks appreciate the thoughts.

[pistonheadforum]

Derek Smith said:

I've had two Panasonic FZ bridge cameras, max zoom around 600mm. Couldn't fault them. I used them to illustrate an A4 full colour magazine for a few years, and the bloke who did the picture editing was fussy. Had a couple of front pages. Couldn't fault them. Both were very reliable and my daughter still uses one of them. A Nikon bridge came with the role, but as soon as I bought the first Pan (to up the quality) I put that away and didn't use it gain.

A friend uses a current Nikon bridge with an awe-inspiring superzoom range. His images of the Moon on clear nights are remarkably good (and so frequent!)

They have limitations, especially when lighting is poor, and a powerful flash is all but essential. The one on-camera is adequate for head/shoulders. But if you don't want to carry a lot of camera gear, they are class of the field.

Thanks - that's useful. Can you say which model of FZ was it and what zoom amount did you most use? I mean did you ever need the 1200mm or was 600mm enough. It sounds like you were using for a range of different situations so interested how much reach you felt you needed. Was the quality consistent across the zoom - probably not unless it was the constant aperture one?

Many thanks.

[isaldiri]

pistonheadforum said:

Hi,

I'm looking to get a camera with plenty of zoom. I want to be able to take pictures from the coast to small fast sailing boats in and around the harbour area with use for windsurfing pictures.

I'd also like to be able to use it for practical things like checking roof, plane spotting, wildlife and some motorsports from the stands (though not fast stuff).

Budget is around the £400 mark. Happy to buy secondhand but appreciate new would be good for something that has a more fragile zoom mechanism.

I'd like it to have the following:

Decent optical zoom - perhaps 1200mm
Good EVF - must have an EVF
Shoot RAW
Reasonable sensor (not sure what this means!)
Recognizable brand
Reasonable size (ie not massive)
Decent video would be useful

A bit of research leads me to the following:

Nikon P950 (secondhand, physically larger, gets good reviews, bonkers zoom 2000mm)
Lumix FZ330 (secondhand, large constant aperture, 600mm max zoom)
Lumix FZ200 (secondhand, much lower price, much older)
Lumix FZ82D (new, lowish price, small sensor, 1200mm zoom, good EVF, gets mixed reviews)


The Lumix F82D is the one that I though would make most sense, but the review are somewhat mixed.

I had a look at this review site for sample photos and I would kind of agree:

https://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/panasonic_...

Does anybody have this camera. What is your take on the options (or alternatives). Are superzooms a good idea at all - does the heat haze and low sensor size mean the pictures are generally disappointing?

For background I have a X-Pro 1 and and EM-5 Mk2 already which even though rather old now produce pictures that I'm more than happy with.

I have looked at longer lenses for the EM-5 Mk2 (75-300 which works out at 600mm reach) but it's still half the Lumix (though maybe more realistic for decent pictures?).

Anybody got any experience in a getting a superzoom they would be willing to share or just general advice?

Also, if you have one what zoom levels are you typically using - is 600mm enough or is the compromises for 1200mm worth it?

Thanks in advance

I have a sony rx10 mk iv with maximum 600mm optical zoom so a fair ways below what you were looking at above but it's also got a 1" sensor which I think isn't the case for any of your listed options which look to be 1/2.3" although they would be able to offer greater zoom. At reasonably close distances, the rx10 does take pretty decent pictures in good light but there's always a tradeoff between sensor size and image quality imo - especially for longer distance birds in flight type shots where my full frame job is able to capture a much better image. the rx10 is handy and much easier to carry/pack though so it definitely has a place for me. it kind of depends how particular you are about image quality at high zooms - there's a pretty decent chance a longer lens for your EM-5 would still be able to end up with a better cropped image than the full zoom from one of the others I suspect but the compromise for that is the larger package......