Another "Which Bridge Camera Should I buy?" - Different choices

[Bateman]

Soon I will be off on my holidays for the whole Christmas and New Years period and I have decided that I would like to invest in a nice little powerful camera to get those perfect nature and scenery shots.
I am a complete newbie to proper photography but I popped down to my local camera shop today but I came out of the shop more confused than I was before I went in.
After browsing through comparison websites I think I have whittled it down to two cameras -
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200

I am use to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10 (TZ20) but I am looking for a camera that will give me a quicker response when taking a photo (for passing wildlife etc) but also the options available of a higher end camera for such things as long shutter for motion still pictures (probably not the correct wording so apologies if you don't understand that)

The reason I am looking at a bridge camera is because I would like the ease of the AUTO option where I can just point and shoot without having to always worry about what setting I have the camera on. However, also having the options there for me to explore my photography skills would be good.

If I could get the opinion of the above 2 cameras that would be great but I am also open to hear recommendations of other cameras you think would suit me.

[Andy Stanton]

I'd go with the Canon SX50 HS. The Panasonic FZ200 was considered the best ultrazoom prior to the SX50 HS but the Canon's amazing 50x zoom (with a focal length of 24mm - 1200mm), combined with typical high-quality Canon image quality, makes it a more attractive option than the 24x FZ200.

[Andy Stanton]

One thing that may be important to you - while the Canon SX50 HS is a quick camera, the FZ200 is even quicker, in both autofocusing and shot-to-shot speed.