One of the most widespread false beliefs in photography, especially among those who have not yet started in this hobby, is that the best camera has to be a SLR. To illustrate this I'll use the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, a non-SLR camera, but for some people it may be better than an SLR. And if you want more options for cameras with a lot of zoom, here is a list .
BRIDGE CAMERA OR REFLEX CAMERA?
When someone asks me for advice, I usually ask them what type of photography they would like to do. I explain to him that depending on his habits and his preferences as a photographer, he will be interested in an SLR, a mirrorless , a bridge, a compact or a mobile phone.
At this point in the conversation, many people stare at me blankly, as if thinking "Dude, you have a photography blog, you should recommend an SLR, they're the coolest, right?"
I love the concept of an SLR camera , but on countless occasions I have advised certain people against investing in an SLR camera. Most of those times the person has not taken it well.
The belief of those who come from abroad, with practically zero knowledge in photography, is that the cool photographer is the one who wears an SLR camera around his neck. It has to be reflex, otherwise nothing.
When you have been dedicating yourself to photography for years, advising thousands of users and teaching photography, you know perfectly well that SLR cameras are wonderful, but that there are certain photos for which an SLR is very limited.
WHEN THE REFLEX IS NOT A GOOD IDEA
So, when I think that an SLR is not suitable for a person , I usually tell them. Normally, the person looks at me a bit puzzled. There are times when I am tempted to lie to him and say “naaaa, just kidding, come on, get an SLR. Yes, come on, come on, come on."
I've already talked at length on the blog about why an SLR can be a bad idea. This is from an SLR fanatic by the way.
Today I want to address a very specific type of user, a type of photographer who should never invest in an SLR camera. I'm going to explain why an SLR camera is the worst option for this type of photography, and I'm going to present some alternatives that should help you get the photos you love to take.
An SLR is a bad idea if you are looking for:
- Photograph the moon.
- Photograph animals, especially if they live in the wild.
- Sports photography from a long distance.
These are just a few examples, but I think you get the idea. In short, for anything that involves powerful zoom functionality , forget about the SLR.
Most amateur photographers coming from compact or bridge cameras are shocked when they discover that their SLR camera offers an infinitely smaller level of zoom than their previous non-SLR camera.
The reason is that, on an SLR camera, the zoom depends on the lens you have attached to the camera. Most lenses that you will use on a day-to-day basis have a rather wide angle (what is called the focal length).
Unlike other standard (non-interchangeable) lens cameras, on an SLR you can't just press a certain button, hold it down, and watch the camera zoom from several feet away. It doesn't work like that on an SLR.
The closest thing to this, on an SLR, would be to buy what we call a telephoto lens , that is, a lens with a long focal length. There are there are But they cost an eye of the camera. Some telephoto lenses literally cost double or triple the price of an SLR, and yet they don't get nearly a quarter of the zoom you can get with other kinds of cameras.
Therefore, if your priority in photography is zoom, I would stay away from SLRs.
THE ALTERNATIVE
If you have felt identified with any of the types of photography, that is because the zoom is something essential for you. My advice, in that case, is to value a camera with a more advanced zoom level.
There are many options on the market with more than decent zoom: there are several compact cameras that offer very interesting zoom capabilities. Some with zoom levels of 10x, 20x, there is even some with a 30x zoom.
If, in the field, a 30x zoom falls short of you, then read on.
I'm a fan of SLRs, but when it doesn't suit a certain user, I put aside my sentimental point and recognize that for that user, an SLR camera would not be a good idea.
In the same way, although I have always been very reluctant to bridge cameras (also called hybrids ), because personally my needs have always been covered by SLRs, I recognize that a bridge camera can be, in certain circumstances, the ideal option for some amateur photographers.
The case that concerns us today is one of those occasions in which a bridge camera can make you a happy photographer.
THE LITTLE REVOLUTION
There are many bridge cameras with a good level of zoom, infinitely higher than that of an SLR, however, most of them move in the 30x magnification range, like the compact ones that I mentioned a while ago.
Canon recently launched a small revolution in terms of bridge cameras on the market: a revolution because it is a camera that brings a level of zoom that is breathtaking; and small because, to offer such a level of zoom, the camera maintains a very small and contained body.
I am referring to the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS, one of the cameras that offers the highest zoom level, along with features that bring it closer to the level of a true SLR camera.
FEATURES OF THE CANON POWERSHOT SX70 HS
For starters, the camera offers a 65x optical zoom. Translated, on an SLR this would be the equivalent of a 1300mm focal length lens. Lenses of this focal length cost you more than 1,000 euros just for the lens, an absurdly high amount of money compared to the price of the PowerShot SX70 HS (which is currently over 500-odd euros on Amazon).
Leaving aside its incontestable zoom, the PowerShot SX70 HS comes equipped with state-of-the-art features, such as its macro mode with which you can focus on subjects at a minimum distance, almost touching the lens (in case you didn't know, most cameras don't focus on too close subjects).
More cool stuff you find on the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS: A flip-up screen , ideal for selfies , family photos, or just framing and shooting photos from angles that don't normally allow us to look through the screen, unless it's swivel .
The camera boasts a 20 megapixel sensor , although this for me is the least of it because from 16 megapixels I think one has plenty of megapixels. But hey, in case you care about the number of megapixels, you can't complain here ?
The feature that I am going to tell you about below is essential for everyone who is interested in photography of birds, animals, fauna in general and also for those who want to do sports photography. There is a concept called fps , translated it would be something like photos per second . It refers to the number of photos that the camera is capable of capturing and processing, in sequence, one after the other, in a lapse of time of 1 second.
In most SLR cameras, almost at an advanced level, we find a level of 5 or 6 fps.
The Canon PowerShot SX70 HS impresses with its 10 fps. This means that, when faced with a single scene, one of those in which you have to capture the photo in a thousandth of a second no matter what, by pressing the shutter button and holding it down, a sequence starts and the camera captures up to 10 continuous photos every second that keep the trigger pressed. Can you imagine the click of the trigger ringing 10 times in a row in the space of just 1 second? One pa-sa-da .
The result is a sequence of 10 photos (or more, if you hold the shutter button down for several seconds) where you have the subject photographed every tenth of a second: a bird about to take flight, a hasty squirrel climbing the tree trunk at speed of light, or the funny facial expression of your child trying to keep his balance in a fall.
A high fps always means incredible photographic possibilities that you would not otherwise be able to capture.
The Canon SX70 HS also offers manual shooting modes , so you can use it in manual mode as if it were an SLR. It also allows you to store photos in RAW format (I recommend shooting in RAW, especially those photos that are important to you, because that way you can process them and get even more out of them), and offers true 4K video recording.
This, along with the external microphone input and its silent zoom make it an ideal option for video lovers as well.
The list of features and benefits of the PowerShot SX70 HS is still very long, with things like Wi-Fi functionality , improved autofocus, among other benefits, but I want to close this part of the features because I simply wanted to illustrate some of the technological wonders that , as an amateur photographer, you can find in the Canon SX70 HS, and that can hardly be found together in a camera of such small dimensions and with a similar price.
DOES IT HAVE ANY DISADVANTAGES?
Clear. Like all cameras, the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS also has a few drawbacks. The key is to study its pros and cons and thus be able to weigh whether it is an ideal camera for you.
The Canon SX70 HS, being a bridge camera , comes with a non-interchangeable lens. One lens pass after all, but you don't have the freedom to switch from one lens to another, as you might with an SLR. Although many will see this as an advantage, because that way you don't have to carry the weight of different lenses or spend the money on them.
It has a rotating screen that is not touch. In my case, for example, I hate touch screens. Some of my cameras have a touch screen, but I don't use that feature. I'm more of physical buttons, the old-fashioned way. But hey, I understand that there are people who prefer to operate the camera from the same screen. If that's what you're looking for, this camera isn't for you.
Many beginning photographers who have used the PowerShot SX70 HS have complained that the camera produces very shaky photos when the zoom is extended. This is actually not a defect of the camera, but rather the laws of physics. All cameras, even SLRs, suffer from camera shake when we try to take a photo with the zoom extended to the maximum. This happens even in professional cut cameras. All professional photographers use a tripod or some alternative means of stabilization when shooting at very long focal lengths (extended zoom).
So if it's a powerful zoom you're looking for, the Canon SX70 HS is probably the camera you're looking for. What yes, to take photos or make videos from a very long distance, you must attach it to a good tripod, or at least place it on a table, wall or stable surface.
WHAT ARE YOUR COMPETITORS?
Canon has not invented anything new. Cameras with an extreme zoom already existed. There is the Nikon P1000, the Sony HX99, among others.
What Canon did do, from my point of view, was to propose a nice balance point that brings together a generous zoom range (much higher than that of the Sony HX99 for example), with a body, weight, dimensions and, above all, prices much lower than those of other cameras (such as the Nikon P1000 for example, which costs twice as much and weighs three times).
