Been looking at the other one mentioned on here and it's 50x and there is a video clip on the thread too of one with 60x but it doesn't say on this camera,and I cannot find it in the specs for it?
It's definitely worth going into a shop where they will let you try a few bodies and lenses out. My wife's compact system camera and a couple of lenses, are good in their own right, but not at all on par with my SLR. The apertures on those lenses are nowhere near as good and the lenses are just as expensive as the 'proper' cameras so an SLR would always get my vote. The speed of the shutter is so different too, on my wife's compact system cam, i have to try and 'judge' some shot timing whereas on mine you snap what you see. What you do lose though is some of the versatility, shooting video on an SLR is not as good for example. I'm all about photographing nature and bikes though so I like a long zoom with the best aperture I can afford.
Another vote for DSLR from me. Everything @JH_1986 has said makes sense. I'd buy Canon as there's the largest volume of second hand lenses - it's rarely worth buying new IMHO. However, you don't have to have really expensive gear to get good shots, that's where experience comes in and that's just practice and experimenting. Someone referred to bridge cameras earlier and I must admit to not seeing the point of these. Too big to be a compact but not as versatile as a DSLR, the bad points of both without capturing the good points. They're the trike of the camera world...
I also agree with JH_1986's advice in terms of quality of results and top notch photography but you're simply not going anywhere near that for a few hundred quid all in - it just aint gonna happen in the DSLR world atm. Here's what a Super Zoom that costs twice as much as the last one I posted can do, look at the Km numbers in the lower left of the vid and see how quickly it focus locks for a given zoom:
Here's some well known rock. I reckon this should get a shot of a plane at an air show if you pan the camera no problem and not too far off budget: OK I'll stop with the zoom videos now
A 200 or 300mm zoom lens will be sufficient to start capturing things though. £200 new or cheaper 2nd hand. It's only when you go for the proper (grey coloured in cannons case) lenses that your into 4 figures. It's all well and good having a cheaper super zoom, but try capturing that air show jet when its screaming past and you don't have the shutter speed of an SLR. Also some of those zooms seem a bit much. I mean, 2000mm... She's not going perving from 10 miles away. Zoomed in that far you'll be lucky to shoot anything that moves.
And on our recent honeymoon, I was the only one to get good shots of the jumping dolphins or the massive fruit bats. The wife had her NX1000 compact system camera, with a 200mm zoom lens (same zoom lens I was using and purchased at the same cost). If you've just gone and got a camera and you miss out on those kind of memories, you'll be massively regretting not getting an SLR. Just saying that you should definitely be going into a shop where they will let you try this stuff out. I always preferred the smaller stores for this. Jacobs was good when that was around, much better than Jessops. They would let you try bodies, lenses, anything.
Shall I get in first with the jokes? Zoom lens Honeymoon Come on people this is a rich humour area to explore!
Funny that. I also had a Pentax Optio and wanted to move into DSLR. So I did research and bought a Nikon D3100 and I am very happy with it. It has an automatic setting for point and shoot if you don't want to play with all the billions of settings. That means you can take decent photos knowing nothing much about photograpy. It has a Guide setting which I don't think I have used - to help you to get to know it, no doubt. It has the same sort of settings as the Optio for portrait, sport, macro, nightime etc. But of course, it also has speed and aperture settings for more professional results. The camera comes (or came - it may be different now) with one of 3 lenses. The most often sold is not the best one to have in my view. I made sure I got it with an 18-105 zoom lens. This is a great compromise. You can use it for most things, though of course, if you want close ups of wild animals, you'd need a much longer lens. But then that won't be much use for most every day situations. There is a great book on how to use it that you can download for free - though I think you are meant to buy it on Amazon. Miles better than the tedious guide that comes with it. Nikon is a serious brand, and their Nikor lenses have a great reputation. I'm not a camera buff - no photography expert. But it's a major step up in terms of quality from the Optio - as you'd expect. For what I want to do, it's a top camera and I can't see any point in spending more. Equally, I'm glad I didn't spend less. Bear in mind that I bought mine about 5 years ago, so the current model will be no doubt a little different (and better). It's also not too big and bulky. Another plus. (Not exactly Optio sized, though...)
Just try before you buy. Yes it can zoom far but try capturing moving objects at that distance. As an entry point, I'd be looking at a package like this. One normal lens, one high zoom. Nikon D3200 Twin Lens Bundle - Jessops - Digital SLRs
If you didn't live so bloody far you'd be more than welcome to borrow my kit for a week to try it out.
I reckon you've got to determine what sort of photography your really going to do most of /lots of, whether youre prepared to put the effort into really learning how to take pictures, as opposed to snaps( my distinction, not meant to offend anyone) and how much control you really want to ( and know how to) exercise over your output. That might then steer you towards dslr or an alternate option. I went Canon, with several lenses, and am very happy, couple of zooms, couple of primes and a macro, but if I had my time again, I'd slightly favour starting Nikon, and building from there. I vary from people photos, through to wildlife( Africa, Galapagos, NZ/aus etc,) to air shows. not much Motorsport currently. My max lens is 300mm and haven't missed not having an even bigger option.
