Help with camera choice!!

[swiftgraphics]

I need some help on deciding which camera to upgrade to. I mostly do nature & animal photography as well as indoor (music concerts). At the moment I have a Canon Powershot SX110 IS. I am unsure as to what camera next . . . Do I upgrade, but still go with superzoom, or do I go the DSLR route? In short I need a camera that has a great low-light sensor, as 90% of my shots are without a flash! If anyone can help or advise, it will be greatly appreciated. I do want the best, but still affordable.

[RichardTaylor]

Go with a DSLR. Responsive, good low low light performance and can be configured, at a cost, to be the almost perfect camera/lens for shooting conditions.

I shoot with a Canon so I would go for a 7D, However be sure to allow for the cost of good and possibly fast lenses. Canon may have a slight advantage in prime lens choice especially around the 85-135mm range.

Nikon also make extreemly good camera/lenses, especially the D300s & above.
I feel it does have a better flash system, than Canon, with its creative lighting system, CLS.

Either way you cant go wrong.

[RubyT]

The Pentax KX is supposed to do very well in low light situations. It is budget-friendly as well.

[inkista]

Superzooms aren't going to help you. The reasons you're restricted on low-light capability with your SX110IS are the small sensor size and the slow max. aperture of the lens--both of which a superzoom would also share (and I'd actually call the SX110 IS a superzoom, too).

A newer P&S, like the G11, S90, or SD4000 IS do have better ISO performance, but they aren't going to deliver anything like SLR quality at iso 800 or iso 1600.

You could also consider an EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) camera, like the Panasonic G2, GF1, Olympus E-PL1 or the new Sumsung NX or Sony NEX3. But the lens offerings right now are a little sparse, and it's about as expensive as going dSLR.

And going dSLR is expensive, particularly if you want reach and low light capability together. You have to get the lens as well as the camera that you're going to need. You may be able to get away with a $100 EF 50mm f/1.8 II, but then, you may need a $1600 EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM instead. But a dSLR is undoubtedly going to be "the best" for low light shooting at this time.

Entry-level dSLR bodies tend to price out between $500 - $800 with a kit lens included. The kit lens will be great for all those vacation snapshot type shots you want to do: people and landscapes. But it usually won't be great for low-light situations. So budget in for at least one more lens.