I cant decide on a new bridge camera... FZ200 and hx200v?

Question

I have no idea what I get. I'v been looking at the Panasonic fz200. And I really like its features (specifically the lens - f2.8 through the whole range)

But at the same time, I look at sony and see the hx200v that costs less and I can use the battery in my current camera in it and it uses the same memory stick duo.

I mainly use my camera for macro shots plants, bugs, electronics, coins, etc.
I also go out to a lot of race tracks. Both cameras zooms (26 and 30x) will be an improvement over my current 20x zoom but 20x is enough for my purposes.

Thoughts? opinions?

This website saying the sony is better. http://snapsort.com/compare/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ200-vs-Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-HX200V

Answer 1

Though a Canon owner, I'm very impressed with FZ200. Looking at the Sony, it starts at f/2/8 but you are likely to be shocked at how quickly the aperture closes down as you zoom out, on most long zoomers an overcast day requires a tripod or such high ISO that the image is a mess. (Regardless of the "advertised" ISO, usable ISO is at best 800 on any of these cameras, and that will show a lot of noise reduction smearing.)



Panasonic has solved that problem with it's full range f2/8. Also you can shoot RAW with the Panasonic, which can assist with your close up and macro work. It has excellent EVF along with the swing out LCD, which provides better stability for your racing shots than holding out at arm's length. You can also attach an external flash to Panasonic, for serious macro or studio shots.



I'd suggest you also look at Canon SX40, which is heavily discounted now because it's been replaced. The Canon bridge cameras do macro very well, and with the CHDK firmware add on (an open source project) you can add RAW conversion and do multi-shot focus stacking, motion detection (good for bugs), time lapse and other interesting scripted features. The out of camera JPEG image quality of Canons tends to be better than competitors.



To me the advantages of Panasonic's fast lens, native RAW, and best EVF/LCD combination are hard to beat right now.

Answer 2

Maybe snapsort.com has a Sony bias. I know I do. And the price difference definitely weighs in. But, dpreview.com has as close to a rave review for the Panasonic as I've seen.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz200



At $600, one must consider a DSLR. You could get a Nikon D3200 for about the same money.

Answer 3

Get the Kodak. Hitachi is not as well of a known brand (in my opinion). I have seen pictures taken with many different Kodaks and they are generally quite nice. Good luck :) I think the Kodak looks like a good buy though. Continue looking around a bit more though, finding just the right deal might be just around the corner with holiday season.