Which Bridge?

[Nomad]

I currently have a Canon 450D but find that the supplied telephoto lens of 70-210 just is not bringing me close enough for nature shots, besides being rather bulky. So, am looking at Bridge camera such as Canon SX40, Sony HV100V as well as Fuji HS20 and Nikon P510.
Most usage will include travel shots and garden wildlife hence considering a 'superzoom' for flexibility and size. The ability to have high quality video is also attractive.
Everything I have read talks about quality of image not being as good as DSLR but any printing I do will not be bigger than A4 – so will I notice the difference?
Any advice/suggestions re best choice gratefully received please!!

[Troy]

Image quality won't be as good as a DSLR, but like you say it depends what you want the images for anyway.

You will notice the difference even on a small screen, but it's up to you to decide if that's going to be a big issue. A DSLR generally uses much better lenses, and it is here that the image quality will beat any superzoom. But with this you'll need to pay a huge amount of money for lenses that will come close to that of the new bridge cameras. So you need to weigh up the pros and cons of each choice and decide if it's worth it.

As for the cameras you've listed, I'd personally choose between the P510 and the Fuji, although i think the HS20 has just been replaced with an HS30.