After lugging my "walking around" bag all these years I have decided to look for something a lot lighter. My daily kit is simple, but heavy, must be around 3kg.

Canon 5D Mk 111, 24-70 f2.8L, 70 - 200 F2.8L, a polarising filter and a couple spare batteries, all in a Lowepro 300 backpack. Other contents appear if I have a plan.

So, here I am in the hunt for a Bridge Camera. Not as straight forward as it sounds, as most of these are aimed at the casual user, not the enthusiast or Pro, so the features in most of the models available are not all they should (or could) be, being geared towards that sector. Having done my research from a knowledge base of zero, I had to abandon my idea that DSLR facilities would be available in a smaller package, and accept some compromise. Oh, the features I want are out there, it's just that they are not all in one camera, without paying silly money. I think my needs as an advanced user are simple

F2.8 max aperture (knocks out 60% of bridge cameras)

RAW shooting (knocks out 90% of bridge cameras)

A reasonable zoom - anything over say 400mm max zoom is fine, but down to 200mm would be ok), so most fit fine.

Lightweight and pocket stuffable - say under 800gms

Resolution circa 20mp, as I print often at A3 or above, but 16mp is acceptable (knocks out 50%) of the cameras

Viewfinder (not a useless screen) and a good feel in the hand, all for a decent budget of under £500. 

Not an unreasonable list, however different models are excluded by the percentages above when the different criteria are applied, resulting and a shortlist of about 3 cameras! My hotlist boils down to the Canon Powershot SX60 (just under £300), Fuji Finepix S1 (£265), or the Lumix FZ1000 (£490). To be frank, given that the Canon lens is a max 3.4 aperture, and the Lumix is at the top end of the budget, the Fuji is looking good, as do the reviews. Just ordered one.