Nikon P900 vs. Canon SX50 HS: I am looking for a backup camera; has anyone received/bought the Nikon P900 camera yet? I am considering placing my order for one but I am concerned about...

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

I am looking for a backup camera; has anyone received/bought the Nikon P900 camera yet? I am considering placing my order for one but I am concerned about preliminary reports indicating that, regardless of the great P900's 83X zoom capabilities, the quality of images taking with the SX50 HS are far superior.

I gave my daughter the Canon this past week and I am impressed with some of the pictures she took in our backyard and at the beach. See below; not bad for a truly novice.

Your comments and feedback will be appreciated.

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Here is an idea:

www.snapsort.com is a website the compares cameras, Julian. Does a nice job of comparing those two cameras. Gives the P900 the win, however. Take a look. But -- the SX is a lot less money, so might be worth trading off the P900's better features as this will not be your prime camera.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

insman1132 wrote:

Here is an idea: www.snapsort.com is a website that compares cameras, Julian. Does a nice job of comparing those two cameras. Gives the P900 the win, however. Take a look. But -- the SX is a lot less money, so might be worth trading off the P900's better features as this will not be your prime camera.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
However accurate they may be, statistics don't create great images, Julian, cameras do. As your daughter's excellent pictures suggest, "save the doe (dough)". She is not a "novice" in any sense of the term.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

rjaywallace wrote:

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
However accurate they may be, statistics don't create great images, Julian, cameras do. As your daughter's excellent pictures suggest, "save the doe (dough)". She is not a "novice" in any sense of the term.

Makes sense! Thank you for your comment.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

insman1132 wrote:

Here is an idea:

www.snapsort.com is a website the compares cameras, Julian. Does a nice job of comparing those two cameras. Gives the P900 the win, however. Take a look. But -- the SX is a lot less money, so might be worth trading off the P900's better features as this will not be your prime camera.

Thank you. I will check snapsort.com.

Mr PC Loc: Austin, TX

I chose a refurbished SX-50 direct from Canon recently as a backup even though I'm a Nikon guy. Would I rather have a P900? Sure. But for $179.99 I got a great camera. I've used Nikon superzooms over the years, the P90 and P500, and loved them. But as a backup with more reach than my Sigma 150-500, an SX-50 is a steal... My 2 cents.

JPL

Julian wrote:

Thank you. I will check snapsort.com.

Do not rely too much on snapsort.com It is a crap website that is very misleading and bases their score mostly on how many people are showing interest in cameras by searching for them on the internet and the technical features or quality of the cameras have a very limited value in the score. This is by far the worst website to look for useful info about new cameras.

I have bought, but not yet received the P900. I am not expecting image quality anywhere near that you get from cameras with bigger sensors. But I have looked at lot of pictures taken with the P900 and also some comparisons with the popular Canon SX50 and there is very little difference in the image quality. If anything, it seems a bit better in some situations for the P900, but it is nothing that makes real difference.

The criteria to evaluate is the price where the Canon wins, the zoom range where the P900 wins and then technical features, where the camera wins that has what you are after.

jcboy3

Nikon P900 does not shoot RAW, while the Canon SX50 HS does.

These days, I wouldn't buy a camera that didn't shoot RAW.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Two years ago I tried a friend's Nikon P510 and didn't care for the feel of it at all. I bought the Canon SX50 and have never looked back :)

I had a Canon Rebel XT SLR for 4 years, and now the Canon T3i for 2+, so it could be the fit of the Canon was more familiar. Don't discount how the camera feels in your hands and if you like the position of various buttons and menus.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

Mr PC wrote:

I chose a refurbished SX-50 direct from Canon recently as a backup even though I'm a Nikon guy. Would I rather have a P900? Sure. But for $179.99 I got a great camera. I've used Nikon superzooms over the years, the P90 and P500, and loved them. But as a backup with more reach than my Sigma 150-500, an SX-50 is a steal... My 2 cents.

Sounds good and the price is right. Thank you

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

JPL wrote:

Do not rely too much on snapsort.com It is a crap... (show quote)

Thank you. Good analysis.

JPL

A good way to compare and check what to expect in a camera is to look at flickr.

For pictures taken with Nikon P900 you can look here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2751059@N20/pool/page1

For pictures taken with Canon SX50 you can look here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2082775@N20/pool/

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

jcboy3 wrote:

Nikon P900 does not shoot RAW, while the Canon SX50 HS does.

These days, I wouldn't buy a camera that didn't shoot RAW.

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

JPL wrote:

A good way to compare and check what to expect in a camera is to look at flickr.

For pictures taken with Nikon P900 you can look here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2751059@N20/pool/page1

For pictures taken with Canon SX50 you can look here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/2082775@N20/pool/

Thank you. Two great sites.

Julian Loc: Sarasota, FL

Mr PC wrote:

I chose a refurbished SX-50 direct from Canon recently as a backup even though I'm a Nikon guy. Would I rather have a P900? Sure. But for $179.99 I got a great camera. I've used Nikon superzooms over the years, the P90 and P500, and loved them. But as a backup with more reach than my Sigma 150-500, an SX-50 is a steal... My 2 cents.

Where did you order yours from? The best price of a refurbished SX-50 I can find is from Canon at $386.00