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Superzoom cameras: To infinity, and beyond!

By Leonard Goh
November 21, 2008

Superzoom cameras are suitable for frequent travelers who don't wish to lug a heavy baggage of camera bodies and lenses around. Also, they are decent all-in-one alternatives as most of them come with wide-angle optics which can zoom to telephoto range. A good number of superzoom cameras have a variety of creative exposure controls that allow shutterbugs to take charge of their shots.

Even though most of these five models have onboard image stabilization, it is wise to use a tripod when shooting on maximum zoom range for sharper pictures. This is because most IS systems are not capable of compensating for the magnified blurriness caused by handshakes at telephoto settings.

Click here for a feature comparison table.

Nikon Coolpix P80

Nikon hailed its P80 as the world's smallest 18x zoom camera, and tipping the scales at just 365g, it could possibly be one of the lightest as well. The shooter sports a 10.1-megapixel sensor, 2.7-inch LCD display and a maximum ISO sensitivity of 6,400. Shooting sports from the grandstand? Zoom in and snap up to 30 shots at 13 frames per second with the P80. Watch the video here.

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Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD

CNET Asia rating: 6.6 out of 10

The good: Wide-angle and long zoom; clever playback features; decent images.

The bad: Counter-intuitive controls; occasionally over-zealous noise reduction.

The bottom line: Although we just can't get on with Fujifilm's controls, the Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD has a decent lens and enough flexibility in its shooting options to get us past this initial hurdle. Given time to get used to it, we were pleased with the image quality and good playback features.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28

This 10-megapixel shooter has 18x optical zoom, and a full set of dSLR-like features such as manual exposure control and RAW format image capture. The 27mm wide-angle lens can help capture landscapes with ease, while it is also capable of zooming in to 486mm for telephoto shots. If you're feeling lazy, just flick the dial to Panasonic's intelligent Auto mode and let the camera do the thinking.

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Canon PowerShot SX10 IS

CNET Asia rating: 7.7 out of 10

The good: 20x optical zoom lens; flip-out LCD screen; responsive shooting controls.

The bad: Electronic viewfinder lacks details and precision; average battery life; tends to overexpose shots.

The bottom line: With a huge 20x optical zoom, the SX10 will win over those photographers who don't want the bulk of a dSLR but like the flexibility of different lens lengths. The electronic viewfinder and lacklustre LCD screen detract from the overall package though.

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