Recommend a Bridge camera for under £400 please?

[Baldbloke]

I bought my friend a Nikon Coolpix p600 6 years ago.
She enjoys taking pics when we are on days out. She is especially fond of the 60 times optical zoom. Most of the other features are a mystery to her I suspect. They are a mystery to me, I'm certain of that .
Probably doesn't get the full benefit of its capabilities.

Her birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I think its time I bought her a new toy.

I know nothing about cameras. I could do with some suggestions please?

Am I right in suggesting a Bridge camera? Are there any realistic alternatives around my budget?

Zoom at least equal to the Nikon p600 * 60 zoom or better.
Regards the optical zoom, is there any electronic wizardry that can compensate for hand held snaps at high optical zoom?
Budget up to £400

 

[Snapshot]

Bridge cameras are pretty well a dead sector of the market with only Nikon and Panasonic still offering anything. If buying new, the only one I can see that matches your budget is the Panasonic Lumix FZ82D but I've no idea how it compares with the P600. If you want the wide zoom range then a bridge camera is the only option.

 

[Baldbloke]

Bridge cameras are pretty well a dead sector of the market with only Nikon and Panasonic still offering anything. If buying new, the only one I can see that matches your budget is the Panasonic Lumix FZ82D but I've no idea how it compares with the P600. If you want the wide zoom range then a bridge camera is the only option.

Thank you Snapshot.

I had a quick peek at that Panasonic FZ82D on google after you mentioned it. It has a fixed viewfinder. So has the P600 she already has. I'm hoping to get her a camera with a tilting viewfinder.

If bridge cameras are pretty well a dead sector is there any other type of camera I could consider in the £400 price range? DSLR? Had a quick shuftie on Amazon. Looks like I may have to up my budget a bit.

 

[Snapshot]

Very few cameras have tilting viewfinders and I don't know of any DSLRs that do.
The problem is that you can't get that very wide range zoom on anything but a bridge camera with a small sensor. The best compromise was the Sony RX10 III & IV but they're out-of-production and were four times your budget anyway. If you go for a DSLR or mirrorless camera you'll need at least two lenses to cover the range of the P600 and it doesn't sound like swapping lenses would suit your friend.

I think it would be better to leave your friend with what she has. Perhaps you could pay for a course so she can get the best out of the P600?

Oh, the more-or-less replacement for the P600 is the P950 at around £650.

 

[Baldbloke]

Thank you Snapshot.

I've bought her the P950. She won't realise its full potential I'm sure but she's going to be very pleased with her new toy.

(And I get brownie points too

Found it a camerasdori for £479.