I current use a little Canon Ixus 700. It lives in my handbag and comes everywhere with me. I love it dearly and it takes good photos but - it has it’s limitations - not a good zoom facility being the major one.
Have recently been looking at this one :-
Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ330EBK-Bridge-Camera
It does seem to have everything and doesn’t look over complicated.
Bearing in mind I am just a happy snapper - not a proper photographer - would this be a good choice? Any advice would be gratefully received.
All important: Sensor Size, which is relevant to number of pixels, but not always. A big sensor with big pixels is better than a tiny sensor with more tiny pixels.
The top three Panasonic options have a 1" sensor. The other two, cheaper ones, have a 1/2.3" sensor.
The best Bridge Camera on the market IMO is the Sony RX10 IV at £1.5K and that has a 1" sensor. Bridge cameras, by design, can’t accommodate the big sensors.
Thank you for your advice, d00d. That Sony looks good - but is out of my price range. Will go with the Panasonic - it comes with a smart case - so not fitting the handbag won’t be a problem!
I have no idea what bridge camera means but I have a couple of Panasonics, a DMC LX10 and a DMC TZ110, am very pleased with both of them, I use the former most of the time the second one has a longer zoom so I tend to use it more when I travel (the LX10 has a bigger aperture but only has a 4 or 5x zoom which is fine for most situations).
I don’t think you can go wrong, just look at what you can afford or what you want to spend.
Best description I can give is - it is inbetween a small compact, chuck it in your handbag type camera, and a larger more professional model - that needs extra lens etc.,
Well I never!
I’ve learned something new here. A bridge camera bridges the snapper-photographer gap.
I’m happy with my Note 8 phone but the camera on it is seriously limited. This is something I would consider buying too. Let us know how you get on Tabs
Replaced by the mirrorless system camera. System cameras are interchangeable lens cameras, like the dslr. A bridge camera looks similar, but has a fixed zoomable lens.
The rangefinder style, with the flat top, is popular, usually with an electronic viewfinder top corner. But a bigger centralised EVF is better for serious wildlife photography. And these bridge cameras with super long reach are good for wildlife.
I recently bought the Panasonic Lumix DC-TZ90, didn’t want anything more complicated, as it is it does far more than my TZ70, so I guess I should really have read the manual to find out the extras. I will eventually.
I’m over here in the corner, Mups! 
