Bridge Cam

[wxman]

Sorry this question is a bit "off topic" for this board, but I guess indirectly related since I'm comparing to IP cams.

I've been comparing images/videos from my Hikvision 3mp and Huisun mini PTZ 2mp cams to snapshots/videos taken with my bridge camera (14mp images/1080p video) and must say that the Hik and Huisun literally blow it away in terms of image sharpness, clarity and dynamic range. The bridge cam seemed good 2 years ago when I got it, but the picture looks so soft now that I'm used to viewing the sharp images from the Hik and Huisun.

I've looked at video samples on youtube from other top rated bridge cams and point & shoot cams in the $100-$300 range and they seem to have the same image softness (comparatively speaking). Not sure if it's an auto-focus issue or if it's something to do with the sensors or processing chipsets. Some of the other lesser-known brands mentioned here (Hiliscon, Longse, etc.) have the high clarity/sharp images, too...The only thing I've really been able to find outside of security with this kind of clarity is some of the Gopro and Gopro-clone action cams. Problem with those is they are fixed focus and don't have the big 20X to 60X optical zoom like you find on bridge cams.

Has anyone else ever noticed this? Does anyone know of any bridge cams (say under $300) that can produce the image clarity that these newer security cams can? Based on what I've seen, I could get better video by just anchoring a Huisun mini-ptz to a tripod and carrying it around with a tablet computer to control it.

 

[tangent]

I'm not familiar with 'bridge cams' what is the brand / model of your current cam?

I'm guessing this is more of a trail cam?

 

[gmaster1]

I'm pretty sure OP is referring to an advanced point-and-shoot camera. The word "bridge" references the fact that the camera is larger than a traditional point and shoot camera and is a 'bridge' to buying a standard DSLR.

That said, for about $300 you can buy a DSLR w/ 70-300mm lens that blows any IP camera or point-and-shoot out of the water... I'd go for that option WAYYYY before carrying around a CCTV with tablet.

 

[tangent]

that makes more sense. Possibly a micro 4/3's. For some reason my brain went a little to literal when I read that.

 

[wxman]

I'm pretty sure OP is referring to an advanced point-and-shoot camera. The word "bridge" references the fact that the camera is larger than a traditional point and shoot camera and is a 'bridge' to buying a standard DSLR.

Exactly...More advanced than a point and shoot as you get much more powerful zoom and the ability to manually adjust shutter speed, aperture, manual white balance adjustments for each color channel, etc...But it don't manually change lens and such...

That said, for about $300 you can buy a DSLR w/ 70-300mm lens that blows any IP camera or point-and-shoot out of the water... I'd go for that option WAYYYY before carrying around a CCTV with tablet.

Would you happen to have any model numbers? Every DSLR I found was like in the $600-$1500 range, thus why I was looking at the bridge models.

Also to clarify, I'm primarily concerned about the video part..I've seen lots (even point and shoots) that can give a decent enough high megapixel snapshot but the video part is what mostly left a lot to be desired. There would either be funky things going on with continuous auto-focus being slow and sometimes going in and out of focus for no obvious reason, and then the picture would just overall look soft, instead of sharp, crisp edges.

Not sure if this will work as it may get resized, but this is a close zoom example (left is Huisun mini-ptz, right is bridge cam)...The Huisun looks extremely sharp/crisp and more vibrant color, where the other just looks dull and soft. The difference is even more obvious on video, but I don't have any of that uploaded right now...

 

[gmaster1]

Canon T2i and T3i etc -- Body for around $240-300 and the 70-300 is about $100 -- Idk buy used or refurb and that price drops even more. I bought a T3i kit for someone and it came with an 18-55 and 70-300 for $299 new in box... The deals are out there.

If you're looking for video......
[h=1]Canon VIXIA HF R700[/h]$300 new... and far better than what you're working with now most likely.

For extreme zoom, give this one a try: https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00U2W4JEY

 

[wxman]

Canon T2i and T3i etc -- Body for around $240-300 and the 70-300 is about $100 -- Idk buy used or refurb and that price drops even more. I bought a T3i kit for someone and it came with an 18-55 and 70-300 for $299 new in box... The deals are out there.

If you're looking for video......
Canon VIXIA HF R700

$300 new... and far better than what you're working with now most likely.

For extreme zoom, give this one a try: https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-COOLPIX-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B00U2W4JEY

Hmm, interesting options...Thanks for the reply!

The 83X Nikon is a little out of budget for me at this point...The DSLR seems a bit more reasonable and looks like pretty good quality, but the whole changing lens and manual focus may be a little too advanced for me at my current stage of relatively limited photography knowledge. Guess I'll research a bit more and see if I'm ready for that much of a step.

The R700 does look pretty good with video and more inline with the video quality that I'm looking for....Zoom would probably be more than sufficient for my needs and though I still don't think the image is quite as sharp as the Huisun PTZ, it's probably sharp enough...Certainly has a better color reproduction, which adds value...The downside I'm seeing is it probably wouldn't necessarily be a replacement for still images since it doesn't have a flash and is limited to only 2mp image res. Seems like if I were going to put $300 on new gear, I should probably go for something that would be an all-in-one for all of my photography needs, rather than having one cam for video and one for images. Seems to be a hard one to find, though. Find one extra good at still photos and the video leaves a lot to be desired; find one with good quality video and the snapshots leave a lot to be desired. Also seems that most cams that I'm finding below $300 have been on the market for 5 or more years and are old technology now. There's been a lot of advancements made in HD video over the past few years, from better quality CMOS sensors, to faster focus times, etc..

 

[bp2008]

My Canon with 50x optical zoom was also terrible for video, as its autofocus was slow and wandered for no reason just like you described, wxman. I suspect a dedicated "camcorder" like the VIXIA would be much better for this. Maybe an SLR would be just as good ... I've never shot video with an SLR.

I tell you what, if my galaxy s7 phone had optical zoom I would not want another hand-held camera for anything.

 

[wxman]

My Canon with 50x optical zoom was also terrible for video, as its autofocus was slow and wandered for no reason just like you described, wxman.

I can somewhat handle a slow focus on a zoom change, but the bigger problem (which you seemed to be experiencing too) is the "continuous" autofocus. Instead of just focusing in on the middle of the image and staying put until you change zoom, it's constantly trying to re-focus every second on some different portion of the image. It'll be focused on the person's face that you're recording for 5 seconds, then suddenly it tries to focus on the a tree limb way in the background and the person goes blurry for a couple seconds, then it refocuses back on their face for a few seconds, then wanders off again to focus on some other random object in the background. Will you make you dizzy watching it. Even when it is in focus, it doesn't have the crisp, sharp edges around objects like these newer lines of security cams have.

I tell you what, if my galaxy s7 phone had optical zoom I would not want another hand-held camera for anything.

Agreed! Just looked up some video samples on Youtube, and it's got that crisp/sharp video more in line with what I'm looking for...Just too bad it doesn't have the optical zoom (and not sure, but I doubt it has a flash either)...Interestingly, I noticed a number of complaints in the comments about it being "over sharp" and "over saturated"....I take it a lot of people actually prefer the softer images and limited color and maybe I'm the rare odd ball that likes high sharpness and color. Maybe instead of looking at the top rated cams, I should start looking for the lowest rated cams and maybe I'll find my overly sharp, overly colorful match there.

 

[bp2008]

Most, if not all smart phones have a small LED flash. Nothing like a big flash on a bigger camera.

I too have noticed the image processing is a bit stronger than normal on the s7's pictures. Particularly, I notice their sharpening filter creating fringing effects around high-contrast edges. Such as at the treeline in this pic:

 

[gmaster1]

OP, It's difficult to say people prefer certain sharpness or color profiles when you're talking about sub $300 devices.... that said, give me 300 and I'll buy a used and older DSLR and some decent glass. Problem [ultimately] solved.

 

[Razer]

I tried several things to record video, for meetings and general outdoor use. Recording for use in promo videos and the like also. In the end I just had way too many issues with the bridge cams I used. (Sony and Canon) I tried a smaller go pro and that was no good for me so in the end I actually purchased a dedicated video camera and it works much much better than the others. I got the Panasonic HC-V770 but I needed specifically a good mic and this one had one that really does work really good.

I do not have auto focus issues and it does take really good video. You may want to consider an actual video camera for videos and keep the bridge cam for stills alone?

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-HC-V770-Camcorder-Wireless-Smartphone/dp/B00RBG5J02 $435 for a "used" one from Amazon, or new for $500. I'm sure there are other models that would work well too I just know I have had decent success with the Panasonic brand of video cameras for what it is worth.

The GoPros take really good video too, for me the mic was awful for my needs, but they can get great video results as many youtube videos will attest to. Also a severe lack of zoom...

 

[wxman]

Unfortunately, I may have to settle for one cam for stills and a separate for just video, but was hoping to avoid that. That's what I've currently been doing and it's annoying having to keep switching back and forth. I do a lot of nature photography and usually like to get stills and video of the same thing. Often miss the shot on one of them during the time it takes to switch cams. So much faster to click a button to switch between images and video.

Audio isn't really a big issue for me. Don't have to be music CD quality. As long as I'm at least able to hear it and understand what's being said, then it's fine for me...

The Gopro clone I use is under $100 and works well enough for me with close video. Just doesn't have any optical zoom and the still images leave a lot to be desired (primarily due to lack of flash requiring a slower shutter speed and thus blurring from hand shake).

I'm a little surprised that there isn't really a cheap Chinese market for bridge cams that I can find...A lot of Gopro/action cam knock offs available from China as well as the security industry having a strong presence, but all I'm finding in bridge cams are your expensive Sony, Cannon, Nikon, etc...Seems like there would be a some under $100, no-warranty bridge cams of unknown brands on Aliexpress that would be somewhat comparable to the $300-$500 Sony/Cannon/Nikon models. Seems to be non-existent, though?