Need suggestions for buying a bridge camera within 20K-25K range

anujs

Broken In
Hi,

I am planning to buy a bridge camera within the range of 20K-25K. This will be my first bridge camera. Basically first camera other than normal point & shoot camera. I do not want DSLR with different lenses. So a bridge camera will solve my purpose.
Here are my requirements:
1. Camera should have excellent zoom range.
2. Camera should give good picture quality (even at maximum zoom).
3. Camera should shoot decent pictures in low light conditions also.
4. Battery life should be decent.
5. Preferably with an auto focus and manual focus.
6. A viewfinder also.
7. Camera should be able to take instant pictures of sports or fast moving objects.
8. Preferably an Autofocus assist lamp also.
9. Camera should have good flash range.
10. Camera should have good (maximum and minimum) shutter speed.

GPS is not really required and video recording is also not that important.

I know, I have asked too much for a bridge camera (all of these requirements can be fulfilled by a DSLR camera only), but still I request all of you to provide your inputs based on your experiences and suggest me the best bridge camera (even other than the few selected by me).

I have checked the reviews of Nikon Coolpix P510, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V, Canon PowerShot SX40 HS & Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ150. But some of these cameras are outdated and old. For example: Panasonic FZ150 was launched more than a year ago and is not easily available in the market now. Also its zoom range (24X) is less as compared to new cameras (which is > 30X). Canon SX40 is also more than a year old.

Initially I thought of buying Nikon P510, but reviews about its autofocus on zoom range are very bad. Also it cannot take good shots in low light. There is no manual zoom & battery life is also very poor.

Then I thought of buying Sony HX200V, but I cannot find much reviews on internet about this camera. Moreover most of the people suggests Nikon or Canon cameras only.

Note: I have already gone through other threads regarding the same queries, but those are 2-3 months old now. In one of the thread Panasonic FZ150 emerged as winner. But again that thread is now 2-3 months old. Another thread suggested Sony HX200V, but the main reason for suggesting that was, because of video shooting requirement.

I request nac, marvelousprashant, sujoyp and other respected members of the forum to suggest me the best bridge camera within my range.
 

marvelousprashant

Cyborg Agent
Buy canon SX40HS without thinking twice. Because it is going to disappear soon. It is awesome. Low light capabilities are amazing and it is very sharp even at its telephoto end. And it has plenty of manual controls
 
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anujs

Broken In
Buy canon SX40HS without thinking twice. Because it is going to disappear soon. It is awesome. Low light capabilities are amazing and it is very sharp even at its telephoto end. And it has plenty of manual controls

@marvelousprashant: Thanks a lot for your advice. I am impressed by the suggestion that you made. I checked Canon SX40HS reviews and found it to be very good. However, I have only three concerns with Canon SX40HS. First: It's LCD resolution is very low as compared to new cameras. Second: The resolution of EVF is even less and I read somewhere on the net that it is not good at all. Third: This camera wont be able to take panorama pics. Other than this all other features are good. Do I have any other option according to you?
 

nac

Aspiring Novelist
I think SX40 has already disappeared.

Even though they are old, in this budget still they stand the same...
FZ150
SX40
HX200

Else you can increase your budget to 28.5k and buy FZ200 or go for travel zoom with SX240 (16k).
 

marvelousprashant

Cyborg Agent
I found 1 deal Buy Canon Sx40 Hs Point Online. Lowest Price of Canon Sx40 Hs Point in India. To buy Samsung Galaxy mobile phone. Specification and Reviews of Canon Sx40 Hs Point , Best place to buy Canon Sx40 Hs Point Online. BrokenGlass Designs
Don't know if it is reliable

Panorama is a complicated procedure and only Sony cams give decent result with in-camera stitching

Canon has Panorama assist mode... but I prefer CHDK overlay mode for taking pics that can be stitched on PC. Canon also provides a panorama software for PC and plenty of third party options available.

LCD resolution is low... but again it is more than good for composing the shot. Color reproduction is good. Brightness is good. And it is flexible

EVF is useless except in low light situations

SX50's price might come down soon to ~ 26K
 

nac

Aspiring Novelist
I found 1 deal Buy Canon Sx40 Hs Point Online. Lowest Price of Canon Sx40 Hs Point in India. To buy Samsung Galaxy mobile phone. Specification and Reviews of Canon Sx40 Hs Point , Best place to buy Canon Sx40 Hs Point Online. BrokenGlass Designs
Don't know if it is reliable
At least it's available in some place.

SX50's price might come down soon to ~ 26K
MRP is 30k, street price will be around 26k... May be we can expect this price during this festival times...
 

marvelousprashant

Cyborg Agent
Is sx50 really available for 26k? Strongly recommended. It shoots RAW without CHDK. Has better ois and sensor than sx40
 
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nac

Aspiring Novelist
Is sx50 really available for 26k? Strongly recommended. It shoots RAW without CHDK. Has better ois and sensor than sx40

No no I am not saying it's available. But we have seen Canon's price trend of their latest SX series cameras SX240/260, SX500...

But now with coupons we can get it for 26500/-
 
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anujs

Broken In
Hi,

@marvelousprashant & @nac: Thanks for your suggestions.
Just wanted to know:
Is Canon SX50Hs better then the rest right now?
Have you guys checked it's performance as compared to other bridge cameras available in the market (Sorry for this weird question)?.

If I can afford it, will it be the best bet as of now and as compared to Panasonic FZ150 & Canon SX40HS?

Please suggest and thanks again for providing your valuable suggestions.
 

marvelousprashant

Cyborg Agent
SX50 is definitely better than SX40 and FZ150. Ive seen some shots and they are pretty good. ISO400 images are noise free. ISO800 is okayish. 1600 is just usable.

But you will need a tripod for shooting at maximum zoom. Applying thumb rule the minimum shutter speed at max zoom in handheld mode will be 1/1200s which isn't very helpful except for outdoor daylight shots. Only bridge that will beat SX50 is FZ200
 
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anujs

Broken In
@marvelousprashant: So according to you following are the cameras in the order of their preference:
1. Panasonic FZ200
2. Canon SX50 HS
3. Panasonic FZ150
4. Canon SX40 HS
5. Sony HX200

I should follow the same order for buying (if budget allows). Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

@nac: Please provide your feedback also.

I request other forum members also to give their inputs.
 

marvelousprashant

Cyborg Agent
^
Is SX50 that good?

Canon Bridge cams are underrated because of FZ series. They are very good. Although 50x zoom is not very useful... but 26-27k price is great for it.

Your sequence should be :
FZ200
FZ150
SX50
SX40

It is not just about features but also VFM
 

nac

Aspiring Novelist
Canon Bridge cams are underrated because of FZ series.

Probably you are right... It couldn't match Panny's focusing speed, (Canon's focusing is not pathetic either) SX40 was very good indeed. One of the first compact camera to get Digic 5. Now I/we see what Digic 5 could do with your work :) With CHDK we could enable many more features. If Canon could include barrel/ring type zoom and external mic jack, then it would be excellent...
 
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anujs

Broken In
@marvelousprashant: In my current scenario and budget, I think:

1. I cannot go for Panasonic FZ200 as it is 10K more than my budget. The price on Panasonic site for FZ200 is 35K.
2. I am bit hesitant to buy Panasonic FZ150 as it is outdated now and not easily available in the market also.
3. I can buy Canon SX50 HS if I can get it at 25K-26K price range.
4. I am bit hesitant to buy Canon SX40 HS also for the same reason as for Panasonic FZ150.

What are the chances of price coming down for Canon SX50 HS before Diwali?
Also please suggest if my decision is fine considering my budget?
 
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anujs

Broken In
Fz200 is 29k on ebay if you can extend upto that

I cannot go beyond 26K :(

@marvelousprashant & @nac:
Other than aperture (f/2.7 in SX40 & f/3.4 in SX50) and max shutter speed (1/3200s in SX40 & 1/2000s in SX50), I don't see any other disadvantage in SX50 HS as compared to SX40 HS. Where will these disadvantages (aperture difference and max shutter speed difference) affect the picture quality or any other thing while taking pictures. I want to know what will I not be able to do because of these disadvantages.

Also the things that I will not be able to do or difference in picture quality due to above mentioned disadvantages, will those be very noticeable.

Please explain in detail.
 

nac

Aspiring Novelist
From ebay you can get

FZ200 for 28200/-
SX50 for 26500/-

I don't doubt the quality of pictures SX50 could make but I don't know how Canon justifying this (f/3.4 from f/2.7) move.
Those f number is about the size of the door like thingy in the camera (aperture) which lets the light into the sensor. Higher the no. smaller the size, i.e., f/3.4 is smaller than f/2.7 thus f/3.4 lets less amount of light than f/2.7. If you get more light, you can shoot an exposure faster. With larger aperture (smaller no.) you can get better bokeh aka blur than smaller aperture.

If you can find FZ150 or SX40, buy that. If not increase your budget...

If you can't find one and can't increase your budget, that leaves HX200...
 
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anujs

Broken In
From ebay you can get

FZ200 for 28200/-
SX50 for 26500/-

I don't doubt the quality of pictures SX50 could make but I don't know how Canon justifying this (f/3.4 from f/2.7) move.
Those f number is about the size of the door like thingy in the camera (aperture) which lets the light into the sensor. Higher the no. smaller the size, i.e., f/3.4 is smaller than f/2.7 thus f/3.4 lets less amount of light than f/2.7. If you get more light, you can shoot an exposure faster. With larger aperture (smaller no.) you can get better bokeh aka blur than smaller aperture.

If you can find FZ150 or SX40, buy that. If not increase your budget...

If you can't find one and can't increase your budget, that leaves HX200...

@nac: I can buy Canon SX50 HS at 26,500/-. Please give your camera preference in buying order (top being most preferred and last being least preferred) as marvelousprashant did few posts ago.

Also please explain about shutter speed difference in HX40 & HX50. what impact will it have?
 

nac

Aspiring Novelist
Anu,
Shutter speed is how long that "window" will be open to let the light in.

Don't worry much about shutter speed if you have no problem using hack (hopefully it will be out in few months...).

FZ200
FZ150
I don't know which one is better here SX40 or SX50... May be both are equally good or I may like SX40 for it's faster lens...
 
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