Have been shooting for many, many years; started with a Minolta SRT-101 when dinosaurs roamed the earth.
I currently use an aging Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, whose best features are its 18x optical zoom and image stabilization. It's not a bad camera, BUT as I get more and more into 'fine-art photography' I am seeing its limitations. First, I CANNOT get a narrow depth-of-field no matter how large my aperture. Second, it has a 1/2.33" CCD Sensor, which literally becomes useless in a less-than-bright room.
YES, YES, ...GO DSLR, eh! PROBLEM IS, I HAVE A PHYSICAL HANDICAP WHICH MAKES HOLDING EVEN MY WIFE'S CANON T2i FOR A PROTRACTED TIME DIFFICULT...AND AS FOR CHANGING LENSES, ... WELL, AS WE YANKS HERE IN NYC SAY, 'FUHGEDDABOUTDIT'!
So the camera for which I am looking must:
1) weigh 16 - 18 ounces (453.6 - 520.3 g) or so
2) HAVE A REAL VIEWFINDER (EVF okay)
3) Have a SENSOR THAT CAN WORK IN DIM LIGHT WITHOUT BUMPING ISO UP TO 6k...an APS-C would be nice
4)Have decent image stabilization AND a really good optical zoom (18x minimum)
5) ALLOW ME TO ADJUST DEPTH OF FIELD AND EVEN (gasp!) TO PREVIEW DEPTH OF FIELD SHOULD I CHOOSE
I've considered (and basically rejected) the Nikon Coolpix P500 and the Panasonic DMC-FZ100 BECAUSE THEIR SENSORS ARE STILL 1/2.33"...ALTHOUGH THE NIKON'S IS A CMOS SENSOR...WOULD THAT BE AN IMPROVEMENT??
I've been anticipating the new Panasonic G3...but am willing to bet its sensor will still be small.
SO, OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS. Oh, yeah...would like to stay around $600-$800 USD.
Thanks to anyone who cares to answer!
ta