Follow related website bookmark from Reddit:
Can you help me decide if I want a superzoom?
My Canon A95 (4-5 yrs old) is starting to die (been dropped a few too many times) and I'm planning to get a new camera for my birthday, which is coming up. Luckily for me, [DPReview just did a review of a bunch of superzooms](http://dpreview.com/reviews/Q110superzoomgroup/) recently, and one of the top-rated cameras was the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ35. Last week, Panasonic announced the [FZ100](http://dpreview.com/news/1007/10072108panasonicdmcfz100.asp) and [FZ45](http://dpreview.com/news/1007/10072106panasonicdmcfz40.asp), apparently they release new models roughly every year around July/August time, so yay me. Now, I'm really drawn to the FZ100. Over the FZ45 features (25-600mm Leica lens, lots of modes, 14.1 megapixels, etc.), it has swivel LCD which not many cameras have these days, 1080p HD recording, hotshoe (which I probably wouldn't use) and mechanical 11fps shutter. I'm just concerned about the size putting me off carrying it on weekend walks and travels to other cities, and it approaches the price of a used entry-level dSLR. On the definite plus side, I've never had anything with this much zoom or shutter speed, the video recording is fantastic (I know lots of cameras do HD video now though, but I don't have a HD camcorder), and (BIG plus) with a dSLR I'd have to carry at least 2 lenses to get the same sorts of shots. I'm getting a new phone in a few months so I would use that as my 'snapshot' camera - most have 3.2 to 5 megapixels now, and for quick snaps I'm happy with phone pictures. What do I take pictures of, mostly? Basically your normal travel/visit photos, I don't take a camera on nigths out in town, etc. I'd like to be able to take really nice pictures of landscapes, manor houses, castles, etc., but I don't see myself carrying a tripod to these places when I visit. Once a year I go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed (here's my Google Picasa web album for this year: [1](http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/frank.mckinney/2010GoodwoodFestivalOfSpeedFriday?feat=directlink), [2](http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/frank.mckinney/2010GoodwoodFestivalOfSpeedSaturday?feat=directlink), [3](http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/frank.mckinney/2010GoodwoodFestivalOfSpeedSunday?feat=directlink)), and I go nuts taking pictures and video of cars driving, zoom pictures of famous drivers, and close-up pictures of cars in the paddock/garage areas - not necessarily 'artsy' but ones I know I'll want to use as computer wallpapers. This would when I would use the camera to its fullest. If I had a better camera I'd put more effort into the photos, too. How much do I know about photography? Not a huge amount, but I rarely use the Auto mode of the A95 - it has PASM modes plus a bunch of 'scene' modes, I usually shoot in P mode at an ISO setting I choose (usually 200 or 400) and rarely use Auto White Balance. I would say I'm more concerned with framing a nice picture than I am with the technical bits like f-stop and things like that, however I would like to be able to do that sort of thing. The only scene mode I've used in recent memory is the fireworks one. (sorry this is pretty long! just like to lay out all the facts) So, considering any top superzoom has really good features but it's nearly the size/cost of a dSLR...but I'm not that advanced really (I'd like to take a class or two), what do you think? Top point-and-shoot cameras approach the cost of these superzooms but don't have the zoom, and a dSLR might be 'too much camera' (and cost) for me. **tl;dr I want a superzoom but I don't know if I NEED a superzoom, please help me decide** more