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| FZ80 |
I have been able to test and compare lenses of several fixed zoom lens cameras including compact and “bridge” types.
I test cameras which I buy retail and use for my own photographic projects. Nobody lends or gives me cameras and I have no connection with any person or entity which makes or sells photographic equipment.
I use multiple methods for this enterprise.
I have a test chart which is used to compare resolution and contrast, distortion and chromatic aberration. I also get out and about and make a lot of pictures in real world situations in good and poor light conditions.
I use RAW files for my comparisons to remove as far as possible the effects of JPG output.
The cameras are:
Canon SX60, Nikon P900, Nikon B700, Panasonic FZ1000, Panasonic FZ300, Panasonic FZ80, Panasonic TZ80, Sony RX100 (4).
Comparing the P900 with the others was difficult as this camera does not offer RAW capture and fine details in JPG files lack resolution even with noise reduction set to the minimum available.
I did not buy or test any of Sony’s small (7.67mm) sensor offerings as they do not permit RAW capture.
In this post I present my ranking of the lenses on overall capability as determined by my evaluation of sharpness, flare, aberrations and distortion across the focal length range.
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| FZ80 Lots of detail at 90mm equivalent |
The best
You would expect the cameras with the largest sensors and smallest zoom range to come out on top and they do. These are the Panasonic FZ1000 and Sony RX100(4).
My own experience and that of many reports is that there is considerable variation in the quality of the lenses in both these cameras. However best-of range samples of both cameras are really excellent, to the extent they should make photographers wonder why a larger sensor camera might be thought desirable.
The trade-off is of course that the zoom range is limited, to 2.9x on the RX100(4) and 16x on the FZ1000. In addition the FZ1000 is larger and heavier than the small sensor cameras (except the P900 which has a big lens).
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| FZ80 ISO 1600 Feeding time at the zoo. I like to push the camera to its limits to discover what it can do. This is a difficult shot for any camera. Subject brightness range is high, multiple lighting sources produce weird color balance, overall light levels are low, people are moving, there is a lot of detail to be recorded and the angle of view is wide. But with the help of my friend Adobe Camera Raw I think the result is reasonable. |
The rest
Each of the other cameras has a 7.67mm diagonal (a.k.a.1/2.3 inch) sensor and a much greater zoom range and in the case of the FZ300 a constant f2.8 lens.
My lens ranking is, with the best on top:
FZ80
P900 (provisional)
B700
FZ300
TZ80
SX60
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| FZ80. I like that the camera allows me to switch in a moment from distant landscapes or sport/action to flower closeups like this then make the shot hand held. |
Comment
FZ80 Our family has two copies of the FZ80 and both test well. This was something of a surprise as the lens specifications are the same as the FZ70 which gained a reputation for having a sub standard lens. I bought two old copies of the FZ70 for testing and found one was good at the long end, the other at the wide end. It seems the basic design is good, they just had to make it properly.
When I reviewed the B700 on 29 January 2017, I wrote “Nikon appears to have an edge over the competition with regard to lens quality, VR and to some extent picture quality but I doubt that will last forever”.
Well, here we are a few months later and the B700’s lens quality edge has gone. The FZ80 delivered better sharpness and contrast at all matched focal lengths and apertures.
P900 I have this provisionally in second rank. I would not be surprised if an update were to enable RAW files it might be at the top of the list. It certainly has a very ambitious and very good lens with very good VR.
B700 This has the same lens as the P600 and P610. It delivers good to very good results across the focal length range falling away somewhat at the long end with loss of contrast and flare around highlights. The VR is very good and overall picture quality good.
Both the Nikons are let down by the curse of the Coolpix which is a tediously slow processor producing sluggish performance with slow operation of all functions.
After using one of the Panasonics which are super fast, I never want to go back to the Nikons. I think the P900 and B700 represent a real missed opportunity for Nikon which could have dominated this category with their good lens, VR and IQ if only their performance was up to the task which it is not.
FZ300 Some readers might be surprised to see the well regarded FZ300 coming in at 4thplace. Our family has two copies of the FZ300 and both test about the same. This is not so suggest the les is bad because it is actually quite good. It is just that the B700 and FZ80 test slightly better for resolution across the focal length range. However the FZ300 produces less purple fringing and flare around highlights than the FZ80 and B700.
My tests found that the FZ300 lens delivers best results at f4 across the zoom range but f2.8 is still good. I found no advantage to stopping down smaller (larger f number) than f4.
The advantage of the FZ300 is that it is usually operating at a much wider aperture (2 or more stops) than the longer zoom models, which allows a lower ISO setting which offsets the slightly lower lens sharpness.
By the way our family had an FZ200 some time ago. On paper this camera has the same lens as the FZ300 but both our FZ300s are better than the FZ200. Maybe Panasonic has upgraded their quality control.
TZ80 Considering this camera’s diminutive size and huge zoom range the lens manages very well. But it cannot keep up with the bridge style models with a much larger lens housing.
SX60 Last and definitely least is Canon’s awful SX60. This camera has a nice handle but just about everything else about it is dreadful. Many users on Canon forums have commented that the previous SX50 had a better lens.
Canon is going backwards in this market sector. The SX60 was announced in 2014 and has a worse lens than the SX50 which arrived in 2012.
Has Canon lost interest in this camera type ? It would appear so.
I would like to have included the Sony HX400V or a successor with RAW output in this comparison but the lack of RAW output and absence of continuous AF with follow focus capability has prevented me from getting a Sony small sensor bridge type model.
I suspect Sony probably has the technology to match Panasonic in this space (after all, Panasonic is using Sony sensors) and would like to see what Sony could do if they really tried. I guess their corporate energies are taken up at the other end of the market at the moment, with the A9.
What about the Panasonic FZ2000/2500 ? There are many reports of variable lens quality affecting this camera so I did not include it. Reports on user forums have the best copies equal to the FZ1000, the worst copies somewhat less capable.
To be fair I should say there are reports of variable lens quality affecting all current and recent fixed zoom cameras. This is also my own experience with some such as the TZ/ZS 100 showing more variation than others. This does not inspire great confidence in the makers quality control.
Stabiliser
None of the superzoom cameras would be serviceable at the long end of the zoom without a stabiliser. Each has an effective stabiliser. On my formal tests they all appear to be equally effective however my impression from general photography is that Nikon’s VR is slightly more consistent than Panasonic’s OIS. All these cameras produce a percentage of blurred shots hand held as the lens is zoomed out, often with double imaging indicating that camera shake is not always fully corrected by the stabiliser. As I review my photos I find slightly fewer of these shots from the Nikons than the Panasonics.
Conclusion
There could be several winners of this comparison depending on the users priorities.
Best lens in a compact short zoom package: One of the Sony RX100 models.
Best lens in a bridge camera up to 400mm: Panasonic FZ1000.
Best lens up to 600mm with constant f2.8 aperture The only current model is the FZ300.
Best lens in a 7.67mm sensor bridge type superzoom FZ80.