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Bridge cameras: my 6 finalists (1 Viewer)

Pancho85

Pancho85

Well-known member
Hi,

I've been thinking of buying a (not expensive) bridge camera for a while, and after some weeks looking for some information, here there are my 6 finalists:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/co...300&products=sony_dschx400v&sortDir=ascending

I was waiting for the SX60, but I see that people is not really happy with it.

The Nikon P600 looks nice, but the problem is the autofocus is really slow, and I know that some times, birds just stay for one second in a branch, and I hate when they fly off before you can take the photo.

Sony cameras are for me one of the best options, but I read that when you use the 10fps, then you have to wait like 10 seconds to shoot again, and this can be a serious problem.

Canon SX50 seems to be the most used option by birdwatchers, but I consider the main features are worse than the others (12mpx,F3.4 - F6.5, only 2.2fps,etc)

And Finally, the Lumix FZ70/FZ72. It looks nice, but I don´t know why, usually it´s not the final choise for birders.

So, wich one should I choose? My mind is a mess right now.

Thanks for yor help!!
 
I've been having the same issue choosing. Distance is a big factor for my choice, so I could possibly "digiscope without the scope." I was looking at the SX60 as well. In the end, I'm waiting for the USA release of the SX60 to let it get into the hands of more users (and thus reviews) before I decide.

If the SX60 is consistently disappointing, I plan to get the SX50. Compared to what I have now, the complaints about "slow" burst and "not so good EVF" are rather moot—anything will be a huge improvement.

You are correct, scouring of the web seems to overwhelmingly favor the SX50 from a birding perspective.
 
The SX50 is showing its age- why the specs are looking unspectacular. I would wait a bit for more reviews of the SX60.
 
For me quick zoom and focusing would be a big deal. I look around but I keep coming back to the Fujifilm HS50exr. Some people grumble about picture quality, but since I wouldn't be doing anything more than posting pics on sights like this, I don't think that would be a huge issue. I've seen some really nice photos taken with this camera, and the manual zoom is so much quicker than a motorized one.
 
Why not the FZ200?

Pancho85 said:
...........And finally, the Lumix FZ70/FZ72. It looks nice, but I don´t know why, usually it´s not the final choise for birders.

.........
Click to expand...

I don't think you should include the FZ70/72 into your compilation, but the FZ200. It is no longer expensive since the FZ1000 has come on the market. At least it is worth shopping around a bit. And you find some good info about it here on BF: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=239136
 
If I needed a new camera I would immediately rule out the Nikon, my understanding is it has an intergrated battery so it can't be used while charging. I like to be able to change batteries in the field especially when holidaying abroad when there,s not always a convenient power supply.
 
I've had the SX50 for a year and a half now and I am mostly happy with my choice. There are improvements I would like to see but the SX60 does not address them. At maximum zoom, the Canon is as much as I can hold steady and get a sharp photo and then, only in strong light. I don't think having longer zoom (as in the SX60) will be much benefit unless a tripod becomes part of the system. Lower light capabilities would be at the top of my wish list to improve the SX50 with a better EV a close second.
My wife has recently purchased the Fuji HX50 EXR but has not put in the time to see how she will adapt to using the ring zoom and focus. It is theoretically faster but will require some adjustment from the Canon system she is used to.

Steve
 
Nice review. I am leaning towards the Fujifilm S1. Shot RAW to overcome the jpeg limitations. I believe lightroom 5.4 has camera profiles to match the JPEG processor. I tried out the Olympus and was not too impressed. The gun sight was nice buy not enough to move me to buy it
 
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For sheer reach and a good featureset, I've been very happy with my SX60. I've been posting samples in my gallery.

Granted, Canon shipped the camera with the default settings kinda wonky and it is annoying I had to immediately resort to trying to find the sweet spot in the dynamic range using Exposure Compensation like this is some sort of 10 year old camera with severely limited ISO or shutter speed.

But now that I'm close to dialing it in, I'm very happy with it. Histograms are strong and have good data. Focus has been good, even handheld.

And if you REALLY need to reach out, I found the 2.0x teledapter (different from digital zoom) quite good for basic photos.

I haven't tried using RAW yet to further improve upon the photo quality. I am bothered by pervasive "noise" in the photos, a side effect of 16MP on a small sensor? I need to do some RAW comparisons. Think I'd rather have the noise than have NR or IS try to take it all out and lose detail.

Still, for "beyond digiscoping" ranges, I'm quite happy.
 
I had the same decision to make. I really wanted a Canon - so I could use my flash - so, unless I'd found something that was clearly better it was down to the SX50 and SX60. I trawled the internet review sites and forums and it seemed clear that it had to be the SX50 for better image quality. It has the advantage of being slightly cheaper too but I was not going to let that affect my decision. I was worried about the extra pixels, indeed with this small a sensor more is probably bad, but the poor EVF did worry me, more than anything else. I haven't used it much, but I will say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's certainly an improvement on my Fuji HS10
 
Steve Babbs said:
I was worried about the extra pixels, indeed with this small a sensor more is probably bad, but the poor EVF did worry me, more than anything else. I haven't used it much, but I will say it's not as bad as I thought it would be. It's certainly an improvement on my Fuji HS10
Click to expand...
I hear you, I debated the SX50 vs. SX60 for a long time. But I wanted the range and the better EVF the SX60 offered, as this replaces a scope-n-camera (digiscoping) setup. I like to have the ability to take photos from really, really far away...it's the nature of getting candid shots of interesting animals when confined to a trail or viewing area.

I've put-up with low-res viewfinders and LCDs for too many years and the Quality of Life aspect means alot to me. I can suffer alot more in Photoshop when I get home than I can things that distract and bother in the field when I'm using the camera.

I could go on about the other cameras, I ruled them out quickly for various IQ or QoL issues, or simply not enough range. If you want "medium range" in the sub-700mm ballpark, I'd highly recommend saving your pennies and jumping to a lower end DSLR or a MFT camera. I almost went MFT myself.

The SX50 vs SX60 thing is going to depend on your needs.
 
silverback69 said:
No fz200?
Love mine. Would pitch it against any of those mentioned above.
Click to expand...

I think the article was aimed at 50-60X super zoom cameras. I was wondering why they chose the S1 over the HS50EXR. I think that's the reason they skipped cameras like the HS50 and the FZ200
 
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