vaughanB, you are as entitled to your opinions as anyone else, but I wish you wouldn't present them as if they were facts. You say you bought the 7i about the time the P880 appeared, so did you read the 7i's review which came out earlier? I have a feeling that maybe you suffered from 'buyer's remorse' - especially considering the price you paid -
Totally disagree, reviews are to be taken with a pinch of salt, I have used many cameras that received poor or mediocre reviews that all things considered (including price) have turned out to be excellent (Kodak AZ526 ,Microsoft Lumia 950 phone, the list is large) on the other hand many cameras that receive rave reviews I have found to be disappointing, the original Sony RX100 Mk 1 is a good example, poor rear LCD, slow startup, unimpressive burst very good in low light but thats about it, even at its now 1/3 of the original price I don't think its worth the money unless you desperately need a small camera to use in low light, otherwise a £150 Canon Powershot is a better camera in almost every way despite the Sony 1 inch sensor, the MK4 is £750 and is doubtless much better
At the time the P880 offered a 24mm wide lens which was rare and that was what made it so appealing to me, but now the AZ526 is a much better camera so I wouldn't use a P880 now, but Kodak are a one trick pony because the 20mp AZ651 I found to be truly dreadful, I didn't even read a review of that camera, I bought one, tried it for a few days and exchanged it, tried another which was just as bad and had a refund, thats how I handle it
I tried every type of battery with the Dimage 7i, the battery life was truly terrible, and I tried 2 cameras, yet all the reviews failed to point out just how bad it was, image quality was also nothing special I replaced it with a Sony 717 which was better in every way (same era), and I mean every way, build, speed ,IQ, focus speed, it just worked....properly and the battery lasted forever, for about the same price, many reviews are not worth even reading apart from the technical specifications, review after review were quite positive about the 7i, I thought it was a piece of junk
I read reviews for dimensions and features, but as for everything else I ignore it, I buy from a place with a returns policy and make up my own mind
Another example is the Canon Powershot SX280 which is slated unerversally for poor battery life, the solution is so so simple, Canon released an uprated battery which totally solves the problem but this is never mentioned, it is a brilliant little camera with excellent IQ and a 20x optical zoom some even slate it for being "only" 12.1mp, but if you are put off by such comments you miss out on a gem (apart from low light it outperforms the RX100 in every way, faster, better LCD, vasly longer reach pretty well every way, but reviews would lead you to believe otherwise
So if you base your decisions on reviews, thats up to you, I will use my own brain and eyes, the saying "you get what you pay for" I have found to be pretty meaningless
I currently have an SX280 (mixed reviews, many negative) so it was inexpensive but its really good, that replaced the highly acclaimed Sony RX100 and unless you need a tiny camera to shoot in the dark, does a far better job
An AZ526 (Kodak) mixed reviews but its every bit as good as any other small sensor bridge camera but cheaper
A Nikon D5300, its OK but poor low light focus with the kit lens, a bit over-rated, but a good camera, can't understand why the auto white balance is not as good as a compact or a smartphone though reviews would have you believe its the Nirvana of cameras
A Lumia 950XL phone which has generally poor reviews for the camera (including here) but its one of the best I have used, the 640XL is even better and 1/4 of the price of an iphone or Galaxy of similar spec
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Kodak Pixpro AZ526 Superzoom examples here
https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8mNYF1
(even ignoring inflation)
