hard choice

[OREZ]

hello everybody ,
and excuse me in advance for my awfull english

So like the title said, i have a question that makes my future choice very VERY hard

to start from the beggining, i must tell you my plans, so you could be more aware of what i'm looking for, and maybe help me in my decision.

I'm planning to start a travel that will lead me in Vietnam, crossing more or less 13 countries (on the way on) or territories; like Tibet, Nepal, India, China, Khazakstan, Russia, Romania(that's where it officialy start) Bengladesh, Cambodia etc.. all in disorder...

and, obviously i'm planning to make photographies of this, first and foremost for me, but also for my friends.
I am a perfect ROOKIE and i know almost nothing about photography, yet. I see this as an investment, and im still quite exigent about the quality(mostly the colors, blur @details, and noise on dark areas and night shots) and also the possibily of setting your parameters manually, making it possible to learn and use the cam without too much limitations, on long term. But here's the problem: after spending a lot of time on websites and forums, i still can't figure out what kind of cam, and what model i should buy

Dooing this in a very roots mode, i'm not planning to use the plane, exept maybe if i really don't have any other choices (if it's the only way to enter or leave a country, like birmania(Myanmar) for example). It will be a very long trip.
And in a way this information is taking a first decision for me; I definitly can't travel with a reflex and lenses that weight kilograms, in plus of the backpack i have for the trip.
I must also admit that i wouldn't stand the fear sensation during all the trip, walking around with either years of local salaries, or at least a month of the salary i win in france, around my neck.
And that make a second characteristic; i won't spend more than 5-600euros on it

I'm planning to shot a very diversificated types of phtog, like landscapes, portraits, local life(i guess tele is important for that), night life(citylandscapes and streetviews), but in order to be more specific:
what i find visually beautyfull, i shot and i do it on the spot, so i must admit that the speed of the cam should be quite fast(i like that INSTANT feeling on argentic reflexes, but i guess i obviously never find this @ numeric )

so all of this make me hesitate between a bridge (that i could also use when i'll be back as a hobby) and a compact (maybe i have a pejorative point of view about them, but i dunno, it make me feel like more limited)

anyway i'm more thinking about buying a bridge at this stade (but i have ABSOLUTLY no idea which one) even if after all i read, the panasonic ZT10 reached my attention (the small size really attracted me along with his general qualities, but the fact that the firmware allow me to use ONLY panasonic batteries is just a pain in the ass since they'r super expensive, and since i don't know the amount of time elapsed between two electrics power plugs availible to me, having the possibility to get power with random batteries is a huge advantage).
i heard that tropicalised stuff is just marketing **** and i'm beliving it is, i'll just store it in my bag with some gel that atract humidity in an ermetic case, and it should do the job (i hope :S)

so here we go; do you have any suggestions on specific cams (model, manufacturer) that would match my needs, or any personal advice.

thanks much for reading me (and god i just did'nt realized it's such a big block )
and thank you in advance if you have the time to answer

 

[radiorickm]

Well, there are probably 700 right answers to your question, and in the end it is all subjective.

If I were faced with this situation, my camera of choice would be a "bridge" camera, such as the Fujifilm HS10 or HS20.

Why you might ask? First off, it has a very wide ranging lens, from 35mm to 720mm. This one lens should handle most of the shots you are planning on taking, lightning the carrying around burden. The camera takes AA batteries, which should be redily available most everywhere. At 10Mp it should return very decent images. It has both automatic control modes, and manual control modes, with some other features, such as full HD record. It also uses an SD card, which should be availble abroad also and small enough to cary many of.

Other manufactures of course have comparable models. I suggest you read about some of them, and if possible go by a camera store and pick them up and play with them. Hands on is the best judge of fit for you

Good luck in your travel.