I've always been interested in photography to some degree but never really got into it seriously as a hobby. I had a 110 film camera as a very young kid (I think I have a couple of photos that have survived from then) and a cheap Canon point and shoot later on. Eventually i graduated to digital point and shoot cameras and then to what would be classified as a bridge camera. The bridge camera is pretty old (a Canon SX40HS if I'm remembering the model correctly) and can't quite do what I want with action and lower light shots. Mostly I use auto or other presets but use shutter priority to get action and lower light shots how I want. I don't really delve into full manual.

Anyway, I ended up getting a Sony SLT-A37 dSLR a few years back. I know they say it is the photographer and not the camera that makes for good photos but I can tell you that this photographer is much better with that camera. I chose that camera mainly because I already had a 200mm lens from an old Minolta film camera that would fit it.

I love the convenience and ultra high zoom of some of the bridge cameras though. The problem is that they typically don't have nearly as big of a sensor as SLR cameras do. Makes action and low light photos harder. There are some really good newer ones though with sensors as large or larger than the dSLR I have now. Unfortunately, the good ones cost as much or more than a mid-range dSLR. I would really love the Sony RX10 IV for instance. But my wallet wouldn't.