Compact long zoom camera with viewfinder

We will be doing a 14-day Alaska cruise next month. I have a Canon SX-50 camera that I used three years ago in Alaska and got some great wildlife shots with the 50x zoom. Lately I'm noticing that sometimes when I turn on the camera, the lens extends a bit and then the camera seems dead. Turning it off and back on again seems to fix the problem...for now. (Any idea what is causing this?)

My fear is that the camera will decide to quit on our trip. :rolleyes: I am considering purchasing another camera to have just in case. I would like to get a smaller, compact camera because there are times it would be nice to not carry a large camera. I don't have a lot of time to research what is available so am hoping I can get some advice from the experts on this board.

What I would like:

• Smaller compact camera that could fit in a purse
  
• Long zoom (30x or more?)
  
• Viewfinder
  
• Price under $300 if possible, for sure under $400
  

Does such a camera exist? If not, what model might come the closest? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!!

That combination will be difficult to find - seemingly viewfinders are out of fashion these days.

As a baseline, take a look at the Panasonic ZS100 travel zoom camera [link is to DP Review's overview page for the camera]. This is a large sensor / large lens version of the travel zoom style camera.

The small sensor version is the Panasonic ZS60 - smaller, slower lens but a longer zoom range. Extreme zoom ranges are common with small sensor cameras - the lenses are easier to design and can be made fairly small.

While you are visiting the links for the Panasonic cameras, take a look at the feature search page - you will find multiple options from Panasonic, Sony, Nikon, Canon and other manufactures. The search results for that page have both 'bridge' cameras and more compact styles - the 'bridge' style cameras have more capable lenses, but will be bulkier.

If you liked the SX50.. I'd just go with the newer model of that.

Long zoom does have some value in Alaska, though even there it is generally overrated.

You won't find many decent viewfinders at that price.

I have a Sony wx500 and rate it very highly highly. Thinking of upgrading to the full sensor version for the 4k video.

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Got me a Panasonic ZS50 for our upcoming Alaska trip - like the ZS60 but the ZS50 was a Ben plus cheaper and preferred the 12 MP over the 18 MP. The 4K video, faster shutter and more focus points were nice features.