Lighter Camera, longer zoom: I currently shoot with a Nikon 7100 with an 18-300 zoom which I plan to keep. However, it is heavy and I want to buy a lighter weight camera with a longer...

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

I currently shoot with a Nikon 7100 with an 18-300 zoom which I plan to keep. However, it is heavy and I want to buy a lighter weight camera with a longer zoom, 600mm would be good. Good picture quality is important. I've been looking at the Sony RX10 IV, however it is pretty pricey. Are there other cameras I should be looking at? Any recommendations/suggestions would be appreciated. This will probably be the last camera I purchase, so I'd like it to check off all, or most the boxes. Thanks.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

The Sony RX10 IV is near professional quality. Other options are Canon SX70, and any of the long zoom Panasonic cameras. Slightly less is cost is the Sony HX400 and it is similar to the RX10 IV but smaller sensor. The Nikon P1000 and P950 are big and heavy as compared to the other long zoom cameras.

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

Thanks, I'll check out the Sony HX 400 and Canon SX70HS against the RX 10IV.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

The Canon SX bridge camera series is amazing considering its sensor is so small, but they do not fit in a pocket for 24/7 service. The Sony RX-10 with the 1" sensor has companions with Panasonic and Canon compact zooms. My Panasonic TZ100 now several years old is excellent. I chose it because of a longer reach than the Sony of that day and because the TZ200 came out and the TZ100 dropped significantly in price.

These cameras are not for the faint of heart and have a vast menu equipped to do all the magic tricks of modern cameras. Your DSLR will gather dust in the closet.

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

dpullum wrote:

The Canon SX bridge camera series is amazing consi... (show quote)

Thank you. I'll check them out.

Robg

I have been using the Panasonic Lumix FZ300 and its predecessor, the FZ200 for 7 years and have taken it to the Serengeti, the Antarctic, and near Mt. Everest to name but a few. Until I killed the FZ200 in a sandstorm in Giza, they performed flawlessly. The FZ300, unlike the FZ200 is water and dust resistant so hopefully I won't kill it the same way!

The FZ300 is lightweight, zooms 25-600 (35mm equivalent). Shoots in RAW or JPG or both. Can do time lapse, in camera HDR, and many other features. The viewfinder and touch screen display are both excellent.

The Sony you mention is a fabulous camera and I tried it for a week after my FZ200 broke before firmly deciding to get the FZ300. The Sony is truly in a class of its own, but so is the price. It also weighs almost a pound more than the FZ300. I did some comparative shots, trying to see if the larger sensor in the Sony or any of its other features improved my results and I couldn't see very much difference. Not enough, anyway, to warrant the higher price and the increased weight. I value lightweight very highly and expect to value it higher every year (I'm in my mid 70's).

One feature of the FZ300 (or its predecessor) that you won't find in many other bridge cameras is that the widest aperture stays constant at F2.8 across the entire zoom range. That means I can shoot at F2.8 when zoomed to 600mm. Since the lens doesn't stop down when I zoom, I can shoot at a faster shutter speed than if the lens stopped down as it zooms. A faster shutter speed reduces the risk of blur either because the animal is moving or due to shake. I don't like weight in my camera nor in my accessories so I travel without a tripod and have rarely missed not having one along.

Below are some examples of photos that I've taken with these cameras. The Orca is at 515 mm (not quite fully zoomed) at F2.8, Torres del Paine at the 25 mm wide angle setting (it's also been cropped). The giraffes are in the middle of the zoom range.

Reticulated giraffes in Samburu, Kenya

(Download)

Orca tossing the penguin off South Georgia (why they are "killer whales")

(Download)

Torres del Paine, Chile, at dusk

(Download)

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"This will probably be the last camera I purchase...."

Then buy the RX10 IV. My wife loves hers and it probably is her last camera too!

All the other cameras suggested so far have smaller sensors.

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

bsprague wrote:

"This will probably be the last camera I purchase...."

Then buy the RX10 IV. My wife loves hers and it probably is her last camera too!

All the other cameras suggested so far have smaller sensors.

Thanks, I appreciate your advice.

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

Robg wrote:

I have been using the Panasonic Lumix FZ300 and it... (show quote)

Tina 2 Loc: New Hampshire

Thanks for your suggestions. I'll check out those cameras. I just turned 70, so thinking about the future, lighter is the way to go.

Bill_de Loc: US

Gene51 has produced some really nice work with the RX10 IV. If he doesn't chime in, contact him with a PM.

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

Bill_de wrote:

Gene51 has produced some really nice work with the RX10 IV. If he doesn't chime in, contact him with a PM.

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Thanks Bill. I won't pretend that my RX10M4 is a match for a 600mm lens on a full frame camera, or even a crop sensor, but for less critical work it is surprisingly good. I got mine for a trip to Ireland several years ago and was not disappointed.

I will turn 70 in July, and there is no way I am giving up my D800/D810 and collection of lenses. Or my Sony RX10M4 for that matter -

leftj Loc: Texas

Tina 2 wrote:

I currently shoot with a Nikon 7100 with an 18-300 zoom which I plan to keep. However, it is heavy and I want to buy a lighter weight camera with a longer zoom, 600mm would be good. Good picture quality is important. I've been looking at the Sony RX10 IV, however it is pretty pricey. Are there other cameras I should be looking at? Any recommendations/suggestions would be appreciated. This will probably be the last camera I purchase, so I'd like it to check off all, or most the boxes. Thanks.

So making the decision based on price would be a bad move when you're buying a camera for life.

magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD

Check out the reviews on the new Fuji XS-10 body and new 70-300mm lens. Great performance at reasonable prices, and both are compact and lightweight.

leftj Loc: Texas

magpix wrote:

Check out the reviews on the new Fuji XS-10 body and new 70-300mm lens. Great performance at reasonable prices, and both are compact and lightweight.

She said she wanted 600mm zoom.