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Preening lorikeets Panasonic Lumix FZ300 |
My favourite style of camera has for many years been the fixed zoom lens bridge type.
Bridge cameras hint at the possibility of being all things to all people. Of course they fall short of this ideal in various ways but some are better than others.
Some are even worth buying and using on a regular basis.
Compact and bridge cameras have been neglected in recent years as manufacturers scramble for dominance in the full frame mirrorless high spec, high performance category.
But there are still several bridge cams available new and their prices are holding up well which suggests that there are enough buyers for this camera type to keep the genre going.
The better bridge cams offer a lot of capability and versatility for their size and cost. In particular they have a superzoom lens the like of which you will not find on even the best smartphone cams, the user never has to change lenses and the pictures can be very nice indeed.
Here is a list of bridge cams for sale in Australia at the end of 2021 with prices in Australian dollars with GST included as listed from the same retailer for comparison, starting with the most expensive. I have only included those with a built in EVF above the optical axis and a proper handle. I have at various times over the years bought, owned and used at least one copy of each of these cameras except the Nikon P1000.
* Sony RX10.4. (2017) $1789 25x zoom range. This is the best specified of the bridge cams with the best image quality, capability and performance. I used one for several years and made many photos with it. If you want the best bridge cam this is it.
It’s a big thing though and I was never altogether happy with the user experience or the ergonomics. If I want big I have the option to use a full frame camera with a selection of lenses.
* Nikon P1000 (2018) $1499 125x zoom range !!! This thing is huge and the lens a wonder to behold. I never bought one as I realised long ago that using any camera with a lens over around 800mm (full frame equivalent) can be very difficult and consistently decent results difficult to achieve.
* Nikon P950 (P900 2015, P950 2020) $1399 83x zoom range. I had the P900 which was crippled by only offering JPG capture. The P950 allows Raw capture and has some other upgrades. I found this camera slow and unwieldy with barely acceptable image quality particularly at the long end of the zoom.
* Panasonic FZ2500 (2016) $1399 20x zoom range. This camera is optimised for video capture but the lens is a bit soft for best quality still photos.
* Panasonic FZ1000.2 (FZ1000 2014, FZ1000.2 2019) $1199 16x zoom range. When first released this was my pick as the best bridge cam available with a nice balance of price, features and capability. The Mk 2 is a mild upgrade and still a very nice all round camera which is a pleasure to use.
Red dot fanciers can buy a Leica branded version called V-Lux 5 which is exactly the same inside although it costs considerably more.
* Canon SX70 HS (2018) $759 65x zoom range. Many contributors to Canon user forums reckon the older SX50 is a better camera. I am not much impressed by the SX70. The specs might look impressive on paper but in use the camera delivers at best mediocre image quality, poor performance and it has a mediocre lens.
* Panasonic FZ300 (2015) $669 25x zoom range. This is the only camera in this group to feature a constant aperture (f2.8) lens right across the zoom range. I will come back to the FZ300 which has become my favourite bridge cam.
* Panasonic FZ80 (2017) $439 60x zoom range. This is an incredibly low priced camera with a big zoom lens. Unfortunately the image quality, performance, stabiliser, focussing and overall capability are at a low level so in my view whatever it costs is money not well spent.
Having spent most of the last two years exploring the capabilities of the Canon full frame RF system I had an urge to re-visit the simpler world of bridge camera photography.
Of the eight models listed above I rate only three as worth buying: Sony RX10.4, Panasonic Lumix FZ300 and Panasonic Lumix FZ1000.2.
My camera of choice for this return to the bridge cam genre is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300, a perennial favourite with bridge cam users.
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Considering the tiny 6.17 x 4.55mm sensor the FZ300 does a surprisingly good job with complex scenes like this one |
The RX10.4 and FZ1000.2 are on most objective metrics better cameras so why have I chosen the FZ300 ?
It goes like this: If the image quality of the FZ300 is good enough for my purposes and it mostly is then it matters not that another model might have better technical image quality. The buying decision shifts to other things like versatility, price, size/mass, ergonomics and the overall user experience. This includes the issue of likeability which cannot be described in numerical terms and is therefore often neglected by camera reviewers but is nevertheless very important.
The FZ300 is the most compact model in this group of eight. Together with a spare battery, microfiber cloth, two spare memory cards and a 52mm two element close-up filter, the camera with lens hood reversed fits nicely in a Think Tank mirrorless mover 10 carry bag.
It is the second least expensive of the group yet comes with a separate charger and power cord for the battery, a reversible lens hood, fully articulated touch screen monitor of good quality, a nice clear, sharp EVF with a big eyecup, comprehensive specification and set of user friendly controls and it can make good quality auto panorama photos in camera.
It is also listed by Panasonic as having “splash/dustproof construction with sealings on every joint, dial and button”.
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| Hakea Lumix FZ300 The camera is very suitable for flowers and large insects without the need for any accessory close-up attachments. Close -up image quality at f5.6 (equivalent to a full frame aperture of about f32) is rather nice. |
The lens is unique in the entire camera world in having a constant f2.8 aperture across the focal length range from 4.5-108mm (equivalent to full frame 25-600mm). This is labelled Leica DC vario-elmarit which is Leica-speak for an f2.8 zoom lens.
I believe the label reflects some input from Leica at the design stage although the lens is made by Panasonic. It has a quite advanced construction with 14 elements in 11 groups with 5 aspheric elements, 9 aspheric surfaces, 3 ED elements and nano surface coating.
It also features an optical stabiliser which Panasonic describes as being of “Five axis hybrid” type. My experience is that it works consistently well.
The FZ300 has many advanced video functions including good quality 4K video, 4K photo which is based on the video capability and many options for user control of video recording.
The FZ200/300 system also offers a range of dedicated accessories including a tele-conversion module, a close-up module and matched adapters.
In short the FZ300 is a proper camera with an unusually high level of specification, versatility and capability for its price and market position.
The FZ300 is an evolution of the popular FZ200 which appeared in Panasonic’s catalogue from 2012 to 2015. The listed specifications for the lens and sensor of the FZ300 are the same as those for the FZ200.
My own experience is that each of the several copies of the FZ300 which I have owned does everything including image quality and performance better than my copy of the FZ200 which I found a bit underwhelming. I have also found that my third and fourth copies of the FZ300 delivered better image quality across the focal length range than my first and second copies.
So Panasonic is making progressively better use of the same sensor and lens. Compared to the FZ200 there is a more capable processor, a firmware update and a different body with a better touch screen monitor, an upgraded EVF and upgrades to the stabiliser, autofocus and video.
I have to suspect there has also been improved quality control at all stages of the manufacturing process. The lens in particular requires optical elements of extremely high precision to be assembled with microscopic accuracy then move inside the lens barrel while zooming and focussing within extremely small tolerances.
After a week with my latest copy of the FZ300 (I think it is number 4) I have been agreeably surprised by the overall competence of this little bridge cam. I will be reporting further about my experiences using it.