Considering buying the HS30

All this is my .02 of course, but I've no interest in shooting pigeons at 500 yards or other party tricks that seem to be what most megazooms are used for anyhow.

I've bought a dslr, upgraded it, and have 3 or 4 kit lenses that do a very good job for me; my total investment including a pro quality photo printer is no more than one might spend on (say) an HS30 and another somewhat more expensive megazoom bridge camera. I know 'expensive glass' would be nice but I've gotten by without it thus far.

A few years ago I belonged to that club which believed that 'with a dslr you have to carry a bag of glass, you have to spend thousands on lenses, etc.' but having bought a dslr I've found that the naysayers were just wrong.

I've had a superzoom, and certainly for some people (including myself, AT the time) they can be a very good all in one solution. But they are not dslr's in any meaningful way, other than not having 'classic rangefinder styling'.

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Do people really spend $700 on a camera so they can take a picture of a squirrel or a duck?