Last year I decided I wanted a camera that would give me more control than a point and shoot but without the weight and bulk of a DSLR and lens.  The best compromise I could come up with was the Panasonic FZ-200.  I wasn’t disappointed.  This is an amazing camera.  It is built like a small, light DSLR but has a fixed lens.  The lens itself is a marvel – a Leica zoom with a constant 2.8 aperture between 24 and 600 mm (equivalent.)  It has an excellent EVF (electronic view finder,) which was a must for me.  It is a compromise.  I don’t care how good the camera is you’ll never get the same quality of photos on the kind of small sensors that make a camera like this (as well as point and shoots) possible.  But unless you’re a pro and plan to print very large this camera does it for me.  It isn’t water proof but I can shoot RAW as well as RAW + JPEG.
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On this year’s trip I plan to get into night sky photography so in addition to my camera I’ll be carrying a tripod and a wireless remote shutter release.  Should be fun.  The tripod that I’ve chosen, by the way, is also a marvel: Sirui T-025x, which weighs in at 1.8 lb and folds down to 11”!
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I picked up my Pelican 1200 case, by the way, for under $40 at Amazon.com.
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