Digital Camera advice required

[marzjennings]

The wife got me a Nikon P900 this year and so far the best point shoot/bridge camera I've ever owned. Not so much due to the sensor, as it's pretty basic and not great in low light, or to general features as manual mode sucks. It's just the lense is great and very versatile with a 24-2000mm range. Landscape, portraits, macro, moonshots, etc. It'll be my number travel camera for the next couple of years.
The shot below was taken during a recent mtb ride, hand held 500mm shot from about 40 yards away.
View media item 9304
Question to mods; I created an image library and made it public to all members to use and upload to. But what are the guidelines for creating image library regarding image size, number of images, folder size and allowing access to others?

 

[Grant Fondo]

Why not DSLR set to auto then start mucking around with aperture etc with a bit more confidence. Canon 100d is nice and small with good deals these days. Get a standard f1.8 50mm set to 1.8 over chrimbo and see how good portraits look...miles better than bridge or compact

 

[al-fresco]

Hi All,

I know nothing about photography, so I'm looking for an easy-to-use, smallish digital camera - importantly, it must work well in 'Auto' mode. The primary shortcomings of my current digital cameras, is that they seem to take a while to focus on the subject; if I were to try to get a couple of pictures at (for example) a sports event, I find that I seem to 'miss' getting pics because the camera seems to take so long to calibrate itself - there always appears to be a delay, even when the timer is on the minimum setting. Another failing, is that if I'm at a party or function (such as the CC Awards Night ), there always is a significant delay, before a pic is taken - perhaps the flash needs warming up.

I want a smallish camera which has a decent 'zoom' and can take reasonable action shoots. Is there a compact camera that will meet my needs ? A camera with lots of features, would be money wasted - I simply can't be bothered to learn how to use them. Oh yes, it'd be advantageous, if I could get a camera which takes standard batteries of the AA or AAA type, rather than rechargeables.

Can anyone suggest a suitable camera ?

So the primary requirements are a camera for sports photography and events photography. Personally I wouldn't take a compact camera to a sports event, not because they couldn't do the job but because I'm not a good enough photographer. Sports photograph on a compact means getting right into the action - at a motor race you'd want to be in the pits, at a cricket match you'd want to be on the pavilion steps - not shooting from the boundary. Conversely I would take a compact to a party - small and unobtrusive, just the job especially with optical stabilisation and a fast lens so you can forget about using a flash. A camera to do both? Well it's almost got to be a bridge camera - but bridge cameras are like hybrid bikes - not great on the road, not great off it, versatility does mean compromise. Bridge cameras are almost as big as some DSLRs but they do have great zoom. What they don't have is an optical viewfinder - I guess the range of zoom makes that impractical - but some come with electronic viewfinders which are better than trying to compose a shot using a screen in bright sunlight. As for AA batteries - screw that you old luddite!

Ok, just one camera for both jobs? The Panasonic Lumix Z200. No, I don't have one, I don't have any bridge camera but I have had a couple of compact Lumix and they were both great cameras. The Z200 has an electronic viewfinder and it has a Leica licensed lens that has a constant aperture of f2.8 throughout the range of the zoom. Yes, Pubbie - saw your eyes glaze over there. What that means is that the camera will work indoors without a flash and your outdoor action shots are less likely to be ruined by 'camera shake.' £279 Currys/Jessops or you may find one available secondhand.

 

[potsy]

I'm in a similar situation just now, always had compact 'point & click' type cameras, although my current one is a rather nice Canon with 30x zoom.
Am now looking to go to the next level but cannot decide if a dslr is for me, or would I do better with a bridge camera with an even bigger zoom (60x)?

These two are on my short list so far..

Panasonic FZ82

Canon sx60

If I go for a dslr then I guess a similarly priced one from either of the above makes.

 

[MarkF]

I bought my daughter a Nikon S7000 for Xmas, I don't know anything about cameras bur her pics are stunning, to me at least. I think I paid about £160 for it, she will move on to a "proper" camera next year (part of her studies) and then it will be mine.

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_coolpix_s7000_review/specifications/