I've been searching for a bridge camera for a week now and I can't make up my mind. I need it for an upcoming trip to london and also I need it to capture close up photos and HD videos of fish in aquariums (i do that very frequently). Moreover I am a gadget guy so I would love my camera to be "fun".My budget is about £220 and I found some very good offers on amazon.
The one I am mostly interested in and also the cheapest is the Fujifilm HS30EXR which offers the most DSLR-inspired features (manual focus ring, manual zoom, compatible with filters and comes with lens hood) though I read some reviews saying that there is some noise in the pictures.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fujifilm-FinePix-HS30EXR-EXR-CMOS-Tiltable/dp/B006Q8VA2W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362150220&sr=8-1
My second option is the Nikon P510. I think the fuji is equal. I don't care about the extreme zoom it of 42X it offers or the stupid GPS. Some say that it is less noisy but sometimes it has trouble focusing. Also it is 20 pounds more.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-COOLPIX-P510-Compact-Digital/dp/B0071L3M56/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362149976&sr=8-2
Third is the Panasonic FZ62 at the same price with the Nikon which lacks the tiltable LCD, reviews also refer to some noise, *only* 24X zoom and has 1/2000s shutter speed while the other two 1/4000.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-Lumix-FZ62-Bridge-Camera/dp/B008N8NXYG/ref=pd_cp_ph_0
I even looked into the more expensive and the Lumix FZ150 but I am not sure if it is worth the 45 pounds more than the Fuji.It has a 12MP only sensor which is noise free but IMO at this price 12MP is a very small number and 24X zoom. I can not afford it right now but I will save up if it is a MUCH better camera.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-DMC-FZ150-Compact-Camera-Recording/dp/B005LTRD5U/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1362155093&sr=1-1
By the way, only the Fuji and the FZ-150 support RAW. How important is it?
You can see, I am an amateur. This will be my first camera, I was always using the best camera phones but not a real camera (except the cheap compacts).So do you think that any of these cameras is a bad one or is significantly inferior to the others or they are pretty much equal?
Added (1). Thanks for your answers, I checked online and photoshop supports the RAW of both cameras. Any comments about the cameras?
>>> Need help choosing between three bridge cameras? How important RAW is?