The best zoom camera in 2024 (2024)

Although the smartphone in your pocket can do a lot of great things - and take fantastic photographs - if there’s one area where traditional cameras tend to fare better, it’s with their zoom capability.

There are plenty of reasons why a camera equipped with a long zoom lens is the ideal solution for you. Whether it’s for all-around flexibility when traveling or you just like to photograph a wide range of subjects, having the ability to zoom in (and out) from a scene always comes in handy. Shooting at longer focal lengths is useful for portraits, while being able to zoom even further is ideal for sports, wildlife, and other potentially distant subjects.

Zoom cameras, with fixed built-in zooms, tend to be split into two broad categories. Traditional pocket-friendly point-and-shoot compact cameras are ideal for holidays and day trips. Meanwhile, bridge cameras are bigger and chunkier but tend to have lengthier zooms and handling, which is reminiscent of DSLRs.

Most pocket-friendly zoom cameras have relatively small sensors, but you can also find a few with larger one-inch type sensors that still offer a good degree of zoom. Bridge cameras also tend to have smaller sensors, but as an all-in-one solution to getting a long zoom, this is often worth the trade-off.

With these things in mind, it’s time to have a look at our selection of the best zoom cameras you can buy…

Our top picks

• Back to the top ⤴

Best zoom camera in 2024

Best overall

When it comes to the king of the all-rounders, a camera that is adept at pretty much anything you’d care to throw at it, the Sony RX100 VII is the one. But, the one for which you’ll pay a huge premium for.

With its 8x zoom, it’s fairly flexible (though if zoom is your main concern, there are others that are better here), but it’s the fact that it can shoot at super-fast burst speeds, has a retracting EVF, a well-featured touchscreen and a high-performing one-inch sensor - and does all of that while fitting in your pocket that sees it sit at the top of our list.

If you want something which will fit more neatly into your budget, keep looking down our list.

See our full Sony RX100 VII review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for beginners

With its 40x zoom lens, the SX740 is a fantastic option for those who want a simple-to-use travel-friendly camera, which is also well-suited to family snaps and days out.

Particularly ideally suited to beginners, it also offers more advanced modes for enthusiasts (though sadly there’s no raw format shooting). Other useful specifications include the front-facing screen (ideal for those holiday selfies) and 4K video.

The compromise for having such a lengthy zoom is a small sensor, so the SX740 is probably not one for those who like to shoot a lot in low light, but for bright light holiday shots, it’s a good value all-rounder.

See our full Canon PowerShot SX740 HS review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for travel

Offering an excellent balance between large sensor and zoom length, the Panasonic Lumix ZS200 (called the TZ200 in Europe) is in many ways the perfect travel camera.

Small enough to fit in your pocket, while still offering a very flexible 15x zoom, it’s ideal for capturing landscapes, portraits and reasonably far-off subjects.

Well-suited to both beginners and enthusiasts, it offers a range of shooting modes and advanced options such as raw format shooting and the ever-useful 4K Photo modes.

There’s a couple of downsides here, such as the fact that the screen is fixed, and that there’s some image softening seen at the full 15x zoom, but, especially at the price, it’s an excellent all-rounder that is a great buy for many.

See our full Panasonic ZS200 / TZ200 review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for wildlife

If you’re looking for a zoom camera for wildlife or other moving subjects, the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV is a superb choice, and certainly the best of its kind on the market. Not only do you get a very flexible 25x zoom (giving you an equivalent of 600mm at the telephoto end), but you get fantastic image quality throughout the zoom range.

You also get superb AF tracking for moving subjects, and fast burst shooting to keep up with those elusive subjects. With its large one-inch sensor and maximum wide aperture - even at the telephoto end - the RX10 IV is no slouch when it comes to low light shooting either.

Of course there is a price to pay for such excellence, with the RX10 IV being one of the priciest models on the market, but considering the equivalent spend you’d need to make for comparable DSLR optics, it could arguably be viewed as a bit of a bargain.

See our full Sony RX10 IV review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Best for vloggers

Aimed at vloggers, the Sony ZV-1 is designed for content creators that need to shoot videos of themselves. As such the zoom is a modest 24-70mm affair with a variable aperture of f/1.8 - f/2.8. However, there is a big change in minimum focusing distance as you zoom which is annoying especially if you're using it to record video.

The SteadyShot active stabilization wasn't the best however the autofocus is very impressive. It has a vari-angle, a rear tilting screen that means it's perfect for recording yourself a mic-wind shield which means its audio quality even with the built-in mic is still pretty good. Unlike the Sony RX100 compact cameras, it doesn't have a viewfinder, but it produces high-quality images, is even better at video, and, best of all, it'll cost you less.

Read our full Sony ZV-1 review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best waterproof zoom camera

The TG-7 is the latest in a series of shockproof, and fully waterproof cameras in the Tough range - originally produced by Olympus, and now marketed under the OM System brand. Its appeal is that you can use this on the beach, in extreme weather, on a boat, or even when snorkeling and not worry. But it is not just about the commando credentials, we love built-in microscope setting that allows you to take amazing close-ups - and that it records GPS coordinates and temperature with your photos.

Its 12 megapixel sensor can shoot 4K video, but can usefully capture Full HD video at 120fps for super-slow-motion - with a modest 12MP stills capability. The TG-7 has a modest 25-100mm optical zoom - butt that is actually very good compared to other fully waterproof compacts. In our field tests we found the Tough easy-to-use but sophisticated, is quite simply the best waterproof camera around.

Read our full OM System Tough TG-7 review

• Back to the top ⤴

Best value superzoom

If you’re looking for a well-rounded bridge camera that offers a good range of functions - and has that all-important ultra-long zoom, then the Canon SX70 is a good option.

At 65x, it’s one of the longest on the market (without verging into the ridiculous territory of the Nikon P1000, see below), giving you good scope to shoot pretty much every subject imaginable.

We found it very least to handle (you will feel familiar with it if you’re used to using other Canon cameras). There's usable enough EVF and fully articulating screen - but which is let down by the fact it’s not touch-sensitive. There’s a good range of shooting modes, plus the ability to shoot in raw format.

The trade-off here for the ultra-long zoom is a small sensor, meaning the SX70 doesn’t perform amazingly well in certain conditions - such as low light. But for a good value travel and holiday camera, we reckon it’s still well worth considering.

See our full Canon PowerShot SX70 HS review.

• Back to the top ⤴

Zoom camera with longest zoom

If zoom really is your key concern, then the Nikon P1000 will give you the ultimate reach - with some key compromises.

With its amazing 125x zoom lens, you’ve got enough power here to literally shoot the moon, as well as of course everything else in between.

As you’d expect, in order to accommodate such a lens, the camera is a whopper. There are some benefits to that, such as its DSLR-like handling and excellent EVF. That said, however, it’s so big and cumbersome that you have to really want that kind of zoom level to tolerate it - so it won’t be for everyone. What's more its size we found when testing it that it is so big you can find yourself feeling quite self-conscious using this beast in public!

Thanks to a small sensor, it also struggles in low light, and shooting at the 3000mm end of the telephoto lens can also be a bit of a hit and miss situation, too.

See our full Nikon P1000 review.

• Back to the top ⤴

How to choose a zoom camera

When it comes to choosing a zoom camera, think about exactly how much zoom you actually need. You’ll probably want at least an 8-10x zoom, but some of those in our list here offer 20 or 30x, with one even offering a staggering 125x (enough power to shoot close-ups of the moon!).

Thinking about equivalent focal lengths, if zoom is your main concern you’ll generally be looking for something which goes beyond the standard 24-70mm type range, so pay attention to that in the specs list. Also think about the wide-angle end of the lens, especially if you’re looking for something to fulfill a range of needs or is ideal as an all-rounder for subjects such as travel. That could even mean you look out for something wider than 24mm for extended flexibility.

• Back to the top ⤴

How we test zoom camera

Our team of in-house and external reviewers have tested hundreds of zoom cameras over the years, and we use their experience to pick the best available in the market today for this guide. We test compact cameras and bridge cameras in real world conditions - seeing how they handle shooting a variety of different lighting conditions and shooting scenarios, and then comparing their results to those we have taken with similar cameras. With zoom cameras, handling is just as important as out-and-out image quality - so we pay particular attention to ease-of-use and ergonomics in our tests.
Read more about how we test products at DCW

• Back to the top ⤴

Read more:
Best travel camera
The best point-and-shoot cameras
Best cameras for hiking
Best cameras under $200
Best cameras under $500
Best cameras for beginners
Best compact cameras
Best mirrorless cameras

Related articles

• Radiant Photo unveils 'ground-breaking' update that focuses on preserving natural skin tones with AI
• Realme 12+ revealed: accessibly-priced camera phone with premium features
• Gordon Parks' iconic American Gothic series of photos showcased with a new book and exhibition