bdouglas

First time poster, so I'm sorry if this is a question that has been dealt with a million times already. I am going to South Africa next March with a group and need to get a decent camera for the trip. I am looking to buy a bridge camera with a good long zoom for safari photos realizing that the image quality will be compromised at full zoom. With the weight limits for all baggage, it seems to make sense to not take a camera with mulitple lens. This ultimately seems to me to come down to a Canon vs Nikon issue and from my research, it appears that it's a matter of opinion and actual results between the different options are about the same.
Anyway, the three that I am looking at are the Canon SX60 HS, Nikon B700, and Nikon P900. Several of the folks going on the trip have already bought the Nikon P900 since it has the longest zoom. I am leaning towards either the Canon or the B700 since they are lighter and smaller than the P900. I am looking for thoughts on these choices and if anyone has experience with any of these cameras (good or bad) or if there is another camera that I am not considering that I should think about. I may be over-thinking this decision.
Thank you for your responses, Bill

allan catt Loc: gillingham,kent,uk

Have a look at LUMIX range

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

Bill, I understand the appeal of these bridge cameras. The long, l-o-n-g zoom being the main one and the light weight, another. But like everything in life there is a trade-off. To get the extra long zoom, the sensor must be very small. This comes from laws of physics that you can look up online. This means that you cannot get a decent wall-size print. When I had one of these, I actually won an on-line photo contest. I was very pleased and wanted to print it for my wall. The problem was that the image began to deteriorate as I passed 8x10 and was terrible by 11x14.

I recommend you consider either a Fuji xt-2, xt-20 or Sony a6300, or a6000. All of these are light, reasonably priced, and can mount an 18-200 or other lens of better quality which will actually get you far better photos than the long zoom. They all have 24mpxl aps-c sensors. I regularly print wall prints 16x20 and 20x30 even after some heavy cropping.

Some great photos have been taken with the long zooms. I've heard great things about the SX-50 and 60 and the P900. But with long zooms, you have to contend with camera shake, dust particles in the air between you and the target, lighting conditions. Few really good images are the result.

Of course, this is just my opinion, YMMV.

allan catt Loc: gillingham,kent,uk

LUMIX DMC-LZ30E-K 35x. LUMIX DMC-FX01EB 60x. LUMIX DMC-LZ40EB 42x these cameras have LEICA LENSES

bdouglas

Thank you for your quick response. I will look at your recommended cameras. I feel like I would not take many photos at maximum zoom since the safari operators get pretty close to the animals. Do you think the quality of the photos would improve at closer range with the bridge cameras?

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I am considering the same 3 cameras you are for the same reason - trip to Africa. An additional camera I have been considering is the Sony RX10 iii. It only goes out to 600mm, but it has a larger sensor than the other 3. FWIW, I am still undecided, but seem to be leaning toward the Sony. Another possibility would be one of the Panasonic Lumix P&S. My husband just bought one after his old Sony went belly up and so far so good. He will only shoot with a P&S. His philosophy is if it does not fit in his pants pocket, it's just too much gear. Fine by me since I get to use his weight allowance for my gear!

JPL

None of those cameras is a good choice. What you should be looking at is a bridge camera with 1" sensor. Much better image quality there. The zoom range is more limited but should be ok for this kind of trip.
Look at Sony, Panasonic or Leica. I think Canon also has one camera of this kind.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Take a serious look at the Sony RX10 III. Probably one of the best 24-600mm zoom lenses in existence with an excellent 1" sensor!

bwa

bdouglas

Wow, great info. Thank you everyone for your responses. Seems like I have a lot of things to consider. Does anyone have any hands on experience with the three that I was thinking about?

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I know that Howard5252 purchased and returned the Nikon P900 and replaced it with the Sony RX10 iii. His experience with the P900 is what put me off it and got me leaning to the Sony.

whwiden

I recently used a Nikon B700 as a backup camera in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. I thought it did very well. I like that it can save a RAW file. I have printed one shot at 12 x 18 that came out well. It is smaller and less money than the Nikon P900. Many other shots looked quite good from that camera.

wmurnahan Loc: Bloomington IN

I would recommend the Sony RX10 III, has a bigger 1" sensor with a big zoom.

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

If you want a good bridge camera with a decent zoom lens, but also want nice image quality that will result in good prints, I think the way to go is the Sony RX10iii. All the professional reviews give it high marks. The lens is amazing and zoom length resonable. And the 1" type sensor will give you larger prints without sacrificing quality. It's expensive, but probably well worth it in the long run.

JPL

I have the P900 and in some ways I like it. But it does not give me the image quality I want when doing those "once in a lifetime" trips. Now I am in South Korea for one month and I did not take the P900 with me. I am using a Nikon 1 J2 with 2 lenses and it has 1" sensor, I am also using a Sony A7r with 3 lenses, it has full frame sensor, and I am using my phone a lot. It is a Nokia Lumia 1020 and I prefer it for close up shots and videos. It has about twice as big sensor as the P900 and lot more megapixels and better image quality. The P900 did not make it on the trip because the image quality is not compatible with the stuff I took with me.

My advice to you is to look mainly at 3 bridge cameras, the Sony RX10iii and the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 and FZ2500. The Sony is more expensive and has longer zoom. The Panasonic FZ 1000 is about $800 and has 4k video in addition to be generally a very good camera according to reviews. The FZ2500 model also has 4k and a bit longer zoom then the FZ1000. One of those would be my choice if I was in your situation.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Try some comparisons -

(Reviews) https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCameraStoreTV/videos
http://www.cameradecision.com/
http://cameras.reviewed.com/
http://camerasize.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
http://snapsort.com/compare
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=mainmenu&utm_medium=text&ref=mainmenu