Desperately seeking a replacement camera, which? - 1

I have been to the stores, asked the professionals and still ahve not found that one machine I seek…
Can someone please help?

I'm looking to replace an old camera.
I want a digital "bridge" type version
It must have good decent bright lens which is capable of taking shots at a distance and not crating too noise
Excellent ISO ( 100-2600 for example )
EFV ( i travel a lot and like to get close to the subject thru the visor…)
Flip screen ( typical on Canon and Nikon camaras
Not too heavy in weight as I travel for work and pleasure
Between 12 & 20 mega pixels should be enough
My preferred brands ( i currently own a canon Powershot 1 I S which has given me 8 years of excellent pics but uses AAA batteries & has only 6 mpx! )
Canon, Nikon or Lumix with a Leica lens.
I did take a serious look at the powershot g series but the lenses however bright are only X5 in distance, way too short nowadays.
A tall order perhaps?
Many thanks for any answers, greatly appreciated and will be studied.
Oh, price? 500€ / 600$ / £500

Let us know when you decide whether to accept less zoom, higher price, or lower quality.

If you opt for less zoom, and adequate quality about ISO 1600, I think the closest would be the Nikon P7800. 7.1X zoom, f2.0-4.0, 1/1.7" sensor, articulating viewfinder.

Have you looked at Fuji Bridge cameras? I think they do most of what you want but I'm not sure about the flip out screen.

Your best bet is something like a Panasonic Z200. It has a fast lens, but image quality deteriorates quickly as you increase ISO.

Bridge cameras generally have small sensors - the same size as typically found in compact cameras. There's an exception or two, but this is the norm. This is necessary to keep those huge lenses a manageable size.

Consequently, you are not going to find anything with really good high ISO performance.

Also the articulating LCD screen just promotes poor camera handling as you are holding the camera at arm's length rather than using the viewfinder. This usually results in excessive camera shake, resulting in blurry photos. If such a LCD is a must, I would only use it for video or when the camera is on a tripod.

I still prefer something like a Nikon P330 with a lower power 5x lens. The lens is brighter, as well it is sharper. Those huge 30x zooms tend to have optical issues, and may not be as sharp. This is another compromise for using such lenses.

I think you will also find that after you take a couple of blurry pictures of birds from a mile away with such a lens, the novelty will wear off, and you will probably not use all of the zoom power in such a lens. So why not just stick with a camera having more of a manageable lens and be rewarded with a camera with a sharper image and better low-light capability.

Thing is, manufacturers are pushing bridge cameras as that is the only thing they can use to combat the intrusion of smartphones… As smartphones can't have such zoom power (at least not without some external appendage). So the "bridge" here is the trip from compact cameras to the compact camera graveyard.

Consider these options: Lumix DMC FZ200, Nikon Coolpix P7800 and Canon Powershot SX50HS. All three have good image quality until ISO 1600, has flip-out screen, EVF and supports both JPEG and Raw formats. But image quality deteriorates considerably above ISO 1600.

Lumix DMC FZ200 - 12MP, 24x zoom, constant and fast maximum aperture of f/2.8, which is its strength.

Nikon Coolpix P7800 - 12MP, 7.1x zoom, slightly larger sensor, aperture f/2-4.

SX50HS - 12MP, 50x zoom, and f/3.4-6.5 which is comparatively slow aperture.

I think no bridge camera with the small sensors can offer excellent high ISO performance, especially above ISO 1600.

Bridge cameras are also known as super zooms. Be aware that the more they zoom, the less the quality of the image. I suggest the following article and cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/...-cameras/5

Canon PowerShot SX510 HS - $250
http://www.usa.canon.com/...t_sx510_hs

Fujifilm FinePix HS50 - $550
http://www.fujifilm.com/...x_hs50exr/

Nikon Coolpix P520 - $350
http://www.nikonusa.com/...-P520.html

Pentax X5 - $185
http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/products/x-5/

The lens on my £1800 DSLR only has 3.5x optical zoom equivalent.

Buy a DSLR such as a Nikon d3300 or d3200.