Moving on from bridge camera

[Ganntak]

Hi all,I bought a Panasonic Lumix Fz72 60x zoom (my 1st and only camera) after seeing the Nikon P900 long shots and thinking how cool it was. So got the Fz72 which I love. Problem is it's only 16mp and all the other bridge cameras I've looked at only go to 20mp.
So I've been thinking about a second camera. I love talking photos on the river of boats, birds etc and love that I can take some great long shots then as the boat gets near wind the focus in and still take close up photos. As a total newbie I'm confused about what kind of camera would be able to be used in a similar fashion. I heard the Nikon 3500 is great for beginners with 24mp but if I got a long lens is it like a telescope it'll just be focused really far away and I won't be get closer shots without swapping to a different lens? The 60x zoom is great for birds etc but what lens would be equivalent to that?

 

[Soocom1]

First...
Don't chase megapixels.

Its the glass that is the real crux of photography. The camera is something to hold the film/sensor.

You will want to research the concept of wide angle lenses and various telephotos.
Zooms are ok for what you want but learn about primes. A fixed 300 or 500 or 600mm will render far superior optics and images overall.

If your shooting on water or near it, polarizers, and ND filters are something you will want to learn about.
Water vapor can work for and against you at the same time. Giving you low contrast but if done correctly with misty effect.

The telescope aspect is something that you can do, but it really wont work for what you want.
The bird folks on the site can guide you on lens type.
100-500mm is typical. But there is also technique.
That comes with time.

 

[Jeff15]

Hello and welcome, I agree with what has already been said. Good luck.

 

[Derrel]

There really are no single lens reflex or mirror less interchangeable lens camera lenses that have the tremendous zoom ratio that you are used to.

As for maximum zoom lens capability, there is a little that is better than a bridge camera today--some cameras such is the Nikon P 900 have tremendous maximum equivalent focal lengths.

Offsetting this somewhat is the ability to crop in on the images shot with bigger sensors.

 

[wfooshee]

Sensor size relates to glass size. Those bridge cameras with their small sensors can have a hyper zoom ratio at a reasonable price because the lens doesn't have to be excessively large to cover that sensor. For a full-size camera, though, getting more than a 4x zoom ratio is expensive, because of how much glass you need for a lens able to do that. Yes, Nikon has the 18-300 zoom, a little over 16x, but it's for crop-sensor cameras only, and in all honesty is not the best lens on the planet, by any means.

Seeing 60x lenses on small cameras and expecting that to exist in the larger ones is not realistic.

 

[Strodav]

To make professional quality prints you need about 300 ppi, but many say you can't tell the difference between 240ppi and 300ppi, so for an 8"x10" print you want 4.6mp to 7.2mp, for 13"x19" you want 14.2mp to 22.2mp, for 20" x 30" you want 34.6pm to 54mp. MPs becomes much more important when you are cropping, which is frequently done in wildlife photography, especially birding. So yes, MPs can be important if you want to create high quality large prints. If you are only posting on social media, an 8mp camera is fine.

For long reach, good quality at a reasonable price, you can't beat the bridge cameras. I see a lot of posts from fellow birders taken with the Nikon P900 and the Nikon P1000 bridge cameras. If you want the same reach with a dslr you are going to want a higher end camera body and an expensive telephoto lens. The better long zoom bridge cameras go anywhere from $500 to $1000 and they are 18mp to 20mp. A dslr or mirrorless more suited to birding will run $750 used and a good quality long zoom used will run about $1k. You will also want to buy a walk around zoom lens for about $350. I would recommend a 21mp D500 and Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 along with a Nikon 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6. An upgrade would be a Nikon D850 at 46mp and just under $3k. If you are willing to drop a few grand, you will want to look at the new Sony a7R4 at 61mp and $3500 and the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 for about $2k.

 

[407370]

see this is why i never moved from my FUJI bridge camera. i just could not be @rsed to carry all that stuff.

 

[Derrel]

With a bit of research it is possible to find a bridge camera with a good lens and for around $1000, or less. Image quality is surprisingly good.

 

[Dacaur]

One thing that worried me about going from a bridge camera to a DSLR was the huge zoom range that my bridge camera had.
I can honestly say now but I don't miss the extra zoom, the pictures are just so much better. Right now my eyes is in the 250mm, having a crop sensor camera helps, turning that into 400mm. I'm saving up now for a 100 to 400 millimeter lens, which make a crop sensor will turn into a 640mm at maximum zoom.
The one downside is a course carrying all the "stuff", but if you want truly awesome pictures as the price you have to pay. You simply are not going to get the same picture quality with a bridge camera.