Looking to upgrade my digital camera and would like some input on SLR vs point-and-shoot?

I've been using a Fujifilm S5200 for the last couple of years. It's a 5 megapixel, with a 10x optical zoom. Overall I'm quite satisfied with this camera, but I'm still looking to upgrade this March.

After a lot of reading, research, etc., I'm going to upgrade to the Fujifilm S9100. It's a 9 megapixel, 10.7 optical zoom camera.

I was quite tempted to go with the Sony DSC H7 or the Sony DSC H9, but there were two things that bothered me about both of them... They BOTH use a proprietary rechargeable battery, which costs about $40 if you plan on purcashing a second battery as backup. The battery takes about 4 hours to recharge - unless you buy a quick charger for another $60 or so, then you can recharge a battery in about 30 minutes - if you happen to be near a power supply. Another thing that bothered me, were some of the reviews from owners of those two cameras... See, I'm a person who reads reviews from both professionals AND owners, because I want to see what "real people" think of the camera... Anyway, some of the reviews from owners said those two Sony cameras had some issues - I can't remember right now exactly what those issues were, but they were enough to deter me from going with the Sony cameras...especially when those issues were coupled with the proprietary rechargeable battery deal.

The Fujifilm on the other hand, uses AA batteries - which are pretty much available almost anywhere on the planet. You can even buy rechargeable AA batteries, and keep a set of alkaline batteries in your camera bag as a backup. The reviews I read on the Fuji S9100 were all pretty good - and in most cases, it was listed as the top "SLR-like" camera that's currently on the market. One set of reviews that I found to be particularly enlightening were those found on cNet.com... The editor or whoever it was for cNet.com gave the Fuji only 7 out of 10...but when I read the user reviews, most of the users blasted the editor for the review. It should also be noted that several of the user reviews were written by professional photographers who have used the S9100 & DSLR cameras...

Oh, and one other thing: The lens on the Fuji - the 10.7x optical zoom - is the equivalent of a 28mm to 300mm lens on a DSLR.

EDIT:

Here's a link to one of the user reviews on cnet.com:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/fujifilm-f...

...and here's the link to all of the user reviews for the S9100 on cnet.com:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/fujifilm-f...

I've had several Panasonic digital cameras, and they offer a really good camera at a good price. Panasonic uses Leica lenses with large zoom ranges, some are 18x also they give you optical image stabilizer to keep your shots steady on the large zooms, lots of features and a good movie mode with zoom (most digital cameras don't zoom in movie mode). Go to http://www.panasonic.com/ and check them out. I just purchased a DMC-TZ3 that I really like 10x zoom, 3" LCD screen, optical image stabilizer etc. for $250 at circuit city, I like the smaller format (size) of the TZ series. I just replaced my DMC TZ1 with a 10x zoom that I loved the pictures on ( like new for $150 if your interested). So with the excellent Leica lens and Panasonic electronics you get a great camera. I hope this info helps. I too recommend http://www.dpreview.com/ they have good testing and reviews on all brand digital cameras.

??a professional without a SLR ??

Main thing is you can change your lens you have many advantages in manual as well as auto.

I suggest you borrow one to try it out in your work,,then if price is a problem try E- Bay ?

Video ? don't do it..or get a Video Camera

you cant get an slr for under $400 unless you get a body only model..

but then you would need to buy a cheap lens (anther $200 for about 3x)

if you do find one for that much

please tell me

:)

also slr cannot record video.

you can start your research here to compare all types of cameras.

http://www.dpreview.com/