Bridge Camera Shoot Out!!! (1 Viewer)

WHIMBREL · Mar 25, 2013

For anyone interested Amateur Photographer magazine is going to do a Bridge Camera (Mega-Zoom) Shoot Out test in the March 30th issue.

The Fujifilm HS50 will be up against the Nikon Coolpix P520, Canon Powershot HX50 and the Sony Cyber-Shot HX300.

This could prove a fascinating 'duel' between the top-end Bridge Camera's, lets just hope this is a genuinely impartial test and is not won by the brand that spends the most money on AP advertising...sorry about sounding rather cynical - but it can happen in magazine reviews |:x|

Jim M. · Mar 25, 2013

WHIMBREL said:
This could prove a fascinating 'duel' between the top-end Bridge Camera's,

Duel amongst some of the top superzooms maybe, but it omits one of the best, the Panasonic FZ200.

DavidNB · Mar 25, 2013

I'll be interested to see it, but I wonder if a more general review than one aimed particularly at those who like to photograph wildlife will address some crucial factors.

In particular, how good the cameras are at getting a pic of a bird, or for that matter a mammal, in focus when surrounded by clutter like branches of trees.

My first bridge, a Pentax P90, while quite satisfactory in some respects, I could never persuade to get something in focus through clutter.

My two Canons - SX30 then SX50 - have been much better.

David

christineredgate · Mar 25, 2013

I have read this article,mag arrived this morning.not an in depth test,but they have all been rated,somewhat disappointing .

Hor Kee · Mar 26, 2013

Bridge cameras are always a compromise of cost, portability and versatility where performance is sacrificed to varying degrees. Birders would most likely prefer the Fuji series as their manual zoom controls enable fast zooming and allow the zoom to be left at its max end even when the camera is turned off. all in all, you get value for your money by investing in a bridge, considering the next cheapest DSLR long lens setup is going to cost at least three times more, and has less effective reach in 35mm terms.

WHIMBREL · Mar 26, 2013

christineredgate said:
I have read this article,mag arrived this morning.not an in depth test,but they have all been rated,somewhat disappointing .

This is often the case now with Amateur Photographer they promise far more than they actually deliver, one reason I stopped buying it on a regular basis. I shall check out the test results before commenting further.

Biancone · Mar 26, 2013

I'm on the point of moving to a better superzoom than my FZ45, if & when I can decide which one, and bought the mag this morning hoping for guidance. Hmmm, not sure it's very helpful really from a birding point of view. No discussion whatsoever of autofocus speed, for example, perhaps the key factor for a birder's camera. And a general conclusion that there's little difference in image quality between the four test subjects, and the FZ200. Can't find any explicit methodology behind their percentage ratings either (P520 78%, HS50 79%, SX50 and HX300 both 81%). I'm still on the verge of going for the HS50 because of demonstrated autofocus speed...

DavidNB · Mar 26, 2013

Biancone said:
I'm on the point of moving to a better superzoom than my FZ45, if & when I can decide which one, and bought the mag this morning hoping for guidance. Hmmm, not sure it's very helpful really from a birding point of view. No discussion whatsoever of autofocus speed, for example, perhaps the key factor for a birder's camera. And a general conclusion that there's little difference in image quality between the four test subjects, and the FZ200. Can't find any explicit methodology behind their percentage ratings either (P520 78%, HS50 79%, SX50 and HX300 both 81%). I'm still on the verge of going for the HS50 because of demonstrated autofocus speed...

If I were you I'd look out for reports of how easy it is to get the camera to autofocus on a point source in clutter first.

If it won't do that, then no matter how quick it is at focussing away from clutter, you will be doomed to much frustration as you get photos of branches in perfect focus, with a fuzzy blob that looks vaguely like a bird of some kind in the background, as I used to do with my old Pentax.:C

David

kNikS · Mar 26, 2013

I too was on a verge of going for HS50, but the pics I've seen so far are not as good as the ones taken with SX50 - there is either too much watercolour effect, or, too much noise when noise reduction is turned off or set to 'low'. Otherwise, for ID and documentary purposes and everyone who isn't into "pixel peeping", I guess that HS50 is the best option.

Biancone · Mar 26, 2013

DavidNB said:
If I were you I'd look out for reports of how easy it is to get the camera to autofocus on a point source in clutter first.

Ah, a good point, but I was thinking from my very narrow main birding interest - raptors, mainly in flight. So the 'small bird behind branches' problem that plagues many birders doesn't often arise!!

kNikS said:
I too was on a verge of going for HS50, but the pics I've seen so far are not as good as the ones taken with SX50 ...

True, I've been thinking the same way, until someone posted a link to an in-flight gull in the main HS50 thread on here, that is really superb quality for a 'superzoom'. Perhaps the startup and autofocus speed outweigh some negative aspects? Ah well, still a couple of weeks to decide!

Roy C · Mar 26, 2013

Here are a few snaps taken with the SX40 - Not up to a DSLR but not bad as a little walk around - the SX50 is of course better and longer!

Jim M. · Mar 26, 2013

Another option I think has been given insufficient attention of late on this forum. If one wants better image quality than a superzoom, without the weight of a DSLR, micro 4/3rds cameras should be given strong consideration. They have a significantly larger sensor than a super zoom, but can achieve the equivalent of 1200 mm magnification (just like the highest mag superzooms) with the Panasonic 100-300mm lens and the use of the 2x internal teleconverter setting. (Though on some cameras there may be limitations on the use of the teleconverter, e.g. on my Panasonic G3 you need to use a smaller picture size and cannot use raw).

Jim

DavidNB · Mar 26, 2013

Biancone said:
Ah, a good point, but I was thinking from my very narrow main birding interest - raptors, mainly in flight. So the 'small bird behind branches' problem that plagues many birders doesn't often arise!!

True, I've been thinking the same way, until someone posted a link to an in-flight gull in the main HS50 thread on here, that is really superb quality for a 'superzoom'. Perhaps the startup and autofocus speed outweigh some negative aspects? Ah well, still a couple of weeks to decide!

I am by no means a good photographer, but I was reasonably pleased with this pic of an in-flight gull on SX50, in sport mode, not sure what the zoom was. I'm sure I can do better, though, and others much better,

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp275/dble_photo/IMG_1617HerringGullinflight_zps5ed0946c.jpg

David

Roy C · Mar 26, 2013

For those interested in the SX50 IQ, I have only been out with the Camera for less than half an hour and managed just a few quick snaps of some common birds in very poor light. But IQ looks reasonable at 1200mm and easily hand holdable. I am sure the Camera will do a lot better if we ever get any decent light again!

squidge · Mar 26, 2013

I'm also thinking of getting a bridge camera to bring to Italy in the summer instead of lugging a Nikon and 300 around. The more I read the more uncertain I am of which one to get.
I've narrowed it down to three contenders, canon sx50, fuji hs50 and Nikon p510.
What I'm looking for is long zoom, quick focus, image stabilisation and nice IQ. All three have the zoom and different types of image stabilisation so it's really down to the IQ and quick focus. I am leaning towards the fuji as it seems to have the quickest focus of the three.
Opinions appreciated.

Regards Gerard.

kNikS · Mar 26, 2013

Biancone said:
Ah, a good point, but I was thinking from my very narrow main birding interest - raptors, mainly in flight. So the 'small bird behind branches' problem that plagues many birders doesn't often arise!!

True, I've been thinking the same way, until someone posted a link to an in-flight gull in the main HS50 thread on here, that is really superb quality for a 'superzoom'. Perhaps the startup and autofocus speed outweigh some negative aspects? Ah well, still a couple of weeks to decide!

My thoughts exactly - it pretty much depends on personal preferences. Also, HS50 is still quite a new model, so I guess that we will have to wait a bit for users to figure out the best settings for bird shots.

kNikS · Mar 26, 2013

Roy C said:
For those interested in the SX50 IQ, I have only been out with the Camera for less than half an hour and managed just a few quick snaps of some common birds in very poor light. But IQ looks reasonable at 1200mm and easily hand holdable. I am sure the Camera will do a lot better if we ever get any decent light again!

I've already seen those in SX50 thread and liked them very much. Infact, being a small passerines guy, I really like how SX50 handles fine feather detail - as far as I am concerned that very well might be deciding factor, if HS50 IQ doesn't improve in a few weeks (i.e. until money burns a big enough hole in my pocket).

Also, swallows are pure fantasy, keep up the good work! :t:

WHIMBREL · Mar 27, 2013

I've now seen the Amateur Photographer test results and must admit to being disappointed. Nothing to really help any Bird Forumer's make up their minds with Bridge Camera Super-Zoom choice |:S|

Will have to wait for the top on-line review sites to get their own tests done and/or check out our fellow Bird Forumer's own reports (on all these camera's).

The report seem's to suggest in it's conclusions that the Sony Cyber-Shot HX300 is a tad better than the Canon Powershot HX50 although they were both rated with 81%. Doesn't appear to be much to choose between any of these Super-Zooms. I'm really interested to see how Panasonic will respond to the Super-Zoom challenge, their current flagship model the FZ200 has a 600mm lens, perhaps it's successor will provide a serious challenge to all the AP tested models if it has a new 1000mm lens, or perhaps they might come out with a totally new Super-Zoom model...so much to consider |:S| we really are spoiled for choice!!!

Roy C · Mar 27, 2013

kNikS said:
I've already seen those in SX50 thread and liked them very much. Infact, being a small passerines guy, I really like how SX50 handles fine feather detail - as far as I am concerned that very well might be deciding factor, if HS50 IQ doesn't improve in a few weeks (i.e. until money burns a big enough hole in my pocket).

Also, swallows are pure fantasy, keep up the good work! :t:

Thanks :t:, all these little cams are much of a muchness when it comes to spec's. AF systems are all contrast based so will never be up to the phase AF of a DSLR. At the end of the day from a bird snapping point of view the main thing is how well the cam captures fine detail in birds at the long end and the SX50 does that extremely well for such a tiny sensor. Its hard to tell about the HS50 as there are few bird shots around but I must say that from the shots I have seen there is no way I would even consider moving away from Canon myself.
When you consider these cams at around £300 cost less than a Canon teleconverter then they are amazing value for money as a little walk around when you want to travel light.

Roy C · Mar 27, 2013

WHIMBREL said:
I've now seen the Amateur Photographer test results and must admit to being disappointed. Nothing to really help any Bird Forumer's make up their minds with Bridge Camera Super-Zoom choice |:S|

Will have to wait for the top on-line review sites to get their own tests done and/or check out our fellow Bird Forumer's own reports (on all these camera's).

The report seem's to suggest in it's conclusions that the Sony Cyber-Shot HX300 is a tad better than the Canon Powershot HS50 although they were both rated with 81%. Doesn't appear to be much to choose between any of these Super-Zooms. I'm really interested to see how Panasonic will respond to the Super-Zoom challenge, their current flagship model the FZ200 has a 600mm lens, perhaps it's successor will provide a serious challenge to all the AP tested models if it has a new 1000mm lens, or perhaps they might come out with a totally new Super-Zoom model...so much to consider |:S| we really are spoiled for choice!!!

I am not sure that Canon even make a HS50

Bridge Camera Shoot Out!!! (1 Viewer)

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