•Do you want to take photos under difficult lighting conditions? Early mornings and late evenings are two examples of situations that can push any camera to the limit of their capabilities. DSLRs are usually better able to handle these situations due to larger light sensors and wider ISO ranges. DSLRs have much faster (light gathering ability) lenses available, but they are very expensive.
•Do you need fast shutter response times and high buffer writing speed (how quickly the camera can write the information to the memory card)? If you will be shooting sports or moving objects, the DSLR is the winner in this category.
Many people, much more qualified and knowledgeable than I, have written and published articles on the subject of “DSLR vs Super-Zoom”. For that reason, I am going to share several links that address this subject so that you can get the opinions and insights of others into the question. If you decide to go the Super-Zoom route, be aware that very good models are being offered by Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji, and others.
Follow these links to do additional research and reading for yourself:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/digital-slr-vs-digital-super-zoom-cameras-on-safari
http://www.cameralabs.com/features/DSLR_or_compact/should_you_buy_a_DSLR.shtml
http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/canon-digital-cameras/93821-super-zoom-digital-camera-dslr.html
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1018&message=21896034
I have personal experience with the Canon SX20IS (no longer offered) super-zoom and found it very good. It is my son’s primary camera and he takes excellent images with it. Here is a link to some of his photos posted on our blog:
http://naturalworldthroughmycamera.blogspot.com/p/kyles-photography.html
I plan to buy the Canon SX30IS for my daughter. We have owned, or used, Nikon and Fuji super-zooms in the past without issues from any of them. Because Canon offers the longest lens (804mm equivalent), I feel that it is the most versatile for wildlife photography.