Best superzoom/bridge for photography + filming: 450-500USD

kluulzkluulz Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
edited February 18, 2016 in Cameras
Heya guys,

I've spent many hours googling and reading reviews, guides and comparisons of the best superzoom/bridge camera's out there.

From my research, the best are unfortunately out of my budget; Nikon Coolpix p900 and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000.

Instead I have narrowed down to:

Canon Powershot SX60

Fuji FinePix S1

Nikon Coolpix p600.

From my research they are all in the top 10 Bridge cameras of 2014/2015, even part of the top 3 in many cases, yet they all have certain downsides and upsides. E.g.:

FinePix S1: apparently the only weatherproof superzoom, but bad IQ

Coolpix p600: the best IQ of them all (?)

Powershot SX60: best filming?

I would love some advice from some people who knows the benefits of the various specs (e.g. sensor size, aperture settings, ISO noise etc. etc.) because I find all the reviews quite technical and I have no idea what techs I should look for.

What I do know is that I want it to be a good investment, i.e. to last many years. I want to be able to use to to film in full HD (under 4k) and of course have good image quality. Whether it is 65 or 50x zoom is not that important. Also if you recommend others?

Thanks a lot for the help!

EDIT:

I should have been more specific for what I want to use it for.

Photography wise: Macro, wild-life, zooming, landscape. So this could very well be fast-moving animals, such as shooting birds, lions, whales etc.
Filming wise: Exactly the same actually.

I want the filming while zoomed to be almost as important as the IQ of the photography at zoom, as the zoom is the main reason why choosing a superzoom/bridge.

I can tolerate taking more pictures for the "perfect" one, in terms of focus, however, I do want it to be quick so I don't miss any action (e.g. a humpback whale breaching.)

As I do a lot of video editing, I wouldn't mind editing photos either. However, the best colors (the less work for me,) the better. The quality of the video and images do not have to be at pro-level as the camera will only be used for amateur footage. However, if one of the cameras can be at pro level, in case I do get to that level, then of course that would be a great investment.

I hope this helps you help me :)

EDIT2:

Doing further research, I've found certain dealers on ebay that have some of the better and newer bridge camera's at lower prices. My budget is a big factor unfortunately, but perhaps certain camera's are worth the extra $.

My main options in my original budget are:

1) Fuji FinePix S1 SECONDHAND. With memory card, 2x extra batteries: 255-285 USD

2) Canon Powershot SX50 SECONDHAND with memory card. 220USD

Yes, they are secondhand, but to buy either of these cameras new would be twice the price here in DK. They are as good as new. No issues etc.

Or I can get:

3)Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000 NEW 642USD

4)Nikon COOLPIX P900 NEW 583USD

5)Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 NEW 513USD.

Is the 170-400USD leap worth it?

Thanks again!

Comments

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited February 16, 2016
    Sadly, I don't believe that you will find any single camera to be
    kluulz wrote: »
    ... a good investment, i.e. to last many years. ...

    Cameras, and camera systems, are simply tools to meet a desired goal. Hopefully you will use the tool to help document wonderful events and beautiful scenes, but if you really invest time in photography you will soon wish for more. If this were not true, you could simply purchase the best of whatever was available a few years ago which is now used, and which is now for sale at a deep discount, and be happy with the knowledge that you now own what used to be "the best".

    With around 55 years in photography I am still learning, growing and pursuing it as both a hobby and a profession. The keen tools I purchased years ago are mostly now interesting relics, but I do so much more with relatively recent purchases.

    I suggest that you approach the problem of photography as a problem or puzzle to be solved. Please relate to us how you wish to use the camera and we can help you decide on a tool and/or system which can help in your quest. I suggest not setting an arbitrary price based on what you have saved so far, but learn first what is needed to reach your goals, and then set a budget to achieve that as a goal.

    So tell us in some detail how you would use a camera:

    Indoors and/or outdoors, daylight and/or night?

    What kind of lighting? Daylight and/or artificial lighting?

    Do you wish to have images of the quality you see in photographic magazines, or would you be happy with snapshots suitable for social websites only?

    How responsive does the camera need to be? Can you afford to wait 1-2 seconds while the camera chooses focus, or do you desire a camera which instantly finds accurate focus?

    How many shots can you tolerate out-of-focus before you get the keeper shot, or do you desire something more reliable to focus and results in a higher percentage of keepers per session?

    How accurate do you wish for colors in the photographs?

    Are you willing to invest in post-processing software in order to achieve better images or are you wanting ready to post JPGs with no post-processing?

    Sports, action, young and active children?


    Just please tell us as much as you can about your needs and desires and we can help guide you towards a solution.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • kluulzkluulz Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited February 16, 2016
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    Sadly, I don't believe that you will find any single camera to be

    Cameras, and camera systems, are simply tools to meet a desired goal. Hopefully you will use the tool to help document wonderful events and beautiful scenes, but if you really invest time in photography you will soon wish for more. If this were not true, you could simply purchase the best of whatever was available a few years ago which is now used, and which is now for sale at a deep discount, and be happy with the knowledge that you now own what used to be "the best".

    With around 55 years in photography I am still learning, growing and pursuing it as both a hobby and a profession. The keen tools I purchased years ago are mostly now interesting relics, but I do so much more with relatively recent purchases.

    I suggest that you approach the problem of photography as a problem or puzzle to be solved. Please relate to us how you wish to use the camera and we can help you decide on a tool and/or system which can help in your quest. I suggest not setting an arbitrary price based on what you have saved so far, but learn first what is needed to reach your goals, and then set a budget to achieve that as a goal.

    So tell us in some detail how you would use a camera:

    Indoors and/or outdoors, daylight and/or night?

    What kind of lighting? Daylight and/or artificial lighting?

    Do you wish to have images of the quality you see in photographic magazines, or would you be happy with snapshots suitable for social websites only?

    How responsive does the camera need to be? Can you afford to wait 1-2 seconds while the camera chooses focus, or do you desire a camera which instantly finds accurate focus?

    How many shots can you tolerate out-of-focus before you get the keeper shot, or do you desire something more reliable to focus and results in a higher percentage of keepers per session?

    How accurate do you wish for colors in the photographs?

    Are you willing to invest in post-processing software in order to achieve better images or are you wanting ready to post JPGs with no post-processing?

    Sports, action, young and active children?


    Just please tell us as much as you can about your needs and desires and we can help guide you towards a solution.

    Thanks for the reply!

    I should have been more specific for what I want to use it for.

    Photography wise: Macro, wild-life, zooming, landscape. So this could very well be fast-moving animals, such as shooting birds, lions, whales etc.
    Filming wise: Exactly the same actually.

    I want the filming while zoomed to be almost as important as the IQ of the photography at zoom, as the zoom is the main reason why choosing a superzoom/bridge.

    I can tolerate taking more pictures for the "perfect" one, in terms of focus, however, I do want it to be quick so I don't miss any action (e.g. a humpback whale breaching.)

    As I do a lot of video editing, I wouldn't mind editing photos either. However, the best colors (the less work for me,) the better. The quality of the video and images do not have to be at pro-level as the camera will only be used for amateur footage. However, if one of the cameras can be at pro level, in case I do get to that level, then of course that would be a great investment.

    I hope this helps you help me :)
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited February 16, 2016
    Yes, this gives us a much clearer idea of your needs. I do think that a super-zoom advanced digicam could be useful in your case. Based on your choices of: Canon Powershot SX60, Fuji FinePix S1 and Nikon Coolpix p600, it's a rather easy recommendation.

    Based largely on the PC Magazine reviews by JIM FISHER of each of these cameras, the Canon Powershot SX60 is a clear winner and has a good overall feature set, especially taking into account your intended use.

    The Nikon Coolpix p600 appears to have difficulty with autofocus at the long end of its zoom and it has difficulty with higher ISOs, which you may need to use in order to keep shutter speeds acceptable. The Fujifilm FinePix S1 has fast autofocus, but the purple fringing in the image is disheartening and appears to be difficult to correct in post-processing.

    The Canon Powershot SX60 seems reasonably quick/responsive (for a camera in this class), and image sharpness and detail appear very good although not best-in-class. Overall Jim gives this camera an "Excellent" rating, while the Nikon gets "Fair" and the Fujifilm gets "Good".

    I suggest that the Canon Powershot SX60 largely meets many of your stated needs of, "Macro, wild-life, zooming, landscape.", but I do think that animals running, birds in flight (BIF) and breaching whales could be frustrating regarding accurate focus.

    For best results I really do recommend a competent dSLR with a sports lens, although that pushes the price up considerably (like 10-20 times as much or more for a camera body designed for sports/action and a couple of sports capable lenses). The phase-detect autofocus in a sports camera body plus the ultrasonic autofocus motor in a sports lens are expensive but designed for the tasks you wish to accomplish.

    By all means, the Canon Powershot SX60 is worth trying just to test its limits, and even if you end up selling it later it won't have cost so much that you will have lost too much ground. Plus you will have a bunch of images and video to be proud of if you work within its capabilities. clap.gif
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited February 16, 2016
    I also suggest shooting to RAW files when possible. RAW files generally give better options for extra image detail, versus in-camera JPGs, but mostly they allow white balance and color correction far beyond what the camera can do automatically.

    A rather excellent free and open-source RAW image processing software is Raw Therapee (RT), available for most operating systems. While some color processing is rather difficult to grasp at first, the sharpening and noise reduction sections are world-class and compare to the best commercial software.

    RT is designed for RAW image processing, but it works for most raster based images as well; JPG, TIF/TIFF, etc. (White balance is severely limited for raster files since the white balance and color tones are already "baked" in most raster file format images.)

    I also give a shout out for Phase One, Capture One Pro, which I appreciate more each time I use it. While it is commercial software, it just works so well I can easily recommend it. I have no affiliation with Phase One and I pay the same price as everyone for their software; just a very satisfied customer. thumb.gif
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • kluulzkluulz Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited February 16, 2016
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    Yes, this gives us a much clearer idea of your needs. I do think that a super-zoom advanced digicam could be useful in your case. Based on your choices of: Canon Powershot SX60, Fuji FinePix S1 and Nikon Coolpix p600, it's a rather easy recommendation.

    Based largely on the PC Magazine reviews by JIM FISHER of each of these cameras, the Canon Powershot SX60 is a clear winner and has a good overall feature set, especially taking into account your intended use.

    The Nikon Coolpix p600 appears to have difficulty with autofocus at the long end of its zoom and it has difficulty with higher ISOs, which you may need to use in order to keep shutter speeds acceptable. The Fujifilm FinePix S1 has fast autofocus, but the purple fringing in the image is disheartening and appears to be difficult to correct in post-processing.

    The Canon Powershot SX60 seems reasonably quick/responsive (for a camera in this class), and image sharpness and detail appear very good although not best-in-class. Overall Jim gives this camera an "Excellent" rating, while the Nikon gets "Fair" and the Fujifilm gets "Good".

    I suggest that the Canon Powershot SX60 largely meets many of your stated needs of, "Macro, wild-life, zooming, landscape.", but I do think that animals running, birds in flight (BIF) and breaching whales could be frustrating regarding accurate focus.

    For best results I really do recommend a competent dSLR with a sports lens, although that pushes the price up considerably (like 10-20 times as much or more for a camera body designed for sports/action and a couple of sports capable lenses). The phase-detect autofocus in a sports camera body plus the ultrasonic autofocus motor in a sports lens are expensive but designed for the tasks you wish to accomplish.

    By all means, the Canon Powershot SX60 is worth trying just to test its limits, and even if you end up selling it later it won't have cost so much that you will have lost too much ground. Plus you will have a bunch of images and video to be proud of if you work within its capabilities. clap.gif

    Thank you so much for the recommendation!

    I have reconsidered to see if I could cough up some extra $$$ for a better camera. Doing further research, I've found certain dealers on ebay that have some of the better and newer bridge camera's at lower prices. My budget is a big factor unfortunately, but perhaps certain camera's are worth the extra $.

    My main options in my original budget are:

    1) Fuji FinePix S1 SECONDHAND. With memory card, 2x extra batteries: 255-285 USD

    2) Canon Powershot SX50 SECONDHAND with memory card. 220USD

    Yes, they are secondhand, but to buy either of these cameras new would be twice the price here in DK. They are as good as new. No issues etc.

    Or I can get:

    3)Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000 NEW 642USD

    4)Nikon COOLPIX P900 NEW 583USD

    5)Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 NEW 513USD.

    Is the 170-400USD leap worth it?

    Thanks again!
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 23,764 moderator
    edited February 16, 2016
    The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 is one that I have considered myself. Every review seems pretty positive that this is a very special digicam. While the zoom range is rather limited compared to the latest super-zoom cameras, it is nonetheless well featured and compares well to dSLRs in good light.

    The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 has a much larger sensor and I think that the resulting images compare pretty well to a crop dSLR. Autofocus speeds are still very fast, but the lens is a bit weaker (weaker IQ) through parts of its range and at the longest end. Body construction is also mentioned as a potential issue.

    For "my" needs the DMC-FZ300 is very enticing as a travel and casual photography camera.

    For "your" needs, the FZ1000 could be a very good choice, although zoom range could be a problem on the long end (at "only" 400mm equivalence). Higher pixel count may allow better cropping, especially in the center of the image.

    Hmmm, decisions and options; gotta love choices but finalizing the choice is always challenging. headscratch.gif
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited February 17, 2016
    I have no experience of using this type of camera - for anything, let alone w/life or BIFs - but Tony Britton (see link) has, and thought that it might be useful to have a look at the sort of results he's obtaining, and maybe considering sending him a PM?

    I'd want to drill down a little further to find out whether AF performance with moving subjects was one of the issues related to why he likes taking the sort of pics that he does (as stated on his site).

    I'd be surprised if there aren't camera specific groups around too - eg Flickr - where again, results could be viewed, and questions asked.

    Re BIF shots with this type of small, light camera I wonder how users actually go about the practicalities of tracking such subjects - do they HHold (because it's easy to do so)or use a tripod / other form of support?
    Just finding a small, moving subject in the viewfinder at long focal lengths - especially if initially starting at an inappropriate setting - is a difficult enough task imo.


    http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=256427

    pp
  • davevdavev Registered Users Posts: 3,118 Major grins
    edited February 17, 2016
    I own 3 bridge cameras.

    A Panasonic fz200, a Panasonic FZ1000 and a Nikon P610.

    By far, the Nikon is the camera that frustrates me the most.
    The focus is slow, it takes about 5 shots before the buffer fills, then the camera blacks out for 5 to 10 seconds. (in that time you can not take a photo)

    The FZ1000 is a very nice camera, but at 400mm on the long end, it's a little short for wildlife. (most of the time)

    The oldest of the group, the FZ200, goes out to 600mm, focuses fairly well, and has an F2.8 lens though out the range.

    The FZ300 has the same image quality as the FZ200, but is has a lot more bells and whistles to go along with it.
    For me, the eye sensor to switch from the LCD to the view finder automatically is a must. (the FZ200 does not have this)

    The FZ1000 and the FZ300 also have the ability to record 4K video, and be able to pull 8mp shots from that video.
    So with this statement, you have a camera that will shoot at 8mp for 30 shots a second for up to 30 minutes.
    Think about that for the breaching whales.

    The FZ1000 will give you really good, low noise results up to iso 800. I have a few shots at iso 3200 that are good,
    but at those iso's you need to fill the frame, then some noise reducing software helps out.

    The FZ200 likes light, and I'm guessing that the FZ300 will be the same.
    The f2.8 lens helps, but going over iso 400 is something I try to avoid.

    Right now, my wife uses a Canon T3i with a Canon 70-300is lens.
    I'm going to be buying her a FZ300 before we go on our Alaskan Cruise.
    For focusing speed, and image quality I feel that Panasonic has a very good product.

    A friend invited me over to take some shots of a Hummingbird nest.
    These are full frame at max zoom.
    I'm sure I did some photoshopping on the shots, but I don't remember what I did to them, but I don't believe it was much.

    FZ1000
    18891158154_1f96d00bc3_o.jpg

    FZ200
    19325723988_2bfeb5c585_o.jpg

    Nikon 610
    19487601666_d6b5d90afd_o.jpg

    For more info on the Panasonic's, follow this link to a YouTube page.

    Graham has used many Panasonic cameras, and is very good at reviewing and teaching a person about these cameras.


    https://www.youtube.com/user/ghough12
    dave.

    Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
  • kluulzkluulz Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited February 18, 2016
    ziggy53 wrote: »
    The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300 is one that I have considered myself. Every review seems pretty positive that this is a very special digicam. While the zoom range is rather limited compared to the latest super-zoom cameras, it is nonetheless well featured and compares well to dSLRs in good light.

    The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 has a much larger sensor and I think that the resulting images compare pretty well to a crop dSLR. Autofocus speeds are still very fast, but the lens is a bit weaker (weaker IQ) through parts of its range and at the longest end. Body construction is also mentioned as a potential issue.

    For "my" needs the DMC-FZ300 is very enticing as a travel and casual photography camera.

    For "your" needs, the FZ1000 could be a very good choice, although zoom range could be a problem on the long end (at "only" 400mm equivalence). Higher pixel count may allow better cropping, especially in the center of the image.

    Hmmm, decisions and options; gotta love choices but finalizing the choice is always challenging. headscratch.gif

    Haha, way too many choices indeed!

    Well now at least I've narrowed it down to two:
    The FZ300 or the Fuji Finepix S1.

    I can get the Finepix + two extra batteries for half the price of the FZ300 and it has over double the zoom.

    Do you think that the image quality (due to the constant f2.8) of FZ300 is that much superior to the Finepix? Will my amateur eyes really see the difference?
  • kluulzkluulz Registered Users Posts: 5 Beginner grinner
    edited February 18, 2016
    davev wrote: »
    I own 3 bridge cameras.

    A Panasonic fz200, a Panasonic FZ1000 and a Nikon P610.

    By far, the Nikon is the camera that frustrates me the most.
    The focus is slow, it takes about 5 shots before the buffer fills, then the camera blacks out for 5 to 10 seconds. (in that time you can not take a photo)

    The FZ1000 is a very nice camera, but at 400mm on the long end, it's a little short for wildlife. (most of the time)

    The oldest of the group, the FZ200, goes out to 600mm, focuses fairly well, and has an F2.8 lens though out the range.

    The FZ300 has the same image quality as the FZ200, but is has a lot more bells and whistles to go along with it.
    For me, the eye sensor to switch from the LCD to the view finder automatically is a must. (the FZ200 does not have this)

    The FZ1000 and the FZ300 also have the ability to record 4K video, and be able to pull 8mp shots from that video.
    So with this statement, you have a camera that will shoot at 8mp for 30 shots a second for up to 30 minutes.
    Think about that for the breaching whales.

    The FZ1000 will give you really good, low noise results up to iso 800. I have a few shots at iso 3200 that are good,
    but at those iso's you need to fill the frame, then some noise reducing software helps out.

    The FZ200 likes light, and I'm guessing that the FZ300 will be the same.
    The f2.8 lens helps, but going over iso 400 is something I try to avoid.

    Right now, my wife uses a Canon T3i with a Canon 70-300is lens.
    I'm going to be buying her a FZ300 before we go on our Alaskan Cruise.
    For focusing speed, and image quality I feel that Panasonic has a very good product.

    A friend invited me over to take some shots of a Hummingbird nest.
    These are full frame at max zoom.
    I'm sure I did some photoshopping on the shots, but I don't remember what I did to them, but I don't believe it was much.

    FZ1000
    18891158154_1f96d00bc3_o.jpg

    FZ200
    19325723988_2bfeb5c585_o.jpg

    Nikon 610
    19487601666_d6b5d90afd_o.jpg

    For more info on the Panasonic's, follow this link to a YouTube page.

    Graham has used many Panasonic cameras, and is very good at reviewing and teaching a person about these cameras.


    https://www.youtube.com/user/ghough12

    Thank you for that! This is exactly what I would need. I cannot see any major differences between them and would then pick the one with the best zoom.
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