Barbets48
Well-known member
I'm preparing to buy a new superzoom point and shoot, upgrading from a long-used and beat-up Panasonic DMC-ZS5 (12x optical zoom). I've pretty much determined that I want a pocketable camera that is small enough that my increasingly-interested-in-birding son can handle easily, and which will be able to take decent record or ID shots of birds. My budget is somewhat limited, perhaps up to around $400 USD. I'm living in Asia, so the model availability is a bit different to those in Europe or the US.
I live in a very bright, generally sunny place, and though I've not had experience using an external viewfinder before, from reading a lot of posts here, some people seem to feel that is very important, especially in bright light. What I'm seeing is that the price difference between something like a Sony HX90 (with EVF) and an older Sony HX50 or HX60 (without EVF) is significant, as in almost twice the cost. The other features seem to be not super significant for me, at least from what I understand. Any additional input about the benefits of EVF would be appreciated! It seems like it would be useful, but just love to have more input either way.
Also, I'd love any additional thoughts on pros/cons of these models which are currently the ones I'm seeing available and in my price range (or on similar models that might be better): Sony HX90v/HX50, Panasonic Zs80GK (pushing price range for me) or older ZS. Canon SX720 or SX740.
Again, I'm looking for a pocketable p&S with minimum 30X optical zoom.
Thanks!
I live in a very bright, generally sunny place, and though I've not had experience using an external viewfinder before, from reading a lot of posts here, some people seem to feel that is very important, especially in bright light. What I'm seeing is that the price difference between something like a Sony HX90 (with EVF) and an older Sony HX50 or HX60 (without EVF) is significant, as in almost twice the cost. The other features seem to be not super significant for me, at least from what I understand. Any additional input about the benefits of EVF would be appreciated! It seems like it would be useful, but just love to have more input either way.
Also, I'd love any additional thoughts on pros/cons of these models which are currently the ones I'm seeing available and in my price range (or on similar models that might be better): Sony HX90v/HX50, Panasonic Zs80GK (pushing price range for me) or older ZS. Canon SX720 or SX740.
Again, I'm looking for a pocketable p&S with minimum 30X optical zoom.
Thanks!
