What's the consensus on these? Some say yay but others say no.

I'm looking at replacing my Fuji F50 p&s for something towards dslr. But at the mo, don't have time to go full scale into photography. Wants something a bit more advanced - manual zoom, separate optical viewfinder (or something equivalent), RAW format and image stabilisation. Should be quick in time to first shot and time to next shot. Aperture and shutter priorities would be nice. Don't have £££ or time to get into buying lenses and other bits of equipment.

Are there any recommended bridge cameras? Do I look at entry level dslr cameras? Do I just get a fancier P&S?

Needs to be an all-rounder - would like to use for things like special occasions, family outings, motorsport and car shows, which are musts. Also would like to be able to take macro shots especially nature and night time scenery.

Budget £350.

What do you recommend? Looked at the HS20 but apparently laggy. Looking at the lumix FZ range at the moment but some advice would be useful.

Personally I would go for a high end compact rather than a bridge. That way when I went down the DSLR route I would still have a versatile pocket camera.

The Canon powershot G11 + G12 have the features you are looking for. The G12 is a little over budget but adds 720p video.

No doubt others will have different opinions, but I've always found compact canons easy to use and reliable.

Wow. Everyone wants that!
The Panasonic GF2 with 14-42mm lens might be worth a look.
Failing that I'd look at older entry level D-SLR cameras.
Your budget really doesn't reflect the expectations of the hardware you require. Maybe just do as Matt says and get a slightly better compact for the time being?

Mark

Quite impressed by the G11/12 series. Tempted to go into Jessops and see if they have them so I can have a play around. I almost made an impulse buy of the HS20 EXR but read the reviews and they were poor.

From what I gather the main limitation of bridge cameras is small sensor size but large lens so the image quality is a bit poor. Is this correct?

One thing you may want to consider is depth of field. iirc smaller sensors have a greater DOF so it could restrict your creativity for out of focus shooting.

Yeah I read about that too - you can't keep the subject in focus and blur out thr background.

I've also thought about buying an older dslr but don't know where to look. ebay is too dodgy these days.

+1 I have a little Ixus for point and shoot duties, and an EOS 550D for when I really want to make "good" photos.

I had a few bridge cameras, but they were a pain, the quality isn't as good as a DSLR and they are more bulky and harder to carry around than a compact. In the end, I went with the Ixsus and ended up taking a lot more photos, because I could fit it in my pocket when I went out for a walk.

Then, when it finally wasn't enough for everything, I bought the EOS for the "quality" shots.

The bridge has good zoom length, but when the lens, sensor, memory, electronics and casing cost less than a halfway decent zoom lens for a DSLR, you've got to know that there are serious compromises there.

PC Pro just had a blog post about Bridge camers:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2011/06/21 ... he-bridge/

And they have reviews in their current issue (although I'd trust a proper camera mag/website more than PC Pro, when it comes to camera reviews, they are rather shallow). But I made some more detailed comments and arguments in the comments there as well.

Sony Alpha? (I know I'm a bit biased) but if you don't mind not recording video they can be a good purchase

I picked up my a450 (lower tier of mid level) last year, new (from Comet) for £285 (£15 voucher code) with the 18-55 kit lens (which is good). I can't shoot video but other than that it all works great, a battery was less than £10 when Jessops were selling them on offer and lasts a long time
If you can wait and keep an eye on HUKD there are some very good bargains to be had

Been adding to the collection with Minolta lenses (anything Minolta AF will work and as the motor is built in the body on all alpha dslrs the lenses dont need the AF in it) and the most I have spent on a lens was £85 on a 24-105mm (I think it's 105mm for a full frame sensor) on a 2nd hand lens, mostly it's about £50

There are even entry level SLRs in the budget
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/eos-1000d- ... 7-pdt.html
http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Digital-SLR-Ki ... die/642711
http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Digital-SLR-Ki ... die/656917

The benefit of a bridge camera is one lens does all I suppose. If you buy an entry level DSLR you're still looking at at least two lenses to cover the same range as a big zoom bridge. The Panasonic FZ range always seem to rated quote highly if a bridge camera is your thing.

I do like the idea of the CSC cameras mind you. For example the Samsung NX100 uses an APS-C sized sensor in a much more compact body than a DSLR. It comes with a 20-50mm (30-75mm equiv) lens for £250 (Jessops) or £290 with case and flash included (Warehouseexpress) and can even use a huge back catalogue of Pentax K mount lenses with an adapter. The Olympus E-PL1 and Sony NEX3 are also within budget.

I'm now tempted by the G12 after reading the reviews.

I still think a high-end compact or bridge is better for me than a dslr. But I know someone who's selling a cameras set up:

Canon EOS500D, 75-300mm lens, flash gun, remote release, batteries and grip, bag, hoods all for £500!

What do you reckon? Overkill?

Will look into the other cameras mentioned here.

I have the EOS 550D with a Sigma 18-250mm lens. That is excellent, but cost a bit more than 500€.

I'd certainly give the 500D serious consideration, in I were you. The 550D is a big step forward, the 600D brought a tiltable display and a couple of new "creative" modes, but not much, which is why I went with the 550D.

But you are also investing in the lenses, you can take them with you, if you upgrade at a later date. Even my old 28-250mm Sigma lens from my 2001 EOS500 film camera works on the 550D! If you can get the lens and the camera for a good price, you can build up your lenses. 75mm is a bit high for a standard lens. I'd want at least a 50mm in there, with possibly some wide angle as well. But it is definitely a good start.

I think the 75-300mm lens is in addition to the standard lens the camera came with but will double-check. If the guy doesn't sell it in the next few days, I might head over and have a look.

Do as much research as you want but it's a good idea to play with them before you buy if you can.

Oh definitely. I want to head into town to go to a camera shop and fiddle with a few cameras but as it's now rather late to go shopping for me (I hate afternoon shopping; I'm normally in and out before midday). But it would be nice to make a shortlist of cameras to try out rather than spend all day playing with cameras. Did I mention I hate shopping?

I'll try to go next weekend and see what's what.

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/advice/501485/what-is-the-best-bridge-camera-2010.html - worth a look at maybe?

If you're not sold on the idea of a DSLR, then I'd throw my cash in with the Canon G12, if you can find one for the price.

Or, just to add another option, have a look at the Panasonic Lumix G2.
All the convenience of a compact camera, with the flexibility of changeable lenses if you want to extend it later.