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A Bridge Camera ~ "don't waste your money"! (1 Viewer)

Two questions:

Does anyone have experience with the Nikon CoolPix 510.

I currently have a Panasonic GH1 and for sometime have considered the 100-300 lens. Keep going back and forth between buying the lens or one of the newer bridge cameras.

Any perspective would be appreciated.
 
And one from me as well:

While the FZ150 and canon SX40 are both obviously great bridge cameras, people seem to favour the one they have. Does anyone have experience of both?
 
njlarsen said:
Regarding the p510 and at least one comparison, take a look at this thread http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=221878&highlight=p510 -- and look carefully at post 17 etc.
Click to expand...

I have experience with the earlier P500 but quickly made a move to the SX40. It was capable of taking some decent images, with a bit of wrangling, but the SX40 captures far better images with far less fuss and far more frequently.

However, the excellent shot of the Barn Owl in http://www.birdforum.net/showthread....highlight=p510 - post 19, quite clearly demonstrates what I considered to be an occasional major turn-off with the P500 that appears to still exist with the P510. Zoom in on the image and it looks like a painting instead of a photograph!

The image below, taken with the P500, is another example ...

Andy.
 

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Bob D said:
Two questions:

Does anyone have experience with the Nikon CoolPix 510.

I currently have a Panasonic GH1 and for sometime have considered the 100-300 lens. Keep going back and forth between buying the lens or one of the newer bridge cameras.

Any perspective would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Posts 12-16 in this thread: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=235653 does go into a little bit some differences m43 to bridge cameras

Niels
 
Ben Markham said:
....... The photo of the damselfly was on aperture priority, macro focus. .....
Click to expand...

I think the damselfly must be considerably underexposed. At least, I don't know of any with such a blue. But the other pictures are great. I have just returned from six weeks in North America, and I am very pleased with the photo and video results. The FZ150 camera has a fantastic reaction time, compared with my various earlier FZ models. It still takes a bit too long for my liking to get it started though.
 
I think we can disregard the above posts on the P510 as we all know you have to learn how to use a camera first and then that still don't gaurantee you good picture's as it's not all down to the specific camera but also the user....and there is enough user evidence on the web that the P510 is a very capable camera!

Picture's below are full size and a crop taken at full zoom 42x=1000mm

Sorry to disapoint but no silly owl picture's here lol.;)
 
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Bob D said:
Two questions:

Does anyone have experience with the Nikon CoolPix 510.

I currently have a Panasonic GH1 and for sometime have considered the 100-300 lens. Keep going back and forth between buying the lens or one of the newer bridge cameras.

Any perspective would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Bob,
I have the 100-300 and hardly ever use it. It's not fast enough for flight shots and doesn't handle haze and long distance all that well. It's ok for what I call "garden" use ie under 30 meters and reasonable light.
I would have a serious look at the new Panasonic http://www.dpreview.com/products/panasonic/compacts/panasonic_dmcfz200The fixed 2.8 lens should give it an edge over the others. I find the SX40HS a bit slow at times , although I do have it with me most of the time.
I had the original DMC-FZ10, which was only 12x and 4 megs but I loved it's 2.8 lens and iso50.
Neil
 
Following on from my previous thread , I had the sx40hs around my neck all day yesterday out on the mudflats. It was a hot and very hazy day which resulted in AF problems at distance at the long end of the zoom ( around 800 mm ).
I was happy to see the rare Oriental Stork at a reasonable distance (50 meters).
Here are a few photos grabbed at the long end of the zoom during the day.
Neil

Canon SX40HS
Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,China.
August 2012
 

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The name says it all for me - 'bridge'.

I was on a point and shoot and wanted to get an all singing and dancing DSLR at some point, but also wanted to learn more of the theory and techniques beforehand. What I needed was something between the two, something that would er, bridge the gap!?!?!?

I think that this is very common stance.

Most of the stuff on the links below are on a Fuji bridge camera, which will be lucky to last the year without an upgrade. I know what it can't do, and I now know why it matters.
 
Off topic from bridge cameras I bought a s/h tamron 18 to 200 zoom lens for my Sony a65 last week, the a65 has got a "smart teleconverter) which can also be used via the evf. This combo does seem to be working well for everything from insects to medium sized birds such as gulls and the set-up is very practical as "walk around". So far not had a chance to try it on smaller birds though.

Here is one that I did of a Goldfinch with a Fuji F600EXR, at full 15x optical + 2x digital zoom. I don't think it is too bad considering that the fuji does not have an evf. It does show that some of the newer compacts can still be viable when you are unable to have anything larger with you. http://www.flickr.com/photos/wildmoreway/7218342666/in/photostream/
 
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Neil said:
Following on from my previous thread , I had the sx40hs around my neck all day yesterday out on the mudflats. It was a hot and very hazy day which resulted in AF problems at distance at the long end of the zoom ( around 800 mm ).
I was happy to see the rare Oriental Stork at a reasonable distance (50 meters).
Here are a few photos grabbed at the long end of the zoom during the day.
Neil

Canon SX40HS
Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,China.
August 2012
Click to expand...

Some great shots there Neil,thanks for posting,you have just convinced me it's worth buying the SX40.
At what distance was the plover shot taken???
 
Archie Opteryx said:
The name says it all for me - 'bridge'.

I was on a point and shoot and wanted to get an all singing and dancing DSLR at some point, but also wanted to learn more of the theory and techniques beforehand. What I needed was something between the two, something that would er, bridge the gap!?!?!?

I think that this is very common stance.

Most of the stuff on the links below are on a Fuji bridge camera, which will be lucky to last the year without an upgrade. I know what it can't do, and I now know why it matters.
Click to expand...

Thats one viewpoint, but every camera is a compromise in some way and there are also things that a DSLR and big lens can't do

The saying that the best camera is the one you have with you is a good one and for that reason bridge cameras shouldn't be dismissed as just something you opt for if you're between compacts and DSLRs.
 
speckled wood said:
Off topic from bridge cameras I bought a s/h tamron 18 to 200 zoom lens for my Sony a65 last week, the a65 has got a "smart teleconverter) which can also be used via the evf. This combo does seem to be working well for everything from insects to medium sized birds such as gulls and the set-up is very practical as "walk around". So far not had a chance to try it on smaller birds though.
Click to expand...

For completeness, the same type of tele converter exists in other cameras such as the panasonic m43. However, the tamron lens cannot at the moment be fitted to the pana cameras with AF still working.

Niels
 
Neil said:
Following on from my previous thread , I had the sx40hs around my neck all day yesterday out on the mudflats. It was a hot and very hazy day which resulted in AF problems at distance at the long end of the zoom ( around 800 mm ).
I was happy to see the rare Oriental Stork at a reasonable distance (50 meters).
Here are a few photos grabbed at the long end of the zoom during the day.
Neil
Click to expand...

love those shots, especially the kingfisher and all the crabs

I'm torn between getting an SX40 and waiting for a Panasonic FZ200, but your shots are swaying me towards the Canon!
 
Neil said:
Following on from my previous thread , I had the sx40hs around my neck all day yesterday out on the mudflats. It was a hot and very hazy day which resulted in AF problems at distance at the long end of the zoom ( around 800 mm ).
I was happy to see the rare Oriental Stork at a reasonable distance (50 meters).
Here are a few photos grabbed at the long end of the zoom during the day.
Neil

Canon SX40HS
Mai Po Nature Reserve,
Hong Kong,China.
August 2012
Click to expand...

Great photos! Was there much work done on these re processing?
 
BobCesme said:
Some great shots there Neil,thanks for posting,you have just convinced me it's worth buying the SX40.
At what distance was the plover shot taken???
Click to expand...

Bob,
The plover was the closest bird I had all day at about 12 meters from the hide.
I also shot a short, handheld video of the plover with thw sx40hs
https://vimeo.com/47092152
I wish I had only taken the sx40hs yesterday as the heat got to me by mid day and I didn't take enough water.
Neil
 
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RE Birder said:
Great photos! Was there much work done on these re processing?
Click to expand...

These photos needed a little work as the light was poor yesterday. I cropped them too.
This is the original of the Sandplover. You can see the window ledge in the bottom of the frame as I didn't want to get to high in case I spooked the bird, so I cropped it out.
Neil
 

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I would never class a superzoom/bridge camera a waste of money, far from it.
I started my photography on Superzooms (Pana FZ45) and moved up to a Fuji HS30, which I didn't get on with that well (although having the manual focus wheel was very useful.
I have heard great things of the SX40 from Canon, backed up by some of the images posted here.
Once funds allow I definitely intend to purchase a superzoom again, the ability to have several types of photography equipment in one body is very appealing.
Saying that I do love my Canon 50D and lenses (bit of an optics addict), although my favorite is the 50mm f1.8 which cost me just £60! Great for low light work.
Ultimately its use and how much stuff you want to carry. Certainly if I were going travelling i'd go for a superzoom again without question, for week or 2 week holidays I would feel happy taking either the DSLR or superzoom.

Regardless of choice, pick good equipment and you will enjoy using it.
 
Neil said:
Bob,
The plover was the closest bird I had all day at about 12 meters from the hide.
I also shot a short, handheld video of the plover with thw sx40hs
https://vimeo.com/47092152
I wish I had only taken the sx40hs yesterday as the heat got to me by mid day and I didn't take enough water.
Neil
Click to expand...

Great video,thanks for sharing.
I know what you mean with the heat, 100f plus here.
 
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