JohnSmallTX

About 5 years ago I upgraded from a Kodak Easy Share to a Canon T3 Rebel and Canon’s EF-S 18 – 55mm, EF-S 10 – 18 mm, and EF 70 – 300mm lens.

I’ve progressed from Full Auto to AV and feel comfortable with manually manipulating some of the settings. Haven’t got to the point of going fully manual, but I’m headed in that direction.

My pictures are the usual walking-around, birds, and miscellaneous wild life. Not much on video or sports pictures.

For some time I’ve had a vague feeling that I’d like to make another hardware upgrade. Hopefully this upgrade will provide a similar quantum leap as the first one.

My GAS attack became particularly acute when the Canon EOS R was announced.

There are a few R features that have really caught my eye (yes, I know, just a good case of GAS). In particular; EVF, information display panel on the top, advanced Autofocus, and Wi-Fi / Bluetooth.

HOWEVER, recently a colleague was raving about his camera – a Nikon P900. He acquired it for an Africa photo safari. The other day he showed me some of his P900 pictures. He started out with a picture of a large bushy tree. After I eyed it for a moment, he asked me to look very closely to see if I could spot the leopard in the tree – I couldn’t. This picture was taken at the P900’s lowest ZOOM. Next he showed me a picture of the same tree at approximately half of maximum ZOOM – I could plainly see the leopard’s face/eyes and spotted skin. A very nice picture. Next he showed me a picture taken at full ZOOM – holy mackerel. I could see the pupils in the leopard’s eyes and the whiskers on its face. SOOC the picture’s detail and color was incredible.

He also mentioned the big advantage of the P900 was having a built in ZOOM lens. During the safari people in his group were busy messing around setting up their cameras/lens while he was taking pictures. He mentioned that his pictures were just as good of quality as the more sophisticated cameras/lens.

So, I’m going back and forth between an R or a P900 (or its big brother P1000). I’ll have to settle on only one camera.

I realize that:

the R (particularly, coupled with the new Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens lens) is considerably more money than the P900 (or its big brother P1000), but that’s OK.

there are other brands/models of cameras out there; but for now, I’d like to focus on the R and the P900 (or its big brother P1000).

Canon recently announced the EOS RP. I’m Ho-Hum regarding the RP.

with the R lens adapter, I can use my existing EF-S and EF lens.

the P900 (or its big brother P1000) takes some VERY nice pictures. The built-in ZOOM is amazing.

I could buy a P900 (or its big brother P1000) and give it a try. If I didn’t like it – sell it and then buying the R. Using the buy/sell as a learning experience.

I’d like to get a camera system that is a considerable step up from the T3 and provides head-room as my photography skills increase.

I’d appreciate any thoughts, cautions, or guidance that would assist me in making a decision between two very nice cameras.

Also, any comments regarding the new RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens would also be appreciated.

My apologies for the long post, but it’s complicated.

Many Thanks for your thoughts / inputs.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Theris no getting around the fact that mega-zoom bridge cameras can have a "reach" impractical to obtain with an Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC). However, these cameras with more than 30X zoom have 1/2.33" sensors which are noisier and work poorly in low light compared to a DSLR. Like most things in life, they are a tradeoff. I have not felt it a problem with my Canon SX50 HS.

As far as the EOS RP, it is a FF body. EF-S lenses will make vignetting. Unless there is a feature I'm not aware of, when you crop by the 1.6 Canon factor instead of 27MP you will wind up with only 27MP/1.6/1.6=10.5 MP a step DOWN from your T3.

Canon does make a few APS-C mirrorless cameras if you want to use your EF-S lenses on a mirrorless. Examples are the M50 and M5.

Then again, the 80D is an APS-C DSLR that is a significant upgrade from your T3. Slightly lower in rank is the T77.

Haydon

The only two commonality these two have is the word cameras.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

On a computer, tablet or phone screen, or the preview screen on the camera - stuff looks pretty good. But printing will separate the real cameras from the toys. I think the lower limit for sensor size might be 1" - which will still allow you to get a decent enough image to print. But if you are looking for flat-out amazing quality, the R is one of the cameras that you are correct to consider, along with the exceptionally good list of lenses that you can get for it.

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Just some thoughts, John. I own both the P900 and the P1000. What your friend experienced with his P900 is typical. Great fast reach when you need it most!! The above comments are not necessarily wrong. Is it a High Quality DSLR with a High Quality Lens attached?? No. It is not. But unless you will be mostly printing larger than 8x10's I think you will be most happy. And if you are like most of us, you are not prepared to pay the costs involved with the purchase of a High Quality Camera/Lens combos, that still will fall far short of the P900's reach, unless, of course, you are doing professional photo work.

I wish you well in your decision and please use/enjoy your new camera in Good Health!

Benno

Hi John, I thought I would just add my thoughts. I use a Nikon DLSR and Fuji compact system camera. I am not a professional but I am very enthusiastic photographer. I enjoy taking wildlife shots and macro. I also do Astro photography for which I use my Nikon camera and a dedicated Atik camera. I too was fascinated by the reach of the Nikon P1000 but found myself going back and forth with various reviews that talked about the technicalities of the sensor size and the low light capabilities etc. and was almost put off buying it. But in the end I thought what the hell, I enjoy my photography and even if I didn't get on with the P1000 my wife would love it ( my wife likes bridge cameras and has a natural flare for composition...….very annoying). So I opted to take the plunge and I purchased the P1000 based on the incredible zoom. I have only had it a couple of weeks but my verdict, I love it. Most of my photography is daytime based so I don't have issues with low light noise, however I have taken shots at dusk and they have turned out very well. Its not a professional camera and it probably won't win you any prizes in a National Geographic competition but it has amazing reach and is capable of taking great images. I enjoy my photography and I enjoy the Nikon P1000. It's not going to suit everyone, but you can't deny a 3000mm reach in a £999 camera is amazing. It's not all about the test card analysis shots and the sensor size, its about how it works in practise and how it works for you. For me, I love it. I have even started to take some video of wildlife with this camera, which is something I have not done before.
Buy what is right for you John, be happy and enjoy your hobby.