Which bridge has the best stabilisation and lens?

[JBW]

I tend to work through these things slowly but I have finally admitted to myself that clumsy as I am a camera where I would be constantly changing lenses is not a camera I will be buying.

So working under the theory that I will be buying a bridge camera that will be used for macro, flowers and birds would anyone care to suggest which bridge with a selling price around 600 US has the best lens and stabilisation?
Brian

[charzes44]

Brian,

Both the Canon PowerShot G16 and the Nikon P7800 seem to tick your boxes, and have had excellent reviews. Good luck with your quest!

Charles

[JBW]

Brian,

Both the Canon PowerShot G16 and the Nikon P7800 seem to tick your boxes, and have had excellent reviews. Good luck with your quest!

Charles

thanks I will look into both pf tholse.

[IzzieK]

For stabilization I like a 4/3 camera like the Olympus -- the stabilization is in the camera, not in the lens...welll at least the one that I used to use has...

[Black Pearl]

None of those are bridge cameras....

Best bridge camera on the market today would probably be the Canon SX60 HS.

* It fits within your budget
* It can focus on its front element (which is as close as you can get) so ideal for your macro/flower.
* It has a 65x zoom with an equivalent top end of 1365mm so ideal for birds.
* It has an auto image stabilisation system with 8 modes for different subjects.

On top of that you get 1080p 60fps video, WiFi with NFC and remote shooting if you have a smart phone/tablet and all the usual bells and whistles you would expect from a big brand like Canon.

[Shadowman]

Nikon also had a BSS (Best Shot Selector) function which takes 10 consecutive shots and then saves the sharpest.

[Dave Humphries]

If you can Brian, take advice and (ideally) 'personal experience' recommendations here.

My personal experience with a Nikon P510 (which I think has the BSS feature) is that you should not buy it, I find the AF (Auto-Focus) infuriating (slow and inaccurate). Other members with the Canon SX50 HS (predecessor to the SX60 HS Robin suggests) report being (at least) satisfied with AF on that brand/model.

I know there are later models than the P510 now, but I won't make that mistake again.
(also I never use BSS anyway, I might as well choose myself, sometimes the best technically measurable shot isn't the best one for the subject's pose, blinking, etc.)

Personally; I would also want to consider ones that have the largest sensor (in class) and also that allow shooting in RAW format.

Cheers, Dave

[JBW]

If you can Brian, take advice and (ideally) 'personal experience' recommendations here.

My personal experience with a Nikon P510 (which I think has the BSS feature) is that you should not buy it, I find the AF (Auto-Focus) infuriating (slow and inaccurate). Other members with the Canon SX50 HS (predecessor to the SX60 HS Robin suggests) report being (at least) satisfied with AF on that brand/model.

I know there are later models than the P510 now, but I won't make that mistake again.
(also I never use BSS anyway, I might as well choose myself, sometimes the best technically measurable shot isn't the best one for the subject's pose, blinking, etc.)

Personally; I would also want to consider ones that have the largest sensor (in class) and also that allow shooting in RAW format.

Cheers, Dave

Dave thanks for bringing up RAW. I know no one here with RAW capabilities so perhaps you could explain the RAW advantage?

[Black Pearl]

The Canon I quoted can record a RAW file.

The advantage is a lack of any baked in processing meaning you can apply your own and very, very slightly more detail.

[tao2]

Most Canikon users wouldn't dream of recommending any other make of camera.

The Sony Cybershot RX10 is far and away the best bridge camera at the moment. It doesn't have the huge 40-50x zoom of many bridges - it's a 24-200(equiv.). 95% of bridge users rarely use much more zoom than that. It does have a big advantage - a Zeiss, constant 2.8 aperture lens.

IS is Sony's in body stabilisation; better than on lens(imo).

Drawback - it's way over yer budget. Haven't seen it cheaper than $850 - it is a 2014 model , so that price should drop soon, if not already.

Best bang for bucks? Probably the Fujifilm X-S1, now selling (in the UK) for around £220-245. Huge zoom, heavy (almost a kilo but that does include the lens), big and (fairly) bulky. Some models known tae suffer from zoom creep but worth investigating. It takes damn good photos.

[Nicks Pics]

Brian, In regards to your interest in photographing birds, I shoot only with a bridge camera, and my main interest is wildlife, though they can do anything from macro to birds and anything in between if you get a super zoom. Wildlife is one of the most difficult types of photography for your equipment to handle though, so after a year of working hard with it I have decided I could use a DSLR in order to get more quality shots. It's not that a bridge camera can't produce a decent bird image, but in my experience you need very good conditions for it, and to be close. But it depends on what your standards are for a "decent" or "acceptable" image. If you are not very picky about quality, or even so, I would say overall you can get a great bang for your buck with a super zoom bridge camera, compared to expensive DSLR equipment. I have the Fujifilm SL1000, It has 50 times zoom, AF is decent, as long as you put it on "Area">Ceter for birds so that it will be forced to use only the center focus point, otherwise, it can be rather frustrating. I have never used the popular canon sx50, or the sx60, or any other fujifilm, besides the SL100, but from what I have read about the fujifilm hs50 EXR it sounds like a lot of fun. It has a little less zoom than the sl1000, but a larger sensor, and manual focus, also a so-called Phase detection auto focus, Phase detect being what DSLRs have, which is meant to be more accurate or faster. Or the fujifilm SX1 has an even larger sensor. These are just some options to consider.

I think most or all of these cameras can record RAW. The advantage of recording RAW files, rather than just Jpeg, is that the camera has not done an internal whole PP development to the photo before you ever see it. RAW allows you to take controll of all the development yourself. That's how I would put it, though perhaps you already know that. In actuality, I often prefer RAW files because they have not have white balance and contrast applied to them like the jpegs, which in my opinion, often looks rather unnatural compared to the original RAW, and more detail, but also much more noise. The noise in RAW files can be so high, in a bridge camera, that it can seem almost impossible get rid of enough of the noise that you can sharpen it without loosing too much detail. Since basic settings can be adjusted on the jpegs aslo, it often feels easier to get a decent looking image in PP when you start with jpeg than RAW, but I still think I would try with a RAW file if I really wanted best results.

To sum it up, I shoot at full 50x zoom most of the time with wildlife, because they are that far away, but most of, if not my only real good quality photos, of birds/wllife I get at a lesser zoom. Therefore, the lesser zoom in the HS50 EXR, or Fujifilm SX1, might not be a problem, and the larger sensors, as well as a lot of other useful features would give them a real advantage over the fujifilm SL1000, so I would probably go with either one of those if I got another. The lens on my fujifilm produces a lot of color fringing, but the image stabilization is great, though I recently learned to TURN IT OFF though, if shooting birds in flight.

Sorry to say a lot you may already know, but hope this helps if you didn't.

[FrankMi]

I would second Robin's vote for the Canon SX series. I had the SX40 and loved it. I traded up to the SX50 to get the 1200mm FFE and ability to shoot RAW. I use the SX50 mostly as my travel camera and it works very well as I don't print images in large sizes. When I want sophisticated control and significant detail, I use the Nikon DSLR.

[csa mt]

I just sold my Panasonic FZ70 to go into DSLR again. However, this camera was absolutely stunning for birds/wildlife, handheld! It has a 60X zoom, pretty compact, lightweight; but has many, many capabilities and features! The stabilization is wonderful!


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_camera.html

[mrinmoyvk]

Try out Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
This has 24x zoom (a decent one) and constant f2.8 aperture through out the zoom range (only camera to offer this)

[AB26]

Panasonic!
Read the reviews.

[JBW]

Thank-you all for your advice. Panasonic seems to be a favourite for many with canon and Nikon being popular as well. Is there a reason that no one seems enamoured of Fujifilm? I ask because they have brought out the 'S1' bridge and it is dust and water resistant which could come in handy here. And it seems to have a reasonably sized sensor; 1/2.3-inch CMOS with primary color filter
Total number of pixels: 16.8 million pixels.
http://www.fujifilm.com/products/dig.../s/finepix_s1/

[Nicks Pics]

Is there a reason that no one seems enamoured of Fujifilm?

To clarify, all of the cameras I suggested were fujifilm brand. Perhaps you would like to re-view my post with that in mind. BTW, the 1/2.3 sensor is the same size as the Fujifilm SL1000 has, which is the model I own, but it is actually a smaller sensor than the Fujifilm SX1, or Fujifilm HS50 EXR have. The SX1 sensor is largest, then the HS50, then the SL1000, and the S1 which you mentioned, if I recall correctly from my research.

[JBW]

To clarify, all of the cameras I suggested were fujifilm brand. Perhaps you would like to re-view my post with that in mind. BTW, the 1/2.3 sensor is the same size as the Fujifilm SL1000 has, which is the model I own, but it is actually a smaller sensor than the Fujifilm SX1, or Fujifilm HS50 EXR have. The SX1 sensor is largest, then the HS50, then the SL1000, and the S1 which you mentioned, if I recall correctly from my research.

whoops, malfunction of the brain. Unbeknownst to most of the universe I have MS. What I read or see is not always what is written or actually in front of my eyes. I sit corrected.

[mrinmoyvk]

AB26,

Did you find any bad reviews about FZ200? I did not find any. Please post the link with bad reviews. I have suggested this to few of my friends and even being D5200 owner was planning to go for this, just to save money over constant aperture zoom lens.

[Shadowman]

Thank-you all for your advice. Panasonic seems to be a favourite for many with canon and Nikon being popular as well. Is there a reason that no one seems enamoured of Fujifilm? I ask because they have brought out the 'S1' bridge and it is dust and water resistant which could come in handy here. And it seems to have a reasonably sized sensor; 1/2.3-inch CMOS with primary color filter
Total number of pixels: 16.8 million pixels.
http://www.fujifilm.com/products/dig.../s/finepix_s1/

Didn't mention Fujifilm because I'm not familiar with that camera, only familiar with examples from the images you've posted.