[zakwebb]

I do have experience with a dslr camera

[cdad]

Here is an acricle that may help you decide. Really its going to come down to what you intend to shoot with it and how much your going to carry it around.

SLR Camera Or Bridge Camera?

[jcdill]

I do have experience with a dslr camera

Many people mistakenly believe you need a DSLR to do "real photography". But most pocket cameras have controls that let you do 95% of what can be done with a DSLR. In my opinion, before you spend the money on a DSLR (which will depreciate 50% in the first year of ownership), spend time learning how to use EVERY SETTING on a pocket camera. Learn how to put the camera in all the different exposure modes, from the automatic modes to the scene modes (e.g. "portrait" or "sunset" or "night photography"), to the manual exposure modes (full manual, aperture priority, shutter priority), learn how to use exposure compensation, learn how to use the bulb mode for long night exposures. Then learn how to use the focus modes, macro, normal, landscape. Most cameras even have a way to manually focus. Then learn how to set the camera with manual controls to mimic the settings it selects for the scene modes. E.g. when you set the camera to the "portrait" mode, what settings does it select for you? How do you put the camera into a manual mode and get the same settings? When you put it into "sports" mode what ISO does it select, and how can you change the ISO to get the same settings with manual controls?

Once you have mastered ALL the settings on a point-n-shoot camera, you will have discovered the limitations of this camera. This is important, because in deciding what SLR to buy you need to know what limitations matter to the photography YOU want to do. Are you interested in taking low-light photos without flash? You will need to buy fast lenses, those that have a wide aperture (small f-stop number, e.g. 1.8 lenses), and a camera with good high ISO performance. If you want to take sports photos you will want a camera with a fast shutter response time, and probably also a fast frame rate (high number of frames per second). But if you want to shoot landscape photos or macro photos these features will not be as important. The right lens for sports is not going to be the right lense for landscapes or for macro photography. So learn what you like to take photos of with the cheap pocket camera, and where the limitations are, before you spend $$$ on a DSLR that may or may not be the right camera for your intended purpose.

One BIG benefit from a pocket camera is that it is much easier to take with you. A big DSLR often ends up left behind because it's so big and heavy, and then you come across something you would like to photograph but you don't have your camera with you. I own 3 DSLR cameras and 5 top-quality lenses (I'm a professional photographer), yet I just purchased a pocket camera to keep with me in my purse.

If you don't yet own a pocket camera, I highly suggest you look at the Panasonic Lumix line, at the models with Leica lenses. Leica makes top quality lenses, and your photos can never be any better than the light gathered by the lens. Most people make a big mistake of buying an expensive camera then balking at paying money for lenses and they put cheap lenses on their expensive camera bodies. The smart choice is to do it the other way around - spend your money on good glass. Lenses will last 10-20 years before they are obsolete. Digital cameras are 50% less valuable in 1 year, and pretty much obsolete in 5 years. My #1 lens is one I bought used 8 years ago, and it's still worth 75% of what I paid for it.