The thing is I don't know anything about cameras and was hoping for some advice (1 Viewer)

For the last 7 years my only camera has been a small Canon Ixus95IS compact. Its battered and old and has definitely seen better days. Its been good to me; I've been really impressed with the Macro setting and have enjoy taking pictures of butterflies (See attached photos). However its time to get a new camera.

The thing is I don't know anything about cameras and was hoping for some advice. Ive been looking at various bridge cameras. It seems the logical step up from a compact and I'm a bit put off by the idea of a DSLR as I don't want something that costs or weighs to much and I don't really want to mess around with different lenses. I'm looking for something with really good macro so I can continue photographing butterflies. I'm also intrigued by some of the amazing zoom lenses I've seen that some of the bridge cameras offer and I'm interested in this as an identification tool and for record shot when I'm birding. I realise it is unlikely that I will find something that does both. So my budget is around £450 and I'm thinking if I cant find something around that price that has great macro and a good zoom, then I should just go for something that has great macro for around £300 and hold off to buy something with a good zoom at a later date. All thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

Can anyone suggest what I should be looking for? I'm all ears.

Sounds like a bridge camea may be what you want,there is a good selection out there,you could look at Nikon and Panasonic
Something like this
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz200-black-digital-camera/p1531830

This chap uses a Panasonic bridge camera

https://www.flickr.com/photos/114781512@N02/with/31000598795/

This is the camera the guy uses that i linked to

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/1579028

I have no personal experience of this sort of camera, but oddly enough was about to suggest the same model as nikonmike, based on some pretty good results I've seen from users. The link I was going to post is here:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMC-FZ72EB-K-Lumix-Bridge-Camera-Black/dp/B00E0YFOKI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top#Ask

It might struggle a bit in bad light, but otherwise seems a good option.

Edit: here (hopefully) is a link to photos on Flickr taken with the Panasonic FZ72:

https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=Panasonic FZ72

You'd need to search a bit for birds etc. (Note that Flickr automatically adds some sharpening to photos).

I considered getting one myself as an addition to a Canon DSLR with 100-400mm II, because it would be a great deal lighter, but couldn't in the end justify an extra camera.

I'd certainly endorse the Panasonic FZ200 which nikonmike linked to...I've recently migrated to a DSLR but my wife still uses the bridge camera, just sticking to 'intelligent auto'. She gets good - sometimes excellent - results for bird photography, and its fine for butterflies and dragonflies (although neither of us have found it great for macro). Its also worth noting that it is something of a bargain now - I think I paid around £450.00 for it a few years ago.

kb57 said:

(although neither of us have found it great for macro)

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I agree (I use the same camera). Great little cam for general birding, but I struggled a bit with near by stuff. I've not much experience with macro photography, so can't really tell if that camera is still acceptable or really bad for macro. I'd suggest to test a few bridge cameras in the shop to see how it works in the near range.
In general, I agree, a bridge is probably the way to go for you...

Is the FZ72 the same as the FZ200,in my second link and the one the guy in the link uses i put FZ72

Fz72

This jay was taken with an FZ72, probably about 60 yards away. For more distant photos see our posts in 'pictures'.
For macro, I set it to 'P', press autofocus/little flower, then set on macro zoom.

Norfolk.symonds said:

Can anyone suggest what I should be looking for? I'm all ears.

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I've used a Canon SX50 for birding and macros for four years and was very happy with it. The reason for buying another, more expensive camera in April was "birds in flight". In this respect bridge superzooms are limited.

You could visit the Flickr website and see which camera model was most popular with birders. Searching for "bird SX50" I find 21.950 images.

Results for other models:
FZ72 - 913,
FZ200 - 7.940,
P900 - 6.457
SX60 - 2.153

A used or refurbished Canon SX50 would not be expensive.

nikonmike said:

Is the FZ72 the same as the FZ200,in my second link and the one the guy in the link uses i put FZ72

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The first link in your first post was for the FZ200. I may be wrong, but in my understanding the FZ200 was pitched above the FZ72 when released, with the constant aperture zoom a key feature, although from your links it is clear that prices have now converged.

Not sure if the FZ72 has a higher 35mm-equivalent focal length than the FZ200, but the latter should beat it on low light performance at the long end of the zoom range. That said, the pictures on your link look pretty impressive for a bridge camera!

nikonmike said:

Is the FZ72 the same as the FZ200,in my second link and the one the guy in the link uses i put FZ72

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These are two different bridge cameras. The FZ72 has a 60x (20-1200) optical zoom, whereas the FZ200 has a 24x (25-600) zoom. However, the latter model has an excellent lens, made by Leica, and continuous shooting at F2.8 is available throughout the zoom range. Thus the FZ200 should give the best image quality, albeit the camera costs more than the FZ72.

I have owned the FZ200 for 2 years, and can vouch for the performance and versatility of this camera. However, this model has now been superceded by the FZ330 I believe, which has a number of improvements, such as in the video department. Nevertheless, the earlier FZ200 is still a good choice, and a lot of technology for the money.

Thank you for all the advice everyone. The great response had been much appreciated! It seems the FZ200 is probably the way to go, based on all the great reviews here and on the web. Ill be sure to go to a dealer so I can try the macro on both the FZ72 and FZ200 although judging from flickr the 200 takes better macro of butterflies. I think the 330 might be abit out of my price range at the mo. Thanks again