The type of digital camera I describe as advanced appears to be rapidly diminishing. The majority of digital cameras that fall into this category were introduced around two years ago. As they fall by the wayside they show little sign of being replaced. This is probably because of the way the price of Digital SLR cameras has crashed over the past two years. The only cameras I can think of that has been introduced in the past six months that fall into this category are the Fuji Finepix S9600 and the Canon Powershot G7.
These cameras are a kind of cross bread between High Specification, Super Zoom and Digital SLR cameras. Typically they have around eight megapixels, with zoom lenses between 4x and 10x.
As well as the long zoom lenses it is the wide range of features and controls that have made these cameras appeal to people you see photography as a hobby. The cameras usually have hot shoes that accept flash lights and conversion lenses and filters can be fitted to the lenses to further increase the capabilities of these cameras. On some models you will also find LCD screens whose position can be adjusted to help when taking photos at awkward angles.
Like
Digital SLR cameras you are likely to find control dials that allow you fast access to key controls rather than a plethora of buttons on the back of the camera. Many also offer custom modes where you can save your favourite settings.
Among the more advanced features you are likely to find are long exposures (including a bulb setting), custom white balance, matrix, spot and centre weighted metering, continuous shooting, best shot selectors and time lapse movies. Other features can include bracketing, noise reduction and options to adjust sharpness, contrast and saturation.
One of the biggest differences I find between this type of
digital camera and the cheaper
Super Zoom Cameras is the build quality. These cameras tend to be far sturdier and a better feel in the hand. They also manage to avoid the problems of purple fringing when the zoom is fully extended.
They are becoming increasingly hard to come by. Pricing has fallen since they were first introduced, but if you see photography as a hobby it would be sensible to check out the latest offerings from entry level Digital SLR cameras. It is difficult to say for certain if this type of digital camera has had its day, but they do appear to be being squeezed out of the market.
