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Comparing Superzooms (1 Viewer)

Hobbes2

Well-known member
After some discussion with others about current and prospective superzooms, I quickly put together a spreadsheet of (for me) the most important parameters to compare. It's attached in case anyone else can make use of it.

(Note, I'm comparing everything against my current camera, the Panasonic FZ8).

At a glance, the 3 cameras which offer focal lengths over 800mm are:
  • Sony cyber-shot HX100V
  • Nikon P500
  • Canon SX30
The lightest of these long-lens cameras (at 494g) is:
  • Nikon P500

The only camera to offer the larger sensor (at the cost of making it a heavier camera, 730g) is:
  • Fuji HS20
From reading the specs, I like the idea of the Zeiss lens on the Sony HX100V but I like the weight of the Nikon P500. I await to see reviews of the images they produce.

Hope this is helpful to others
Thanks
Hobbes
 

Attachments

  • Cameras.xlsx
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Thanks Hobbes
for me the two to watch are the Nikon and the Sony. One thing I've not been able to find out is whether or not either of those offer any kind of 'intelligent' zoom i.e greater magnification by dropping the resolution which is something which (I believe the Canon SX30 offers). Nor have I been able to establish whether either has a filter ring for converters to push the range out further. It would be useful to add the speed of the lenses (esp at max zoom) to your comparision chart if you have that info to hand.
 
Thanks Hobbes
for me the two to watch are the Nikon and the Sony. One thing I've not been able to find out is whether or not either of those offer any kind of 'intelligent' zoom i.e greater magnification by dropping the resolution which is something which (I believe the Canon SX30 offers). Nor have I been able to establish whether either has a filter ring for converters to push the range out further. It would be useful to add the speed of the lenses (esp at max zoom) to your comparision chart if you have that info to hand.

Looks like we're both keeping an eye on the same models. I'll post here if I hear anything.

I've updated the spreadsheet with available aperture info.

The fastest lens (F5.6) at maximum focal length (above 800mm):
  • Sony Cyber-shot HX100V
although the Nikon P500 (F5.7) then Canon SX30 (F5.8) are in the same ball park really.

Hobbes
 

Attachments

  • Cameras.xlsx
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Last edited:
this is useful site, contains the best feature for feature comparison I've found. Note the two additional pages, 'Specifications' and 'Score'. At this stage which one do you prefer?

That's a useful site, thank you.

At this stage there's not much in it. The specs for the Nikon P500 and Sony HX100V both look very appealing. All things being equal, for me, the Nikon has its price and weight in its favour. Whilst the Sony has the better image stabilisation system and is less bulky. It really will come down to image quality at max focal lengths and/or how it feels in the shop.

How about you?
Hobbes
 
I am watching the market like you,until we see some images ,we can only guess what they may be like.For bird pics the Sony,Nikon & Fuji sound best with their " manual " focus control( the Canon does not sound suitable )The Sony has an electric focus control around the lens,to me this seems the best option,but need to try it first.The switchable rocker focus switch on the Nikon seems a bit hit or miss,but i like the weight advantage of this model.If you see an proper test on any of these please post a link.
 
The Fuji is the only one of these that shoots RAW, although there may be a workaround option with the Canon that enables RAW capture. RAW is certainly the preferred mode for any post processing.
Given that the aim is to get the best possible result, that seems a substantial leg up for Fuji.
 
Until we see some images, we can only guess what they may be like.

Makes sense.

They all are slightly difference and have better specifications than each other in certain areas.

I think that choose which camera advantage you prefer, whether weight, focal length or screen resolution. Then decide when the images come out.

The Fuji does seem to have the more appealing on paper, except for the battery.
RAW and bigger sensor does cover up a few niggles.

Nikon have been playing catch-up in this sector for many years. Interesting to see the results.

The Sony results are certainly worth looking at, but it could be the most expensive. But it does have that Zeiss lense on the front.

The Canon looks like it has been passed by the Fuji and Sony, but it is the cheapest.
 
One thing that only real time use can resolve: how easy is it to for example focus on a bird among branches? Is there any real difference among the bunch?

Niels
 
That's a useful site, thank you.

At this stage there's not much in it. The specs for the Nikon P500 and Sony HX100V both look very appealing. All things being equal, for me, the Nikon has its price and weight in its favour. Whilst the Sony has the better image stabilisation system and is less bulky. It really will come down to image quality at max focal lengths and/or how it feels in the shop.

How about you?
Hobbes

I very much like the idea of built in GPS, and the smaller size of the Sony. But of course its image quality that is far and away the most important consideration, so I will be waiting for reviews. The earlier Nikon P100 got poor reviews for IQ and of course the Sony is an unknown quantity in that regard so I guess we'll just have to be patient for a few more weeks!

John
 
Totally agree Neils,thats why i think the Sony sounds interesting,and why i ruled out the Canon. We will have to wait a few more weeks unfortunately.
 
how easy is it to for example focus on a bird among branches?
Niels

That's definitely the crucial question. To date I have found both Panasonic FZs I have owned to be very difficult to use in this respect. Getting onto a warbler in an autumn Sycamore - and staying on it as it moves through the leaves - is a real nightmare and the main reason I am seriously thinking about getting a DSLR - an optical viewfinder makes such a thing easy.

Does anyone know if any of the bridge cameras, or the new micro 4/3rd cameras, have an evf which comes close to the ease of an optical viewfinder?

Thanks
Sean
 
Am i right in thinking that the Fuji HS20 is manual only on the zoom ,no power ? Today is supposed to be the Nikon P500 release date for UK,so hopefully a review soon.
 
Getting onto a warbler in an autumn Sycamore - and staying on it as it moves through the leaves - is a real nightmare and the main reason I am seriously thinking about getting a DSLR - an optical viewfinder makes such a thing easy.
If you're talking about manual focusing, then it's easier with an SLR, but still hard. Modern SLR viewfinders are apparently optimised for brightness, not manual focusing. I added a 1.36x viewfinder magnifier to my Olympus E-520, which helps a lot. You can get replacement screens with split prisms, etc, but I haven't tried one.

An optical viewfinder certainly makes it easier to actually find the bird than with a typical EVF.
Does anyone know if any of the bridge cameras, or the new micro 4/3rd cameras, have an evf which comes close to the ease of an optical viewfinder?
I've heard that the add on VF-2 for the Olympus Pen cameras is very good, supposedly the best EVF available at the moment, but I don't know how it compares to an SLR viewfinder. I've read a few comments that it makes manual focusing very easy because the image can be magnified during focusing. 10x, I think, which easily beats my 1.36x.

I notice that Olympus have just released the SZ-30MR. No idea what its EVF is like, but it will do 9 frames per second and does "focus tracking", which sounds interesting. 600mm equivalent focal length, which is less than the models mentioned above, but still not too bad.

They're also excited about what they're calling "multi-recording mode", where it can take stills while shooting video. My old Canon S3 did that, although it made the video footage freeze for a moment, and you could hear the shutter click. It was quite useful.
 
Am i right in thinking that the Fuji HS20 is manual only on the zoom ,no power ?
That may be an advantage, depending on what you're using it for. My Canon S3, with power zoom, retracted its lens on shutdown, so after startup one had to wait till it was on, then zoom in (fully, usually, for birds), which made it take a lot longer to get ready for a shot.

I used a Panasonic FZ30 for a while, with manual zoom. That camera was much faster to turn on because the zoom was always where one left it.
 
The FujiHS20 is out today and Amazon.co.uk are already out of stock! It's obviously going to be a popular choice and I suspect the reviews will come in quicker than for the Nikon P500. Roll on when the Sony HX100V is out... ;)
Hobbes
 
Nikon produces it's DLSRs at the factory just south of Sendai inland from the coast about 4 miles. That plant had some damage to building and equipment and has some injured employees but no flood damage. Nikon can't say when the plant will reopen. Don't know where the P500 is produced but my P100 says it's made in Indonedia. Though that would be final assembly. There the components included the lenses are made I don't know.

Canon has suspended production at three sites in the general area including its Utsunomiya plant where it makes EF lenses. Again, don't know where it makes the superzooms or where the key components are produced.

Don't know about Fuji or Sony or Panasonic.

I guess though that with rolling blackouts and transportation disruptions I would not be surprised to see some of the products that people are expecting to be delayed.
 
I was all set on the Fuji until I saw the horrible "jello" effect on max zoom video which seems to affect all those superzooms which do not have optical image stabilisation on the lens. I have seen it on the new Nikon P500 samples too on DPreview. Now I'm thinking I might wait and see what Canon come out with to replace the SX30. Won't be til the autumn though, I guess.
 
I was all set on the Fuji until I saw the horrible "jello" effect on max zoom video which seems to affect all those superzooms which do not have optical image stabilisation on the lens. I have seen it on the new Nikon P500 samples too on DPreview. Now I'm thinking I might wait and see what Canon come out with to replace the SX30. Won't be til the autumn though, I guess.

You might find that the new Sony HX100V offers better results but we'll have to wait and see. It supposedly has a better image stabilisation system than the Nikon P500 (http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-P500-vs-Sony-HX100v).

An excerpt from the dpreview blurb: "Despite their powerful zoom range, DSC-HX100V and DSC-HX9V can capture crisp, blur-free images with significantly reduced handshake, even while you’re walking along. Featured on both cameras, Optical SteadyShot™ with Active Mode image stabilization is a powerful image stabilization system with ‘3-way shake cancellation’ as found on premium Handycam® camcorders by Sony. You’ll be rewarded with clearer results when you’re shooting handheld, even at telephoto settings where camera shake is most pronounced." (http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020110sonyhx100vhx9v.asp).

Hobbes
 
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