For those who want to take a better pictures than what you can get in your smartphone’s camera and need a better manual control over them, a dedicated camera is still worth to purchase today, moreover, for those who need to zoom from afar. There are so many good options available today such as Panasonic FZ80 vs Sony HX400V. If you also considering these cameras, go check what they can offer to you below and see which camera can be the better option.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Are you looking for a camera with a high zoom capability
– What are Panasonic FZ80 and Sony HX400V
– What Panasonic FZ80 and Sony HX400V Look Like
– What Panasonic FZ80 and Sony HX400V can offer to you
– Panasonic FZ80 vs Sony HX400V
Bridge Cameras
With the high popularity of cameras for hobbyist and professional alike like DSLR and Mirrorless, we can get other options as well for our need and depend on what you are going to use them for, choosing the best or right camera is essential so we can take a better picture of whatever we want to aim later. For those with less to spend, hobbyist who want to take subject from a far, the one you may need is a bridge camera.
This camera, just like the name is a bridge between you and your aimed subject since this type of camera will provide you a nice distance even from afar to let you get that shot you want, in short they are mostly a zoom capable cameras with a higher limit than those other digitals out there. Generally, a bridge camera is just a digital ones with some degree of manual controls, a long range zoom lens and a viewfinder but their lens are not interchangeable.
In placement, they are most likely will end up between point and shoot digital cameras and a full DSLR. Bridge camera begin to appear around the early 2000 when people are still using that popular point and shoot digital cameras with very little controls as options, mostly enjoyed or owned by regular people and when a full SLR cameras are still priced so high up there, making them unreachable for many photographers or new professional to afford.
To connect this wide gap, bridge cameras are introduced in the market since then to offer a better option for people who need a camera with more manual controls yet won’t be as expensive as an SLR since the lens are fixed. Another benefit of this type of camera is their handling itself beside the control since the body are made to look and feel like an SLR/DSLR, making them very comfortable to use both by hobbyist and professional who already have experience on the higher end models.
Today, when people are more fascinated with mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, bridge still have their place inside many people’s equipment list and stay loyal to their purpose but of course with different technologies and have more option from various manufacturers in the market to fit photographer’s needs. Some may here to be an option for more affordable capable cameras while some are here to take great images qualities based on what they are featured with, thus it is better to pick based on your preference.
About Panasonic FZ80
Among those many options available, Panasonic is a good brand to begin with and they also have a wide collection in their catalogue including a bridge camera but of course depend on what you are looking for, their price range and capabilities are also separated with the higher end model comes with even greater qualities. But, if you are here to spend less, Panasonic FZ80 can be a good option because this model already have a wide zoom feature combined with several manual controls in hand.
Panasonic FZ80 Design
From the outside, Panasonic FZ80 is looking just like any bridge camera that adopt and SLR look with a body measures in 3.7 by 5.1 by 4.7 inches and weigh only 1.4 pounds, making them not as light as your digital cameras but still compact to be put in your shoulder bag. The back screen is 3-inch wide with touch sensitive capabilities while on the control side this camera offer quite a few of control and user-defined function buttons such as setup dial to adjust exposure parameters.
Panasonic FZ80 Features
With the price tag at such an affordable range, Panasonic FZ80 is only featured with 1/2.3-inch sensor with a resolution of 18MP, but this one is coming with a massive lens system that will provide a focal length range between 20-1200mm or 35mm film equivalent and of course as a bridge camera, they are coming with a whopping 60x zoom. If you are using a digital zoom, users can even take photos with a focal range length equivalent of 4800mm. Read also: Panasonic FZ80 vs Nikon B700 here.
To enhance the capability, this camera is already using built-in image stabilizer or Power O.I.S. which is a hybrid system based on optical stabilization as well as electronic stabilization while working with both photo and recording. They seem to work well but there is a limitation when they reach photos in 800-1200mm range, thus it is still better to mount your camera using a tripod to avoid jittering videos and to take a sharp results.
Another expensive feature or capability that we found interesting in Panasonic FZ80 is their 4K photo and video which usually only available in a more expensive cameras. In this setting, users can take an image series at 30 frames per second at a lower resolution when you need to take shots of a fast moving subjects. Additionally, this camera also has “Post Focus” function to take an image series and extract the image with the desired area when you review them later.
About Sony HX400V
Since the amount of option is numerous out there, it is good to look for another option first before deciding on something for we may find a better product with better features or a more affordable price point. Beside Panasonic FZ80, there is also a good option from the competitor Sony if you are interested in super zoom camera with a new-entry level capabilities which is the Sony HX400V. This is the new model based on HX300 and still have similar capabilities.
Sony HX400V Design
On the design side, Sony HX400V is clearly based on a SLR/DSLR camera with a chunky handgrip that is large enough to place your 3 fingers comfortably around and usefully has indentations for your top two fingers, promoting a better stability when shooting towards the extreme telephoto end of the zoom. The build itself is well-made with a matte finish and when you take a look at the back, there is a tilting LCD, useful when you try to find a new angle.
Sony HX400V Features
Similar like its predecessor, this camera is still coming with a capability to provide zoom up to 50x with an effective resolution remains at 20.4MP from the small 1/2.3-inch Sony Exmor R CMOS sensor. What differs it from the older model is that because this camera can operate 3 times faster with the new processor, have multi interface shoe, and a built-in Wi-Fi, NFC as well as GPS. Another useful feature here is the image stabilization just like many other similar new cameras out there.
In Sony HX400V, Sony use the optical SteadyShot image stabilization to reduce the shake apparent on their LCD screen while helping the users to frame the shot easier. On the lens, this model use Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens that boast maximum aperture of f/2.8 at the widest-angle setting and a focal range the equivalent of an ultra-wide angle 24mm-1200mm or 35mm in film terms. With this, the camera is suitable for taking images in paparazzi style candid portraits at full zoom but also works well on landscapes and group portraits.
Another thing we love in this model is how good they are when used under low light condition or works well at high sensitivities because even in ISO 1600, the image printed from the condition at web size or below show a good impression of low noise with a high detail still noticeable. We still can find image smoothing but the noise is kept minimal proving that their noise-reduction technology has done well but there are still times we have to sacrifice the detail.
While all the capabilities above are indeed look promising and nice to have, Sony HX400V is by no mean a perfect camera since compared to many other similar bridge or superzoom cameras out there, unfortunately this model is still not capable of taking 4K still images and videos, making them a bit behind in today’s technology where people want the bigger quality available.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare Panasonic FZ80 with Sony HX400V. As you may already know, both of them can be a great option for anyone who are looking for a camera with a long range of zoom but they are also different because FZ80 have some better capabilities including the higher zoom range and taking 4K videos as well as still images which is not possible in HX400V.
Panasonic FZ80 vs Sony HX400V
Conclusion
All in all, the decision is all yours to make since we may have different preferences. However, if we are to choose, we will pick Panasonic FZ80 because this model have better capabilities as well as available in a more affordable price point compared to HX400V.
