Originally posted by nostatic An LX3 or G10 is not the same market/demographic as a bridge/superzoom.
I know, but that's kind of my point. An LX3 or G10 in certain ways seems like more direct step between generic P&S and DSLR, whereas a superzoom seems like a step sideways to me. If you have a generic P&S but are looking for a camera that improves the picture making experience in ways similar to but perhaps not as extreme as the improvements one can see from a DSLR, then the LX3 or G10 may make more sense than a superzoom. This is so *if* you thinking of IQ and photographic control as being the essential things you are looking to improve. If, on the other hand, you are thinking of zoom range as the one and only thing worth improving, then the superzoom is an improvement alright - but it's an improvement that is not then *further* improved by going to a DSLR, which is why it doesn't feel to me like step in that direction at all.
Said another way:
If your prime concern is control and IQ, then the most logical progression from would seem to go "generic to LX3/G10 to DSLR", and the main question would be whether there is any point in the LX3/G10 - why not go straight to DSLR? But if your prime concern is zoom range, then the logical progression goes "generic P&S to FZ28 to DSLR", but the main question would be, why bother with the DSLR at all - it's *not* a further step in that same direction. It's a step in a *different direction* - one that the LX3/G10 might have lead toward a little better, IMHO.
So my bottom line is that if I see someone thinking about a DSLR but says they aren't ready *yet* - implying they might be going that way at some point - the LX3/G10 might make more sense as a step in that direction. Whereas the FZ28 is the type of camera i might recommend to someone with no interest at all in a DSLR but who wants a large zoom range, period.
Quote: The sensor size is the same, but everything else is different.
Actually, the sensor is significantly larger on the LX3/G10 than on the FZ28, which is part of why I'm seeing it as a more direct intermediate step between generic P&S and DSLR.
Quote: The bridge/superzoom is for people who want one camera to do everything and don't want to mess with changing lenses, etc. And they do a passable job as long as you don't pixel peep.
Absolutely, which is why I'd be inclined to recommend one for someone who doesn't feel the need for the control/flexibility/potential-IQ of a DSLR.
Quote: I think where it gets more interesting for enthusiasts is when you either put larger sensors in smaller bodies (like the DP-1) or can change lenses on something smaller (like the G1). Neither of those are perfect, but they offer interesting alternatives.
I agree, and hope to see more developments along both these lines in the future.