Camera Choice.

For your future reference Wex photographic is on the outskirts of the city just off the A1067 and before the ring road.  Customer service is good with fairly knowledgeable staff but a tad expensive

I've had a couple of 'Used' cameras and lenses from Wex and been impressed with the quality and warranty.

I have recently got the Panasonic Lumix fz330 mentioned above and would just like to add the following points that sold it to me.

It is dust and splash proof , previous cameras I have had have had dust ingress into the zoom lens. Not full water immersion obviously but great if you get caught in a shower.

The zoom has a constant f2.8 aperture available from 25 to 600 mm. Great for wildlife pics.

Imagine getting a DSLR with that, cost and weight wise!

Ultra fast focussing and shutter speed good enough for action shots. Unlike my previous bridge camera. Also  Lightweight enough for an easy carry.

And last but not least good reviews from most quarters.

Pic has been cropped,  don't think image resizer is too good as original shows water droplets flying off. Plus be prepared force steep learning curve if you want to use many of the features

My daughters partner does professional photography and swears by Canon, but others use different makes and generally they admit the true difference is personal and not really technical.

I would have thought though that your current lenses would fit a new body and that is probably all you need assuming you do not need extra ones.

There are literally dozens of offers out there so going through the different retailers web sites and Amazon is probably the best bet.

I always look at Grey Imports for best prices.  Example the Sony RX is roughly £1700 from U.K. sources whereas using someone like infinity cameras the exact same camera, same specification is £1200.  The same sort of prices apply across the range of cameras and lenses.

Nikon for me every time.

So I went ahead and bought the Canon SX70, erm, yesterday.

So I dont have a tripod, yet, but undaunted took these pictures of the moon, not brilliant, gives an idea of the zoom.

Had to make them into a video, so they pass by too quickly but you will get an idea.

Moon

https://youtu.be/7KBP_prK6-0

Ps, camera was in Auto mode, pictures blue toothed to my mobile phone, made into a short film on same, uploaded to YouTube via 4g.

That's excellent. I expect a tripod will add some extra stillness if you give it a go at some point. I've got one and as I know my hands aren't always steady it would probably improve the photos I take but I tend to leave it at home.!

Thanks brue.  

I nipped down to Argos yesterday and bought the cheapest tripod they had, the head isn't very smooth, it will be ok as a spare I suppose, but at a high zoom I couldn't really find my subject with any accuracy.

 But.....

I bought from Amazon a Manfrotto MVKBRFT-live with a MVH400AH fluid head.

No idea what I have purchased, seemed reassuringly expensive, but doesn't arrive until Friday, hence the Argos trip.

The Canon SX70 is taking some getting used to, technology has certainly moved on at a pace, slowly making inroads into the download only manual, but yes, sound advice regarding a tripod, the capabilities of the camera on a smooth tripod with the inbuilt function of bluetooth, which not only allows taking of pictures but zoom control too, should add another dimension to my photography, other than point and shoot that is, oh and the drone! 

Going to need a bigger rucksack, and a pair of legs too.