Looking to buy a long zoom digital point and shoot camera

I will be travelling to Newfoundland Canada next month and again in July and would like to buy a long zoom point and shoot camera to have as and extra system and also one that is easy to carry around than my current DSLR system. Will be taking photos of icebergs; landscapes and lots of bird species. No restrictions on budget I would like a good quality camera that takes good images on the long end of the zoom. I had one years ago and was quite happy with it.

Some of the bridge cameras from Nikon and Sony are pretty good. I know some of them are on the larger side. The Nikon P1000 is interesting.

Joe

The Nikon P 950 is a little smaller and lighter than the P1000 but it still takes RAW or Jpeg.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV Digital Camera is another option. Its max lens extension is 600mm, somewhat less than the nikon's, but its sensor is 1 inch which is larger than the Nikon sensor.

I have friends who use both in addition to their heavier and more costly DSLR and mirrorless systems.

The Sony RX10 IV is the best thing since sliced bread. I haven't touched my 1DX with 800mm since I bought this camera a year ago. It's so much more fun to use in the field.

I use TOPAZ software (Gigapixel, DeNoise, Sharpen) with my keepers and have been quite amazed by what I've been able to do it. This camera is so light that I take it everywhere (hiking & kayaking) and that's why it gets so many more worthy photos.

Here's a link to a slideshow video of my photos from last year ... only 7 of them were taken with the 1DX/800mm combo, with the rest being taken by the SONY RX10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6VNlWepQY

To see the quality a little better, just play the video at full screen / 1080p.

Impressive work, Pete!

Joe

The The Sony RX10 IV Pete was also recommeded to me in another camera forum, I will take a look at it. Thanks for the feedback, I checked out your link. Nice set of images indeed.

Pete Zwiers wrote: The Sony RX10 IV is the best thing since sliced bread. I haven't touched my 1DX with 800mm since I bought this camera a year ago. It's so much more fun to use in the field.

I use TOPAZ software (Gigapixel, DeNoise, Sharpen) with my keepers and have been quite amazed by what I've been able to do it. This camera is so light that I take it everywhere (hiking & kayaking) and that's why it gets so many more worthy photos.

Here's a link to a slideshow video of my photos from last year ... only 7 of them were taken with the 1DX/800mm combo, with the rest being taken by the SONY RX10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d6VNlWepQY

To see the quality a little better, just play the video at full screen / 1080p.

  Very impressive Pete!  Though personally prefer if one shows the camera info on Smugmug.  I think your youtube goes to show that location is more important than gear!

Here’s a nice review of the RX10 iv:

https://psnp.info/psnp_/?cat=25

Joe

I've been thinking more about my experience with the RX-10 since I posted my glowing review.

Now for the negatives ... the AF hunts incorrectly a lot when there are any branches or grass in front (or even close to the side) of the subject. My solution is to 'make movies' of whatever I'm shooting, and this usually results in one solid image. That said, I would say that 5% hit rate is accurate in 'slightly less than perfect' branch/grass conditions.

My single biggest complaint about the camera is the AF focus point is very large (centre 'box' area). If one could program the AF to be a small dot point, then it would allow for much more accurate focus in a lot of situations (for me anyway).

The other big thing is that this is ideally a day-use only rig ... you won't be able to shoot in darkening conditions and get anything stellar. For me this isn't too big an issue because I'm using this camera for hiking and kayaking (which I do primarily in the day).

The single biggest advantage to this camera over practically any DSLR/Mirrorless (with a telephoto lens) is weight and size. You can carry this thing anywhere easily (10-15 km hikes with it on a Zeiss harness strap). Having something so light and accessible gives you a lot more keepers than a heavier DSLR/lens combo stowed in your pack.

YMMV!

I'd recommend the Sony RX10 IV, too. It's a top-notch point-and-shoot with a 24-600mm equivalent lens. Its image quality at full zoom is fantastic, especially for wildlife and landscapes. It bridges the gap between a DSLR and a compact quite neatly, plus it's less cumbersome for travel.
I bought my Sony RX10 from DontPayFull for only $1300 using a coupon. The deal worked great for me, so it might be a good place to start looking.

Sony RX10 IV would be my choice.