Super-Zoom/Bridge

[WilsonFlyer]

I think I want one of the superzoom/bridge cameras. I think it would make a nice addition to my bag, which currently includes a 60D, a T2i, a NEX5 (the original one with both lenses), and a hundred (well, it seems ) PnSs that my wife uses after I throw them away out of sheer frustration with them.

I'm a Canon guy, but I could be a convert. I'm even looking at the newer Nikon DSLRs and might just throw out the baby with the bathwater. I'm not there yet but I'm not beyond it.

All that to get to this...

I'm looking at the SX40 but it's getting a little long of tooth. Released in September of 2011, it's bound to be due for an upgrade soon. It gets great reviews except the screen and with an equivilent of 810mm zoom, who cares about the screen? Well, I do. Not really but it's really pretty shabby compared to what it should have been.

I'm also looking at the Nikon P510. It looks really nice with 1000mm of reach and a full 16 meg compared to the SX40 with its 12 meg. Funny the SX40 seems to consistently win with overall image quality despite its lower resolution. It's also weird that the SX40 wins since the Nikons seem to consistently produce better overall color than the Canons, one of the other reasons I'm considering DSLRs but I guess that's another story for another time.

So, does anybody have any experience with either of these? Maybe with both? Has anyone here actually done a personal side-by-side with them? Opinions? I've only got 4 days before I leave and they're both on sale at Best Buy locally.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Hmmmm...

 

[WilsonFlyer]

ANY opinions? Anybody?

 

[bob100]

ANY opinions? Anybody?

OK, here's an opinion - you already have a 60D, a T2i, a Sony NEX and presumably a nice assortment of lens with those cameras. You say you throw away many P&S cameras because you're "frustrated". So how will your pics improve with yet buying another camera?
Or are you just a serial camera collector?

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Send me a 200-1000mm zoom lens for my DSLRs and I'll be all set. Oh, and I'd like it under a pound, please.

 

[MICKEY88]

Send me a 200-1000mm zoom lens for my DSLRs and I'll be all set. Oh, and I'd like it under a pound, please.

keep in mind, the longer the zoom, the more noticeable subject movement or camera shake becomes,
it is often better to get a good sharp image with a shorter zoom, and crop via PC

 

[tazdev3225]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I have 2 Sony DSLRs so I don't have to change lenses when I am at ball games or outside. I love the quality of the pics. That being said I have been looking for a really good long distance bridge camera.

I love taking pics of birds and nature and my 300 mm lens does not get me close enough to the eagles nest near my house. Cropping just gives me a fuzzy bird. I am also on a mission to get the great blue heron that has been toying with me. I swear that bird knows when I don't have a camera and flies low on purpose. When I have one he is out of reach of my focal length.

I have been looking at the Nikon you mentioned for this reason but the price has me thrown off a little right now.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I have 2 Sony DSLRs so I don't have to change lenses when I am at ball games or outside. I love the quality of the pics. That being said I have been looking for a really good long distance bridge camera.

I love taking pics of birds and nature and my 300 mm lens does not get me close enough to the eagles nest near my house. Cropping just gives me a fuzzy bird. I am also on a mission to get the great blue heron that has been toying with me. I swear that bird knows when I don't have a camera and flies low on purpose. When I have one he is out of reach of my focal length.

I have been looking at the Nikon you mentioned for this reason but the price has me thrown off a little right now.

That's almost exactly the same situation I find myself in.

I really like the Nikon but I'm somewhat of a Canon loyalist. There's nothing inherently "wrong" with either one as far as I can tell. They're both on "sale" at BB and Target for the same price right now and if I put it on my Target card for a month, I get an additional %5.

I'm not sure the screen on the Canon matters that much to me, nor does the extra reach on the Nikon since I'm pretty much betting the extra reach is worthless anyway. I do like the built-in stitching panorama in the Nikon and the in-camera HDR too since I can't get RAW from either one. I did actually look and hold both at BB today and actually like the feel of the Nikon better but I'm more use to the menu structure on the Canon.

I may just pick one tomorrow to take with me and decide whether to keep it based on my week of using it at Disney.

What to do. What to do.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

keep in mind, the longer the zoom, the more noticeable subject movement or camera shake becomes,
it is often better to get a good sharp image with a shorter zoom, and crop via PC

Yep. And there's also the aperture problem at those long focal lengths, part of the reason they're so affordable (relatively speaking for the focal lengths provided). You gotta give up something.

They both have built-in stabilization but I'm like you, I really wonder how good it works past about 300mm. For my part, that's all I "really" want this camera for, past 200-300mm. When I take it with me, I will likely leave the DSLRs in the bag in the room, assuming it's acceptable at short focal lengths too, but that's not really why I want one.

I think what I really want will inevitibly be the "SX50," but we all know how that goes. You can wait yourself to death playing this game. Canon has never been big on in-camera stitching like Nikon and Sony so it remains to be seen whether the next gen will have this function. Same goes for in-camera HDR. To me, those are the two major short-comings of the Canon, at least for what I want it for. The Canon is also a better video camera. Again, nice at Disney not to have to carry another camera around for short clips (I REALLY like 24p and the P510 doesn't support this.).

 

[2Tiggies]

You're cutting it a bit fine with time here. You leave in 2 days? I hope you find something quickly

 

[WilsonFlyer]

You're cutting it a bit fine with time here. You leave in 2 days? I hope you find something quickly

Ya think?

I'll have my 60D by my side. This camera is totally an experiment, for lack of a better thing to call it.

I'm still searching for that elusive be-all, am-all camera when I don't want to take my DSLRs with me.

I'm really starting to think the P510 just might be it. I might just go get one toinight unless somebody here talks me out of it REALLY quickly.

 

[2Tiggies]

Well it's not going to be me! I can't imagine going to the parks without my DSLR. I only mentioned the time pressure because I got my first one a couple of days before we left for WDW a couple of years ago and I was baptized in fire! I was looking to replace a bridge camera because I was fed up with battery consumption at a silly rate and the short story entailed a bottle of wine, a silly bid on eBay ($80!) and a notification that I had won an auction the next morning. The seller took about 10 days to dispatch it and it never came with a manual or anything. I know you get those online but I had no internet access and had to figure it out as I went along. I guess with your collection you won't have a problem acquainting yourself with a camera really quickly, but your ticker reminded me of my experience!

 

[McLoki]

Here are some pictures pictures I took at the flower festival this year. Camera was a Canon SX40hs. Almost all pictures were taken at high zoom (over 400mm - many at full zoom) and all were handheld shots.

This was at pretty extreme zoom. (840mm from about 30' away - kept hearing him in the pond in China (where the dragon is at))

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