Bridge camera vs 4/3

[rs4al]

I've already got a Panasonic lumix G5 4/3 with 45-200mm lenses but have just booked a safari, was looking at the new superzoom bridge cameras which top out at 1200mm zoom and are cheaper than buying a bigger lenses for my Panasonic.

Does anyone have any opinions on bridge cameras and their image quality?

[Derek Smith]

I had a Panasonic bridge FZ200, 12.1mp with a 24x zoom.

It was very handy and I found it great on holiday, although just a little on the heavy side. It is robust and well made. The images were great for magazines and websites. It could go up to A3 size with no problems. There were a number of routines which I found easy enough to crack. I also had a Panasonic compact TZ50.

I bought a G7. I found I hardly ever wanted the bridge so tried to sell it. No takers at the price I wanted so it became the family hack.

I now take the compact on holiday for family photos.

However, I use the FZ on occasion. I like the power zoom and the ease of use.

A bridge is great if the quality is good enough. I'd go for second hand.

A friend of mine has a Nikon bridge with a 90x (I think) zoom. I discovered how easy it is to get fed up with photographs of the Moon. If you need a lightish camera with a massive zoom, I'd take a look.

[rs4al]

Bought a panne 100-300mm lense which has an effective focal length of 600mm, should do the job !