Point and shoot with telephoto range?

I have an non-photographer outdoorsman friend who would like to get pictures of the animals he encounters, some at a distance.
Weight would be a factor, but not money so much.

This is not at all my area. I looked at some super-zoom point and shoots but the image quality fell apart at the long end.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Have you looked at the SX50 and SX60IS cameras? IQ isn't all that bad really for a super zoom as long as you stay with the optical zoom and turn off the digital zoom.

The alternative is something like an SL1 or SL2 and a Sigma 150-600, but the Sigma is pretty heavy.

Pinto wrote in post #18533696
...but the image quality fell apart at the long end.

Stay away from Digital zoom & only use Optical zoom & you should see better results.

This might be one to consider: Sony Cyber-shot Digital Camera H200 has some nice features:
26x optical zoom, 20.1MP sensor ,in-camera stabilization, HD video1, available-anywhere AA batteries.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18533738
Stay away from Digital zoom & only use Optical zoom & you should see better results.

This might be one to consider: Sony Cyber-shot Digital Camera H200 has some nice features:
26x optical zoom, 20.1MP sensor ,in-camera stabilization, HD video1, available-anywhere AA batteries.

Thanks Frank, I'll look at it.
Of course digital zoom is just a marketing tool.

if money not a big issue: Sony RX10 IV, 24-600mm with a 1" BSI sensor.

next closest would be a DSLR like 80D with tamron 18-400 or something. That should be significantly bigger though.

1.4 kg vs 1.1 kg

the sx60hs is 21 to almost 1400mm optical. there is a Nikon that does a better than this. not a bad camera, had one a while back

I know of quite a few folks who really highly rate the Nikon P900 when it comes to superzoom cameras. It offers a 35mm Eq focal length range of 24-2000mm. The biggest drawback I can see is the tiny sensor, 1/2.3" is pretty small, which means that the true focal length of the lens is 4.3-357mm. The only thing is that you give up a lot of stuff you would normally expect from a £500+ camera, the most significant of which is no RAW. Then you have only ISO 100-1600, shutter speed range is 1 second to 1/4000s. The thing is that many of the things that will make a keen photographer not like this camera, will be perfectly fine for anyone who just wants pictures. Oh video is "only" 1080p@60fps.

Great camera for the person in the street who needs nice images of stuff a long way away. This probably sounds just what might be needed in this case.

Alan

BigAl007 wrote in post #18533948
I know of quite a few folks who really highly rate the Nikon P900 when it comes to superzoom cameras. It offers a 35mm Eq focal length range of 24-2000mm. The biggest drawback I can see is the tiny sensor, 1/2.3" is pretty small, which means that the true focal length of the lens is 4.3-357mm. The only thing is that you give up a lot of stuff you would normally expect from a £500+ camera, the most significant of which is no RAW. Then you have only ISO 100-1600, shutter speed range is 1 second to 1/4000s. The thing is that many of the things that will make a keen photographer not like this camera, will be perfectly fine for anyone who just wants pictures. Oh video is "only" 1080p@60fps.

Great camera for the person in the street who needs nice images of stuff a long way away. This probably sounds just what might be needed in this case.

Alan

I second that notion.

For those who want a superduper-zoom in a small package, the P900 is a really good solution. I know a guy who used to own a full array of Nikon DSLR equipment who downsized to the P900 and he's extremely happy with it. The zoom ability of that camera is remarkable and the IQ at range is very good for a P&S/bridge.

So the top 2 contenders in this market, some comparisons (SX60HS and P900)

http://www.imaging-resource.com …canon/sx60/vs/n​ikon/p900/

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=G4b9a8tPsfU

http://www.techradar.c​om …kon-p900-1294602/review/4

http://www.cameradebat​e.com …-hx400v-vs-canon-sx60-hs/

If one decides on the Canon and is in the US, it is on sale at the Canon refurb store.

https://shop.usa.canon​.com …rbished-PowerShot-Cameras

Thank you all for the great responses. I'll get to work looking at them.
One concern I have is the size and weight issue for the larger cameras.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18533738
Stay away from Digital zoom & only use Optical zoom & you should see better results.

... unless one is shooting in highly-compressed JPEG without RAW, in which case a 2x digital zoom will contain more real detail than a cropped image at maximum optical zoom only, because less detail from the area of interest (the digitial crop or "zoom") is discarded in the creation of the JPEG.

It is better to have a camera that has optical zoom, usually, at the magnification that you desire, but that does not mean that you shouldn't use digital zoom if available. If you have maxed out analog zoom, and digital zoom can be fixed at exactly 2x, its only downside is that it crops permanently any shake in the camera, or jumping of the subject, in the JPEG, and possibly in a RAW, if the camera also crops the RAW image. If you can hold the camera steady enough, it may not be bad to use the digital zoom at exactly 2x; just don't substitute it for optical zoom. Another point in that regard is that the maximum aperture size gets smaller as you zoom out (even though the minimum f-number goes down). So, you generally get more light and less noise with the same shutter speed, using optical zoom instead of relying on digital zoom.

Pinto wrote in post #18534016
Thank you all for the great responses. I'll get to work looking at them.
One concern I have is the size and weight issue for the larger cameras.

These bridge cameras aren't heavy at all. They are a bit bulky, about the size of a Rebel maybe. When you zoom out, the lens will extend out from the body a good ways as well, but nothing nearly what a DSLR and equivalent focal length lens would.

You can get a good idea of size in this video.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=LEw7-h8mEf4

Wildlife use
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=j0XtjCbdce4

These types of videos were reasons why I bought the SX60HS. Eventually though, a coworker wanted a good travel camera, and I sold her mine, and bought the SL2. The P900 was also on my list, and I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

If the SX70HS gets announced, it will be a very interesting camera.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18534033
These bridge cameras aren't heavy at all. They are a bit bulky, about the size of a Rebel maybe. When you zoom out, the lens will extend out from the body a good ways as well, but nothing nearly what a DSLR and equivalent focal length lens would.

You can get a good idea of size in this video.
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=LEw7-h8mEf4

Wildlife use
https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=j0XtjCbdce4

These types of videos were reasons why I bought the SX60HS. Eventually though, a coworker wanted a good travel camera, and I sold her mine, and bought the SL2. The P900 was also on my list, and I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

This will be very helpful. Thank you!

Fun P900 zoom video too, a great tool for vacation (with good lighting)!

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=Xx-cDY2z8z0

This should scare you, these cameras provide perhaps a bit too much zoom...

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=i76xvuLUNVQ

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18534054
Fun P900 zoom video too, a great tool for vacation (with good lighting)!

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=Xx-cDY2z8z0

This should scare you, these cameras provide perhaps a bit too much zoom...

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=i76xvuLUNVQ

That zoom is really something, but detail suffering at moderate ISOs I think would be a concern. The P900 and the SX60 will give him two great choices. Thanks again.