LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

I am planning a river cruise (Rhine and Danube) this fall, and want to capture the trip. I suspect that I will need a long lens to capture sites on shore from the boat, and a moderate zoom for shore excursions.

Note that I have severe mobility issues, and will not be able to carry a dslr with long zoom (even a m4/3).

I picked up a used Lumix FZ200 to use on the boat (the constant f2.8 lens intrigues me), and a Canon s110 for excursions. I believe these will cover what I need.

I know that I will be giving up some image quality over a DSLR/Mirrorless, but how much?

If you have experience with either of these cameras, please advise. Budget is tight, so please skip recommendations for Sony rx100 or similar.

Bayou

You will find it challenging to use a long zoom on a moving, vibrating boat. You also have mentioned mobility issues. Perhaps your best success will be shooting only in bright daylight with a high shutter speed. The fast lens on the FZ200 also helps facilitate this. Shutter preferred auto mode and 1/1000 or so might work well. Be sure, of course, that image stabilization is turned on. Tripods are a nonstarter on a smallish riverboat, but perhaps a monopod would be helpful.

I have a similar bridge camera, a Fuji S1 that I have had remarkable success with on boats/ships, given the tiny sensors of these cameras. Despite their drawbacks, those little sensors also give tremendous depth of field which is beneficial to shooting distant landscape and cityscapes.

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

I have a Canon SX710HS. It has a long zoom.

Try this. Take a small pillow, or use the one from the boat and use it between the camera and any surface on the boat.

Buildrt Loc: Sarasota Fl

I took a river boat trip from Hungary to the Netherlands in 2017. I had my 7100 and a P520. I did use the little bridge camera quite a bit, there is very little vibration or movement on these boats and you are never very far from shore.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

The Sony HX99 (only $400.00 new) has a Zeiss 24-720 mm zoom, shoots RAW, has a pop up viewfinder for outdoor shooting, pop up flash for auto fill flash, shoot pans, has a articulated rear screen for low level shooting and I have printed 20X30 prints without issue. This is my main travel camera, fits into my belt pouch so I am always hands free. Next to last shot was taken on the Rhine. Also took it on the Danube.
Travel right, travel lite.

canonuser25 Loc: Cardiff (Wales NOT England)

I have the Lumix. Good images esp from some of the presets (e.g.through glass). Don't go beyond f8 tho'- get artefacts. Enjoy the trip

jjanovy Loc: Lincoln, Nebraska

My go to camera in these situations is a Canon SX710 and I’m happy with it. There are some newer versions, which have a longer optical zoom.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

Thanks. That is the kind of info that I was looking for.
I am not planning to buy new equipment, unless the stuff that I have is not suitable.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

I have a Canon SX50HS 50x Zoom (not sold new any more, but can be found for skinny money used). It's a 50x zoom with IS and I can take pretty darned good shots hand held, even at full telephoto. However, it is only a 12 MP sensor so you not going to make super large prints.

There is also now the SXC70HS with a 20MP sensor and 65x telephoto zoom (21-1365mm equivalent). It also has IS and can shoot 4k video. It's around $600 new I think. Based on my good experience with the SX 50, if I was going to buy another camera for a trip like yours, given the need for long zoom and light weight, it would probably be something like the SX70HS.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV. Not cheap but has a ZEISS 24-600MM lens. PQ is outstanding!!

donspears Loc: Joshua, TX

The wife and I just did the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise and I found that 95% of my shots were with the Oly Pen f with the 14-150. The balance of shots were with the Sony RX100 IV mostly on the inside of the river boat. Long reach telephoto I found to be to much as most of the photos were scenery and architecture.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

Thanks.
I assumed that 300mm reach would be plenty. However, FZ200 goes out to about 600, which I may need if my mobility issues don't improve. That is why the constant f2.8 lens (faster shutter speeds) attracted me.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Unless you are in a money spending mood, the FZ200 and S110 will serve you just fine. I’ve made a few cruises on the Rhine and Danube. While on the boat, most shore shots were with a Canon SX50 or SX60, which are bridge cameras like your LUMIX, but with approx twice the range but without the constant f/2.8 aperture. The small Canon S95-S120 Powershot cameras are good workhouses but are long in the tooth. I think the S110 is 24-120 equiv? One of my favorite in the series was/is the S100, which has built in GPS. The S110 added Wi-Fi but took away the GPS. It does a decent job and is easily pocketable. However, make sure you test it thoroughly at various focal lengths. The S110 series have a history of softness. If your images exhibit a soft focus at the long end, you may be one of the unlucky owners. I still use my S100 after converting it to IR. I’ve owned 2 S110s and abandoned both due to the focus issue. You can still manually focus but that quickly turns into a PITA. If you are willing to spend a few bucks and still something pocketable for shore excursions, I suggest a used LUMIX ZS70 or ZS80 or a Canon SX series like the 600 or 700 series. Like the S110, they don’t have viewfinders and are less capable than the S110 but simpler. You mentioned that you aren’t looking for a more expensive Sony series, but the RX100 iii, which is 24-70 equivalent can be gotten used at a reasonable $325 or so, the RX100 iv, 28-100 equiv, can be found for about $450. Both are excellent but you may find the menu system a challenge. Some call it daunting; definitely, more so than the S110. Good luck! And more importantly, enjoy your trip.

Robin Dessureau

Nice photos for such a small camera, might need to check it out.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

Thanks to all those who responded.

Note that I have been shooting for almost 60 years, with almost every type of camera, so I think that I am pretty savvy about the technical stuff.

I was looking for feedback about the cameras that I already own. I have a closet full of equipment that I eliminated due to weight/size or feature limitations.

Side note: About 40-50 years ago, I read that most photos in National Geographic were taken in Auto mode. Some were pretty good, weren't they?