I have been surviving with my phone and compact camera since joining this wonderful site and they both suit me due to their size, weight and ease of use. I am off to Africa next year and want to get good close ups of all the wonderful animals I hope to see but I don’t really want to get a big heavy SLR with multiple lenses so thought maybe a bridge camera with a long zoom would be a good compromise. I was hoping I could get some recommendations from all you good folk.
I've used the Panasonic FZ200 and a Canon SX40 - they're both fairly old cameras now but for what it's worth - I prefer the colours from the Canon and find the user interface more intuitive (though I'm a Canon SLR user so I guess I would). The Panasonic is significantly faster to focus and the f/2.8 at the long end is very useful - a lot of superzooms get quite slow at the end of the range. The IS is great on both. I hope the newer version have improved ISO because they are both smaller sensors and anything above ISO 400 isn't great. When I take a superzoom out with me, it is usually the FZ200 even though the Canon has a slightly longer range.
The only thing I'd say is to bear in mind that once you get passed a certain zoom, you're shooting through a decent chunk of atmosphere and it becomes tricky to get sharp shots because of atmospheric disturbance etc. so I wouldn't base any decision purely on reach.
I second @kali66 - I own two Canon Powershot SX60's and would swear by them. Lightweight, long zoom capabilities, great quality images, useful creative settings, and really simple to use. Also love the flip out screen which is super useful when getting different angles - or even selfies!
The only down side is it isn't that great off Auto - but if you don't plan on going off Auto (& you really don't need to to get great images) then it will not be an issue. Definitely something I'd get for what you have in mind. Use the burst mode for animals and get all the shots you want!
I have a Nikon Coolpix P610, before that I had a P530. I love them both. The 610 has an amazing 60x zoom. I can zoom in the moon so much that I can only fit about 1/3 of it in the frame. I can pretty much do anything I want to do, or challenged to do, as any expensive DSLR. And they range from $350-500 on Amazon, depending on the model and color.
@islambad I never use auto on my sx50! it usually overexposes to my taste, i use P more often than not and use exposure compensation, it is limited to f5.6-f8 on zoom, and the longest shutter speed is 15 seconds which you can only use on 80 iso. it goes up to 3600 iso but that is quite grainy. you do get chromatic aberation fringing on max zoom when shooting faraway against a light background.
Definitely second the Canon SX50 - and hopefully the SX60 which I just replaced it with. Most of my shots posted here have been taken with the SX 50 - especially all bird shots. Have to have the lighter weight for walking. All on manual settings.
I LOVE my Canon Powershot SX50HS- which is the same as Kali's and Milanie's. Yes, there is a newer model, but sometimes you can find older versions for less, so if you're a savvy internet hunter, try finding this one. There are a couple folks on here who have the SX60HS and it looks to be as good as this model judging from the pictures. The Powershot is my go-to moon shot camera and I also use it for capturing the birds at my feeder and the critters that wander through my backyard. The zoom is fantastic! I never use auto on it and generally shoot in AV or P. It has some really nice creative "filters" too and it's easy to switch back and forth to them. Happy shopping!
I LOVE my Canon Powershot SX60HS I use it all the time for moon shots, has a great zoom! I never use auto, I usually use AV, TV or manual, more creative. Good luck you can't go wrong with this canon and it is very light and the back flip out screen is great for low pov without having to bend down!!
@milaniet@olivetreeann@radiogirl thank you ladies, it seems the Canon may be the way to go although I know nothing about cameras and was planning on using it on auto, hoping it will be ok
@kjarn I have down-loaded the manual on to my laptop and whenever I have a question, I look things up. There are also lots of tutorials out there on YouTube, so you should be fine. Plus, you can always ask anyone on here as well. I know you will enjoy this camera, and the sooner you get it, the more you can practice with it before your trip.
@olivetreeann thank you. I know this probably sounds weird but I really only want to use it on auto, I’m way too impatient to be fiddling with settings, just want to take the shot and move on. What I’m worried about is if I have to use it on manual in order to get a good shot.
Both me and my husband have the Canon SX50HS. We have been very pleased with it. Although the digital zoom may not be as clear it is great if you want to identify something from afar!
Kathy, my partner has a Nikon Coolpix P900. He never ever ever takes it out of auto and takes some pretty good shots. It has an absolutely amazing zoom With 83× zoom limit and a maximum 2000 mm 35 mm equivalent focal length.
I even borrow it when I know I want to have a long zoom lens.
It shoots is JPG, has wireless so you can transfer your photos to your iPad. Even with the big lens, it's not weighty and is super easy to use. If you wanted to venture our of auto, it has some pretty good filters that you can use to.
@kjarn Kathy- I just learned that one of the photographers in my camera club is selling a Canon Powershot XS60 HS. I am not sure of the price, but if you are interested, let me know. I can tell you she takes excellent care of her equipment and probably did not use this camera a lot because she bought another camera (different model and make) right after this one. If you think you'd like to know more, let me know and I will contact her about your interest, get her email for you and then let you two correspond from there.
@olivetreeann thank you so much for thinking of me and I am interested but I live in Australia so there may be issues with the charger plug and I assume postage would be very expensive, postage is always a huge stumbling block for us down under when buying goods from overseas
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The only thing I'd say is to bear in mind that once you get passed a certain zoom, you're shooting through a decent chunk of atmosphere and it becomes tricky to get sharp shots because of atmospheric disturbance etc. so I wouldn't base any decision purely on reach.
Enjoy your trip. It sounds awesome. :)
The only down side is it isn't that great off Auto - but if you don't plan on going off Auto (& you really don't need to to get great images) then it will not be an issue. Definitely something I'd get for what you have in mind. Use the burst mode for animals and get all the shots you want!
I even borrow it when I know I want to have a long zoom lens.
It shoots is JPG, has wireless so you can transfer your photos to your iPad. Even with the big lens, it's not weighty and is super easy to use. If you wanted to venture our of auto, it has some pretty good filters that you can use to.