Compact or Bridge with a decent Zoom

[JohnN]

Hi,

I've been having a chat with my daughter and although she likes her SLR I asked how it could be better - her answer was getting closer and something to make the lens easier - worth bearing in mind she's six but does like her camera and loves being out with me taking pics.

I've a Lumix TZ40 that I use for family snaps on outings and it seem the x20 is almost close enough

My question is though, as tech has moved along is there an even better choice out there for her?
It would need a min of x20 zoom, hopefully be pretty snappy and the IQ can't suck - thankfully unlike me she's not prone to pixel peeping.
I'm sure a bridge would be fine for her too as she's used to something a bit bigger.

Anyway what would you suggest if I were to get her her own - of xcourse in the short term I'll just lend her the Lumix.

Ta.

 

[Alastair]

20x zoom is only a measure of the difference between the widest and longest ends of the zoom, three different 20x zoom cameras could all have a different reach towards distant subjects. You need to pay attention to the actual focal length, allowing for the crop factor.

Have you got a budget in mind?

 

[JohnN]

Good point about the zoom - I forget that, but in compacts isn't is usually roughly the same?

Budget wise, just somewhere round the £200 mark (after looking about a bit, originally I'd thought about £100!), I had considered getting her a 55-250 lens but that would have less reach and would also be a lens for her to swap and while I'm confident with her using the SLR I'm less so about her swapping and dropping.