Maybe 2-3 years ago one of the PHs who post here, Ivan Carter I think, posted pictures and a review of his Leica V-lux. Looked great and I thought that's what I want, then before I took action, Saeed, and probably others, said the Panasonic version is same camera, much better value, so I looked into that. And I read, and looked and tried to understand all of the technological stuff.......and wound up doing nothing. Now I am revisiting this subject with an eye towards getting one to replace all of the Nikon stuff my wife and I never use because it is too complicated for folks whose prime thing is doing things other than photography. Is this still a really good camera for folks who want the telephoto for wildlife etc. but want darn good photos without leaving the "auto" setting? By the way, one thing I insist on is the thru the lens viewing, I hate those darn screen things.

I don't have either of the cameras you are interested in, so can't answer the question about "really good pictures" from them.

You don't say what you've got now. I do however have a few Nikons, and some have an Auto setting. Your Nikons don't have the Auto setting or a Program (P) setting, or that setting doesn't get you good photos?

I think the hybrid cameras are really about carrying less bulky equipment and not having to worry about lens changing, especially at the long telephoto end. The Panasonic will have the exact same Auto, P, A, S, M dial as a lot of the Nikons. I doubt it will get you "better" pictures than what you probably already have, in my opinion. And the Panasonic will undoubtedly be less robust, almost fragile compared to most Nikon DSLRs.

The best thing to do is first set your price point. Secondly decide if you want interchangeable lenses or an integrated lens body. Seems you have already decided about thru the lens viewing which is a very good decision.

Once that is decided I would go to https://www.dpreview.com or one of the others that Saeed has listed in the sticky above and read the reviews. They offer an unbiased review. Then once you decide on one or two, go to YouTube and watch the video reviews. You can learn a lot from watching them.

Let us know what you settle on...

If you don't need a ton of megapixels, there is also this:

https://www.dpreview.com/produ...s/panasonic_dmcfz200

A camera that is near and dear to me is my Nikon Coolpix P7100. I've used it on numerous trips when, for many reasons, I did not want to carry along my heavier SLRs and lenses. Several photographs taken with it have been published in my articles. The most recent venture for it was a recent trip (last month) my wife took to South Africa. I've posted a few photos taken with it from that trip. As I now recall, I think I paid around $550.00 for it.

As some of my friends above suggested, you need to make a decision on whether you want top quality - which one can only get with an SLR.

Or you want very good quality, and convenience.

I have stopped using an SLR a while back, as I found the quality of some of the bridge cameras to so good, one cannot tell the difference looking at pictures on a computer.

We have been using a number of cameras on our recent hunt.

Nikon P 900 = excellent camera with very long zoom, up to 83X optical. It is without a doubt the best ultra long zoom camera currently available.

Sony RX100 IV = excellent camera with outstanding quality, but has very short zoom.

Panasonic ZS100 = excellent camera with a 10X zoom, and a large sensor.

Panasonic ZS60 = this is the one we all carried in our pockets while hunting. Excellent camera with 30X zoom.

Sony RX10 III = fantastic bridge camera with a 600MM optical zoom.

Many thanks to all. Your comments helped me focus and clarify what I am looking for, which is 1) no lenses etc. to lug around; 2) I am willing to trade a "perfect" photograph achieved through talented (beyond my skill level anyway) use of an SLR for convenience and consistently really good photos.

And thanks for the suggestions, samples and info on some specific cameras. Having fooled around this long in getting something I think it will be a Christmas gift to myself. I will let you know what I decide on.

Thanks again all!