Superzoom or DSLR Upgrade

[Paul O'Toole]

My current setup is a Nikon D50 w/80-400VR for mainly birding and was looking to upgrade my setup. Any thoughts on getting a superzoom such as the "PANASONIC DMC-FZ1000 20MP". Would this be comparble to what I currently have or maybe even a little better in overall image quality. Thanks for any info, much appreciated.

[JW Mills]

This forum seems to have knowledgeable and helpful photogs. Perhaps they may be able to give you an answer;
http://photo.net/community/index

[Steve Hood]

My current setup is a Nikon D50 w/80-400VR for mainly birding and was looking to upgrade my setup. Any thoughts on getting a superzoom such as the "PANASONIC DMC-FZ1000 20MP". Would this be comparble to what I currently have or maybe even a little better in overall image quality. Thanks for any info, much appreciated.

Your current setup would be better than going with the FZ1000.  You currently have a much larger sensor which will do much better in low light or for BIF.  My suggestion would be to upgrade the lens first and then upgrade the body at a later date.

[Kin Lau]

I've had my FZ1000 for about 2months now. It's a very good bridge camera, but reach is a bit short, only 400mm equiv. AF is very fast, and it does handle like a dslr - faster than the D50 (I've seen the D50 in action, I couldn't believe how slow it was).

I still use my Canon 7D as the main birding cam, but the FZ1000 handles video and day to day stuff. It's quite the package... Better than my GH3 + 100-300 for birding.

The Nikon 1 series like a V2 or V3 plus the FT1 would get you much better reach, faster AF and handling.

If video is important, then the FZ1000 is the current bang-for-the-buck champion.

[Howieh]

How about a refurbished SX50? I've had mine for just over two years and I think it's time I sold my heavy duty gear because I'll probably won't use it anymore. Of course superzooms aren't meant for shooting BIFs but with a bit of practice (and, ok, more than a bit of luck) you can get some pretty good results. This (over processed) shot was taken on Miami beach last December, just after sunrise.

[BoboBird]

I cannot verify this but the Leica version that goes to 600mm and has a decent burst rate has been recommended to me by quite a few people. I saw one guy using it to shoot fast moving gulls and he seemed happy with his results.

[Kin Lau]

That would be the FZ200, a decent super zoom with a Leica f2.8 constant aperture 25-600mm equiv. I have one of those too but the FZ1000 is much faster to handle and AF, very important for birding, very DSLR-like.