OK Mike..........Compact v. DSLR......... I used to use a compact (Canon S20), but wasn't that happy with the amount of time between pressing the button and getting the shot. Still believing I couldn't handle an SLR after a car accident, I then got a bridge cam (Canon Pro-1), but that was still too slow and at anything over iso 200, practically useless. So I picked up a Canon 30D in jessops one day and found that it wasn't the size of the camera, but rather the others had been too small.
So yes.......... I do need an SLR, the fact that I'm disabled as well means I don't/can't get that far, so its not really a problem trogging round town with a gripped SLR and a biggish lens, as I have to stop and rest quite often anyway.
__________________
"I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually. "Cats are nice."