Some interesting size comparisons -- superzooms vs. each other and vs. DSLRs

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
superzoom size front.JPG

superzoom size top.JPG

superzoom size with P600.JPG

superzoom size with DSLR telephoto.JPG

Those are Nikon D3300s on the end. The biggest lens is a Nikon f/4 600mm; the smaller one is a Sigma 150-500mm. The camera in the middle is a Nikon 1 V3 with the 70-300. The camera at the extreme left is the FZ200 and next to it, the Nikon P900.

Cheers, Jock
 
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How is the Nikon working out at the long end, Sue?
Much better than I expected, Steve. I'm very happy with it. As long as you don't expect more of it than its capable of, its great. I can even hand hold, but I have discovered that on pressing the shutter release, I move the camera. I've always done that but with a shorter focal length its usually OK. I was trying to get a shot of a local magpie baby yesterday and I cut its legs off. Hilarious. However, being aware of that, one compensates. I guess the lesson for using really long f/l is that you crop and resize to a smaller shot, and use DFine2 or similar with care. I do that anyway :) I never post full size and especially not with a small sensor photograph. One needs to recognise the limitations :)
 
Here's a more successful effort :) (It clearly has spotted me, even at distance, and is a bit anxious about what I am up to. It did not move until I put the camera down)

image.jpg


I think it worked out OK.
ISO100, focal length 258mm (thats as long as it goes..1440mm eq I think) and f/6.5 (not really much option with the aperture) :)

There are a few places I have photographed in the past, that I want to revisit with a longer lens, so when the weather warms up a bit, again, I'll be out and about, and really see what this thing can do. But, as I say, so far, very happy, and I dont even mind no RAW.
 
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At times I wonder if I should buy one of this new bridge cameras. But if I ever need a long range equivalent I adapted a 18-200mm VRI or a Tamron 70-300mm on a J3.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/grillec/19132489986/in/photostream/lightbox/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/grillec/18536103594/in/photostream/lightbox/
(equiv. of 810mm)

Sure, if thats the focal length you are happy with. The trouble was, when I wanted to get the nesting swan, my Panasonic, which gets that kind of f/l (perhaps a bit longer) with its optical + digital zoom... just was not long enough. Thats why I went looking for something else. I had initially considered buying the 70-300 CX mount but it was too rich for me, and also, would not have done the job I wanted. I have a Tamron 70-300 too, but I found using it with my J1 or V1 to be a bit of a PITA. The P610 is light, and easy.
 
If I would create a statistic with my most used focal length, the 300mm wouldn't be in the top rank. Here my matter was not the maximum of focal length but the consideration of a possible buy of any bridge camera and not if I need an angle of view of 810mm or 1440mm. The all-in-one in a relativly small package is the thema.

If I had to decide my choice would go to the RX10, because the J3 and most bridge cameras don't deliver the open aperture value and a 1" sensor.
The maximum flash sync speed would be another argument for a bridge cam.
 
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If I had to decide my choice would go to the RX10, because the J3 and most bridge cameras don't deliver the open aperture value and a 1" sensor.
The maximum flash sync speed would be another argument for a bridge cam.

As long as the RX10's focal range works for you, I don't think there's any question that would be a better choice. But you know that happens to camera prices as they age and are about to be replaced. So you might want to keep your eyes peeled for a Panasonic FZ200 on closeout in the next few months. It might be a relatively inexpenaive bridge camera that you can pick up in addition to the Sony for some experimentation.
 
Thanks, but until I've decided if I need a bridge camera - the new version RX10 MkII was announced and Sony is known for stopping firmware support and dropping the price for replaced tech. So I hope for a cheap MkI.
 
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