Nothing on your vacation is too far away for this fixed-lens compact camera | Tech

Would you like to be able to zoom in far, do you hate changing lenses and do you actually like a larger camera? Then you should consider choosing a superzoom compact camera.

By the way, ‘Compact’ is a bit confusing in this case. Because this choice of words might make you think that it is a small camera. That is not true. In fact, a superzoom compact camera is even a bit bigger. ‘Compact’ here means that the camera has a fixed lens.

Many people choose this type of camera to be able to zoom in far. That’s what these cameras are all about. The zoom range varies by camera, but a zoom range of 16 times is the minimum. Cameras with a large zoom range have a somewhat smaller image sensor. This often results in lower image quality. So it is important to choose the right balance.

The Consumers’ Association tests various superzoom compact cameras for photo quality, film and video quality, resolution and sharpness, among other things. A total of 111 cameras were tested, nine of which were superzoom compact cameras. A model from Sony comes out as Best in the Test. A Panasonic camera is Best Buy.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV is a so-called bridge camera, or in Dutch: bridge camera. In this case it is a bridge between an SLR camera and a compact camera, where it is, as it were, in between. It is a very good camera with a large zoom range.

This camera has a nice design and the material feels like metal. On top is a small display on which you can read settings. There’s plenty of room for your thumb on the back and the buttons on the camera are well placed. In addition, it has a nice viewfinder.

Striking is the Carl Zeiss lens with aperture ring on the lens, which works both stepwise and steplessly. The lens has a ring for focusing and the camera has a stereo jack for headphones.

The downside of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV is that it suffers from light reflections when a light source is in view.

Like the Sony, the Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II is a bridge camera. It costs less than half the Sony and is still a good camera. Although he scores clearly less well on some points.

For example, you can zoom in less far with the Panasonic. The photo quality is somewhat less, although it is still more than sufficient. The film and video quality is very good.

Striking is the Leica lens with zoom ring, manual focus ring and gray filter switch. It is possible to add GPS data to your photos via your smartphone.

Minus: flash photos of subjects 5 meters or more away aren’t exactly the best photos you can get with the device.

In this section we write weekly about household and technological appliances that have been tested by the Consumers’ Association. This is a collaboration between the independent editors of this site and the Consumers’ Association.

The Consumers’ Association tests thousands of products every year, together with qualified technicians in specialized laboratories in the Netherlands and abroad. The products that are tested are bought in the store, so that they are not pre-manipulated by manufacturers.

New models are tested as soon as possible after introduction. How fast that is varies per product. The Best in Test is the product with the best test rating. This can also be an older model, because a newer model is not always better. The Best Buy is the product with the best value for money.

The stated price of a product is the lowest retail price at the moment as far as known by the Consumers’ Association. But prices can vary from day to day. If no recent retail price is known, the target price is quoted.