ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

I am looking for a nice back up camera that has the reach and the clarity. Any thoughts on these Bridge cameras? This way I can place it next to my DSLR and have a bit more reach. Last night as I was photographing a sunset a guy had a Nikon D810 and used a bridge as a back up. This could be a nice add to my bag. Thanks for your thoughts ValliPride.

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

There are a lot of cameras out there that will fill your requirements. I carry a Sony HX400. B&H is offering it for $448.00 with free expedited shipping. It offers a 50X optical zoom. The 35mm equivalent focal length is 24-1200mm. It offers most of the same options that a DSLR does except the ability to shoot in RAW format. The lens is by Zeiss and is f/2.8-f/6.3. Here's the B&H link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=sony+cyber-shot+dsc-hx400&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

xxredbeardxx Loc: San Clemente CA.

Fuji makes a great 1000 super zoom.
It works really well. I'm sure you will get lots
of suggestions. Good luck.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

Thank you both,I know nothing about the bridge camera the name is even new to me! Would I be able to print a 11/14 quality print? And what is the difference between the Bridge or mirror less camera or just a point and shoot ?

allan catt Loc: gillingham,kent,uk

Have a look at the Lumix range Leica lenses

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Nikon Coolpix P/520

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The Canon SX50 has raw capability and should print 11x14 just fine. Refurbished, with one-year warranty, are selling for about $225 right now.

Bridge cameras bridge the gap between totally auto and the SLR. Some have raw, and all likely offer manual exposure, along with aperture priority, shutter priority, exposure compensation etc. Oh - and they have electronic viewfinders.

Am still learning what mirror-less are myself :)

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

Shouldn't have any problem doing an 11X14. The HX400 has a 20mp sensor.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

Thank you

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

In approximate order by price, these are the common choices now:

These have larger sensors with less zoom:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000

These have smaller sensors with much more zoom:
Canon PowerShot SX60 HS (or last year’s model, the SX50)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400V
Fujifilm FinePix S1
Nikon COOLPIX P600

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

I have the Canon SX50 and It can take reasonably good pictures. It can't really compare with my two DSLR cameras, one full frame and the other a crop sensor, but then again, I don't exactly have 1200mm reach on these cameras. I find I get superior results using RAW and in tests I have tried, the RAW cropped image was superior to using the Canon Digital Teleconverter.

I also have a 3 year old Fujifilm HS30EXR which provides about 700mm of reach. It also has RAW capability, which Lightroom recognizes, but DXO Optics does not. There is noticeably more noise in the Fujifilm 16M pixel images than there is in the Canon SX50 12M pixel images.

I also have settled on using the "P" setting for the Canon. With the tiny sensor, there is no real depth of field effect like my other camera have and the aperture range is quite limited - 3.5 to 8.0 at the wide end and 6.5 to 8.0 at the long end.

And the shutter speed tops out at 1/2000 sec.

Using Aperture Priority, I was sometimes getting overexposed shots without the camera warning me. And with Shutter Priority, I would get under exposed shots without the camera warning me. So I decided upon "P" mode for this camera and now the shots are exposed correctly.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

:thumbup:

BigWahoo Loc: Kentucky

I have a Fuji. It will shoot in Raw and yes I have printed larger than 11 x 14.

Bridge camera is more flexible than a point and shoot and most offer super zoom.

Google Fuji S1.

m_aronson Loc: San Jose, CA

I have had 3 Panasonic bridge cameras and have been happy with all of them (simple to use, great zoom range, fully functional). You can pick up a used DMZC FZ200 with f2.8 lens inexpensively on eBay. I have the latest model (FZ1000) which takes 4K video. That's not at all important to me, but I like the versatility of the long zoom range along with the 20 Mpixel camera.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I'm jealous.

4K video might mean more to you if you try something. Shoot 10 seconds or so of your dog, cat, spouse or something that moves a little. Use Lightroom or something to pick the best frame, make a "frame grab" and print it at around 8x10.

If you don't like Lightroom, lots of software will do it. I'm not sure, but I think you can do it in the camera too.