New to sx530hs .... disappointed

Hi , I picked up a as new sx530hs this week and was looking forward to rekindling the slr hobbie of my youth .

im posting for some thoughts on image quality . I love the compact size and zoom capability, and after taking the obligatory photo of the moon , took it out for the weekend .

My thoughts are that the image quality is worse than what my iPhone 11 takes , am I being too harsh ?  I love the idea of the camera and was wondering if maybe the sx70 is a better option or even another brand ! Or am I simply expecting too much from a £120 bridge camera ? Happy to hear your opinions

Looking at these ... not bad ... you need to sharpen with pp software

Maybe you got a lemon? 

Sandancer72 wrote:

Hi Sue Ann , yes I always tweak the photos I take in Snapseed, these are as camera took them. But that’s what I’m getting at , they just feel a bit fuzzy

The quality of the photos you posted is probably about what you should expect. The iPhone 11 will run circles around any small-sensor compact in terms of image quality. Camera makers can only do so much with a tiny sensor, tiny superzoom lens, and none of the computational tricks that the phone cameras use. The only reason to buy a camera like that is if you really want the zoom.

Your pictures looks "okay",

not sure if you tried tweaking the settings.

But I do think you will get "better" pictures from the SX70 camera.

Can see the below link for a post I just did showing 2 out-of-camera SX70 pics.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4551637#forum-post-64812878

Cheers!

Sandancer72 wrote:

Thanks for the link . Yes this camera seems very basic from the Pentax slr I used to have and I miss having a view finder so I might upgrade soon the sx70 or have a look at some of the larger sensor bridge cameras . I appreciate your time sharing thanks

..

No worries!

If go with say 1" sensor superzooms, the best is going to be a limit of 600mm.

Your posted bird picture was taken using around 1000mm, so 600mm won't do.

Depending on your camera hand-holding ability, can choose small or medium.

For a smaller camera, the Canon SX70 (21-1360mm) "new" is a good choice.

If can go medium size, the Nikon P900 (24-2000mm) "used" is a good choice.

The Panasonic FZ300/330 (25-600mm f/2.8 & 12mp sensor) is a fine choice too.

..

(1) SX70 vs P900

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(2) SX70 vs FZ300/330 (FZ330 is the European model)

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There is another camera for you to consider,

it's the Panasonic FZ80/82 (20-1220mm) camera.

(The FZ82 is the European model)

The FZ80/82 is often not recommended,

because it can be a difficult camera to master.

Can go over to the Panasonic forum,

look for the "FZ80 experiences" threads,

and take a look at the pictures posted there.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/1033

Also can take a look at the FZ80/82 videos below.

https://www.youtube.com/c/GrahamHoughton12/search?query=80

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFoIf_3ex-YLTm0kTaWkvd6HTen5ooN1K&pbjreload=10

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(3) SX70 vs FZ80/82 (FZ82 is the European model)

..

Cheers!

..and here to compare between the SX530 vs SX70 cameras.

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(1) SX530 vs SX70

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Cheers!

The SX530 uses OLD DIGIC4. Soft JPEGs, poor noise reduction, not so smart AF. I use bold letter rarely but I can't stress that it's the weakest link here enough. Post processing RAW is necessary to get more out of it.

An SX540 sports DIGIC6 which has newer noise reduction and AF. The SX70 HS is better still with the most modern smaller sensor and DIGIC8.

I should note, all of these cameras have smaller sensors which you're comparing a smartphone that also has a small sensor but has compute AI on it's side which these cameras, or any other non-smartphone, do not. Cameras like the SX530 have reach, which smartphones lack. But, if you're needing something other than reach? You should consider a larger sensor to produce higher image quality as the smartphone is going to win, easily, against any smaller format offering, even 1" G and RX series if you don't post process. You gotta step up to APS-C to make a dent. Trust me, just did it myself, and I'm not saying that because I did it, I did it because of image quality concerns, like yourself where I could've just whipped out my iPhone and done better for cheaper, lighter, but less fun.

The DIGIC4 won't serve you well if you don't intend to post though either way. Heads up. Canon made MAJOR changes to noise reduction with DIGIC6 and newer CPUs which makes a large difference if you're a SOOC JPEG shooter.

If you want reach, consider keeping it, or upgrading to the SX540.

But, you may want to consider say a Rebel SL2 or SL3 + EF-S 55-250, or M50 + 55-200. Doesn't have the (same) reach, but man, they have punch! And the M in particular is small for what it is.

Here's what this looks like in practice...

https://j.mp/3tirxjf

That M50 Mark II + 55-200 in paritcular, isn't that much heavier, bigger, and you can swap lenses... You may want to consider something more like an 70-300 IS II (not L) adapted though for more reach though if you're a birder...

Sandancer72 wrote:

Thanks for that post and those great images . What are these on again ?

I really don’t want to end up going down the slr route again with bags of lenses to carry so I think I’m going to sell this on and get the sx70. I just got it as an inexpensive trial to see what zoom was like and the general feel of a bridge camera .

this sx530hs has no view finder , no raw etc but it’s been good to get out snapping again

EOS M6 mark II. It’s a mirror less though, lens swaps. The M is sort of a large sensor power shot that you can swap lenses on. I hate bags, often I’d go out with just a 18-150 on it, or, say 55-200 + 11-22, etc, where I pocket a lens, no bag. 22 pancake and 18-150 is an excellent example.

Canons lacking in the bridge camera department. Their best option is the SX70 HS, but again, small sensor. You may be dissatisfied with the output. I’m on another thread about that very subject... It’s a hard one.

Essentially you have:

SX70 HS = reach but small sensor

FZ-1000 = reach, larger sensor but non canon colors, DFD focusing

EOS M = small but lens swaps

Canon never followed up with a G3X mark II, but rumor has it the mark I was a sales flop, so it’ll probably never happen leaving you with one of the above choices.

RLight wrote:

Sandancer72 wrote:

Thanks for that post and those great images . What are these on again ?

I really don’t want to end up going down the slr route again with bags of lenses to carry so I think I’m going to sell this on and get the sx70. I just got it as an inexpensive trial to see what zoom was like and the general feel of a bridge camera .

this sx530hs has no view finder , no raw etc but it’s been good to get out snapping again

EOS M6 mark II. It’s a mirror less though, lens swaps. The M is sort of a large sensor power shot that you can swap lenses on. I hate bags, often I’d go out with just a 18-150 on it, or, say 55-200 + 11-22, etc, where I pocket a lens, no bag. 22 pancake and 18-150 is an excellent example.

Canons lacking in the bridge camera department. Their best option is the SX70 HS, but again, small sensor. You may be dissatisfied with the output. I’m on another thread about that very subject... It’s a hard one.

Essentially you have:

SX70 HS = reach but small sensor

FZ-1000 = reach, larger sensor but non canon colors, DFD focusing

EOS M = small but lens swaps

Canon never followed up with a G3X mark II, but rumor has it the mark I was a sales flop, so it’ll probably never happen leaving you with one of the above choices.

..

It's always good to think of and have options.

Here is two out-of-camera jpgs from my SX70.

They are full-size, and are not post processed.

(Note: my SX70 uses the Hoya HD3 lens filter.)

..

(1) SX70 @ 21mm (widest)

SX70 @ 21mm (widest), out-of-camera jpg

(2) SX70 @ 1365mm (longest)

SX70 @ 1365mm (longest), out-of-camera jpg

..

Cheers!

RLight wrote:

Sandancer72 wrote:

Thanks for that post and those great images . What are these on again ?

I really don’t want to end up going down the slr route again with bags of lenses to carry so I think I’m going to sell this on and get the sx70. I just got it as an inexpensive trial to see what zoom was like and the general feel of a bridge camera .

this sx530hs has no view finder , no raw etc but it’s been good to get out snapping again

EOS M6 mark II. It’s a mirror less though, lens swaps. The M is sort of a large sensor power shot that you can swap lenses on. I hate bags, often I’d go out with just a 18-150 on it, or, say 55-200 + 11-22, etc, where I pocket a lens, no bag. 22 pancake and 18-150 is an excellent example.

Canons lacking in the bridge camera department. Their best option is the SX70 HS, but again, small sensor. You may be dissatisfied with the output. I’m on another thread about that very subject... It’s a hard one.

Essentially you have:

SX70 HS = reach but small sensor

FZ-1000 = reach, larger sensor but non canon colors, DFD focusing

EOS M = small but lens swaps

Canon never followed up with a G3X mark II, but rumor has it the mark I was a sales flop, so it’ll probably never happen leaving you with one of the above choices.

You mentioned it but didn't include it in your list: the G3 X. It has a 1 inch sensor and 25x zoom lens. It's an option for someone who really wants the larger sensor and long zoom in a fixed lens camera. Personally, for the price and size, I'd also prefer an EOS M50 (or other M) with 18-150 or 55-200 lens, though the reach is not as good.

jshen808 wrote:

RLight wrote:

Sandancer72 wrote:

Thanks for that post and those great images . What are these on again ?

I really don’t want to end up going down the slr route again with bags of lenses to carry so I think I’m going to sell this on and get the sx70. I just got it as an inexpensive trial to see what zoom was like and the general feel of a bridge camera .

this sx530hs has no view finder , no raw etc but it’s been good to get out snapping again

EOS M6 mark II. It’s a mirror less though, lens swaps. The M is sort of a large sensor power shot that you can swap lenses on. I hate bags, often I’d go out with just a 18-150 on it, or, say 55-200 + 11-22, etc, where I pocket a lens, no bag. 22 pancake and 18-150 is an excellent example.

Canons lacking in the bridge camera department. Their best option is the SX70 HS, but again, small sensor. You may be dissatisfied with the output. I’m on another thread about that very subject... It’s a hard one.

Essentially you have:

SX70 HS = reach but small sensor

FZ-1000 = reach, larger sensor but non canon colors, DFD focusing

EOS M = small but lens swaps

Canon never followed up with a G3X mark II, but rumor has it the mark I was a sales flop, so it’ll probably never happen leaving you with one of the above choices.

..

It's always good to think of and have options.

Here is two out-of-camera jpgs from my SX70.

They are full-size, and are not post processed.

(Note: my SX70 uses the Hoya HD3 lens filter.)

..

(1) SX70 @ 21mm (widest)

(2) SX70 @ 1365mm (longest)

..

Cheers!

Looks good to me. Good light = good results on smaller sensors.

I’ve thought about an SX70 for reach, but I’m HUGE on 24-70 as that’s what I shoot these days. Again, not too shabby.