Quote:
Originally Posted by MommaTrish
lol Well I always make fun of mine and call it a P&S on steriods.
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LOL. That's the beauty, it can be a p&s on steroids in auto mode and a mini DSLR in manual mode. No lying, obviously you will not achieve the same quality as with a real DSRL. These "bridge cameras" are allounders. They do everything ok, but nothing excellent. Only most people don't need excellence.
I am very happy with my DSRL. And when I was facing the same decision, I got the Canon 1000D kit which was a good offer at that time and about what a good bridge would have cost me. But I bought it with the intention to get into photography and then slowly build up. With digital making photography way more affordable, a lot of people view a DSLR as the "good" camera compared to the p&s. But it's not that easy, a DSLR system is meant to be exactely that, a system. The idea is, that you have a good body, that covers all your basic needs and can be updated every once in a while. Then you buy lenses and extras to always customize your equipment for the task at hand. That's what really makes a DSLR superior. BUT, that needs money. AND practise.
To make a DSLR worth the money and bigger weight (my small body with a 18-250mm zoom, which is comparable to a bridge range, weighs more than 1 kilo) you need to put more thought behind your images and your equipment choices. And as Adrianka said, you need the will to bring around a DSLR and really use it.
Photography can be a fabulous hobby, I love it and never want to go back! But if you don't see it as a hobby you want to spend time and money on, then a DSRL in constant Auto is a very pricey thing. As I said, especially when you directly want a zoom lens.
I can only estimate the German costs, I believe the US market is somewhat cheaper. So I guess you guys pay in Dollars what I pay in Euros. For a good body with a decent zoom lens and maybe one additional lens for indoors plus things like a good bag (trust me, you don't carry around 1.2 kilos in a bad one) I would estimate about 1000 Euros. A decent bridge camera is 300-500 Euros here.