I need a new ultra zoom, recommendations ??

[g8ina]

I need to get a new ultra zoom bridge camera and have narrowed it down to the Canon SX60 or the Lumix FZ82.

Has anyone got experience of either of these for a general wildlife / bug macro route ??

Merry Christmas

[Saracen999]

I have a Lumix, but not that one. It's old, and one of the tiny little units ... TZ-??. Overall impression is, for the money, very impressive camera. It is one of those with a "Leica" lens and, whatever the exact truth of that (i.e. actually Leica-made, or just licensed by them) I've been impressed. I did have a Canon 'bridge' but a LONG time ago. Again, for it's era and price, pretty good.

But at heart, I'm an SLR person. Have been since having a Practica in the, oh, early 70's, then a Canon EF (the camera, not the lens mount) after that. So, I kinda regard anything claiming to be both ultra-zoom and macro with, ummm, a bit of scepticism. I mean, lens technology has come a LONG way in recent years but even so, the demands on lens physics of those two are kinda polar opposites.

It does depend on expectations, though. I'm kind-of a macro fan, but that means a dedicated macro lens that does true 1:1, and I had a rather special Canon macro that did up to 5:1. By which I mean, the size of the image on the film/sensor was up to 5x the size of the actual object, e.g. bug. It was capable of fabulous results but a right bitch to use. You needed to be VERY close, lighting was a nightmare and the depth of field was about half that of the thickness of a razor blade. Hence, a macro twin-flash and focus-stacking.

So I'm probably not the right person to ask about 'macro' on a bridge.

[g8ina]

I use a Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 90mm dedicated macro, with a triple flash arrangement which lets me shoot at down to F40 ..... DOF of a whole 4mm But I only ever do hand held, single shot, no stacking and all subjects are live and in situ, not fridged....

But to go to Cyprus end of Feb with my LowePro camera rucksack with all the bits n pieces is going to be a pain, so I have permission to buy a new camera.

Now also looking at Nikon B700, but a kind local tog has lent me her FZ82 60x optical, and its bleddy good !!!!

[AGTDenton]

I need to get a new ultra zoom bridge camera and have narrowed it down to the Canon SX60 or the Lumix FZ82.

Has anyone got experience of either of these for a general wildlife / bug macro route ??

Merry Christmas

I have it's predecessor the FZ72 which from a resolution point of view is showing its age. But the camera is feature rich in options. The biggest downside I have with it is the display on the screen is too dim in daylight. It's impossible on a sunny day to review or see clearly what you are about to take a photo of. Of course it has the normal viewfinder but irritating to use when you wear specs.
The zoom is absolutely phenomenal and I'll try and upload some shots at some point for you.
I want the FZ82 as well, it's quite the step up from the FZ72, there were rumours of a FZ92, but it's clear bridge cameras are disappearing and no sign of a revival.