Cameras for Birding: The ‘Bridge’ Camera Zoom War: Panasonic Lumix FZ72 Joins The Fray

Panasonic have now joined the zoom war in the increasingly popular superzoom ‘bridge’ camera category that is so good for birding.

I have added this camera to the table I prepared for my post of 9 March 2013. These are the key features as far as using the camera for birding are concerned but it would be good to know how it handles noise at high gain (ISO setting) and the chracteristics of its autofocus.

	Nikon P520	Canon SX50	Fuji HS50	Sony HX300	Panasonic FZ72
Optical Zoom (equiv)	24-1000	24-1200	24-1000	24-1200	20-1200
Max Aperture	3-5.9	3.4-6.5	2.8-5.6	2.8-6.3	2.8-5.9
Sensor Size	1/2.3	1/2.3	1/2	1/2.3	1/2.3
Resolution (Mpixels)	18.1	12.1	16	20.4	16.1
Output Size (pixels)	4896x3612	4000x3000	4609x3456	5184x3888	4608x3456
Stablisation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Output	JPEG	RAW/JPEG	RAW/JPEG	JPEG	RAW/JPEG
Video	Full HD	Full HD	Full HD	Full HD	Full HD
Weight g	550	595	758	623	562

I haven’t seen a review of this new camera yet but how the market has changed in little over a year: from only a Nikon to a five superzooms from all the main manufacturers. Given the reputation of the Lumix series, I suspect this new one will provide the others with stiff competition.