Cannon PowerShot DX530 vs Nikon COOLPIX B500.

[Cheri]

I am trying to decide between a Cannon PowerShot DX530 and Nikon - COOLPIX B500.

I was leaning toward the Nikon as it just uses regular batteries I can get anywhere while the cannon you have to order special pack.. and also, the Nikon feels so much better when holding it than the Cannon. I also like the WIFI /Bluetooth option on Nikon that Cannon doesnt have.





4 questions:



1. in reviews, The Nikon says
Video focus struggles at the telephoto end
Image quality is poor at the telephoto end



What does this mean?I have also ready that the Nikon makes noise while videoing and you hear the noise it makes while zooming in while taking the video... anyone havecomment about this?


2. Also the diff is Cannon has 4608 x 2592 screen resolution and Nikon had 921,000 dots. Whats that mean and which is better and whY?


3. I see the Nikon only takes 30 second videos. My old Sony takes nearly 5 minutes (most I have done anyway)...is that really all the Nikon does is 30 seconds or is there a way to set it to take longer videos? I was playing with them in the store today and noticed this.



4. How would I use the WIFI/Bluetooth connections? Would I use that on a camera? I have never heard of such a thing!



Thanks for the info. And if you have any other comments, I'd appreciate anything you have to say! I currently have a Cannon Sure Shot which I love, but it is 10 years old now and I think I need a new camera. Stating to have little issues with the 10 year old Cannon! Thanks for any comments!

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day Cheri

Firstly - Welcome to Steve's Digi camera forum - there are heaps of people here with heaps of knowledge and skills

Okay - you are telling us of your interest in video and asking about 2 cameras - however neither camera you ask about is recognised as being 'really suitable' for video work if that is going to be your primary use for a new camera. The industry-recognised camera suitable for high quality video and closest to the two you mention is the Panasonic FZ-300

In searching DP Review for these cameras I cannot find the DX530 so have substituted the SX530 presuming they are the same but sold in different countries

You have posed 4 questions for us ...

1) image quality / video focus struggles at the telephoto end [of the zoom lens]
Every zoom lens has issues with all of sharpness and colour and focus and other things - and the task of the designers is to minimise each of these as much as possible. But there are some things - size & weight & price that determine where a company stops trying to make it 'perfect'. Overall it is well known that any zoom lens over about 30x zoom will become unsharp and under everything except very bright sunlight, will struggle to focus easily and quickly

2) Also the difference is Canon has 4608 x 2592 screen resolution and Nikon had 921,000 dots
Okay - here you are talking about 2 different things ... the pixels in the sensor versus the pixels (dots) displaying the image in the eyepiece

Both the SX530 and the B500 have a 16 mpx sensor of 4608 x 3456 pixels, whereas the Panasonic FZ-300 has a 12mpx sensor of 4000 x 3000 pixels. The rear screen clarity is vastly different - the SX530 has 461,000 pixels, the B500 has 921,000 pixels and the Panasonic FZ-300 has 1,040,000 pixels. This means that the SX530 would provide a much 'blurrier' image than the other 2 cameras. The FZ-300 also has an eyepiece to look through, where the SZ530 & B500 only have the rear display screen

3) the length of video record time varies from country to country - I believe that the US restricts it to shorter times than the EU does. I am not a video user so someone else here will have to answer this one

4) WiFi / Bluetooth is used to exchange camera photos to a computer or smartfone.
Most people however insert the camera memory card into a slot on their computer or into a card reader to exchange images between the camera and computer

Also - batteries are constant dilemma
I agree with you that the AA batteries are excellent and do give more photos per charge than every Li-Ion battery put out by the camera maker. However the problem is voltage not battery storage. Most new electronic cameras need more than the 6-volts we get from 4x 1,5v AA batteries. We are lucky in that 3rd-party battery suppliers are out there offering batteries for 1/2 the price from the camera makers, so overall it sort of settles down after a while

Finally for the moment - I am including a link below to the DP Review site showing the 3 cameras mentioned above. You can go up and down the lists and see both similarities & differences ~ hopefully it will be of some help to you as well

https://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_sx530hs&products=nikon_cpb500& products=panasonic_dmcfz300

Hope this helps,
Phil