SD cards have a limited number of times they can be accessed. It is a large number 100,000 plus. The card can get fragmented similar to a hard drive. This might cause more transactions. It is simple to format and start clean. I use a card in my camera for about 2 or so years. They are not overly expensive so I play it safe. I do use the old cards in trail cameras and scanning files on the printer.

I have read where deleting files off of a memory card can damage the card over time. When you delete files it does not remove the data. The space is just marked as open.

I always format my cards in the camera after I have copied the files to my computer.

I am also replacing a Lumix FZ80.

I would like to thank everyone for all of the input! I plan to do a little more research before I make my choice.

How long have you had the camera? Please let me know how the repairs go.

Does anyone have the Nikon coolpix p950? What is your opinion of this bridge camera?
My main interest is in the zoom abilities. I want to take pictures of eagles at a long distance. It would be cheaper for me to buy this camera rather then a lens for my DSLR. I can save about half the cost by purchasing the camera rather then the lens.

I like the Tamron 18 to 400

I think it is better to look at the sensor and see how it is rated in low light. I was looking at the specs for the Nikon z6 and z7. Both have the same physical sensor size, but the Z6 is around 25 Megapixels and the Z7 is 46. What that means is the pixels on the Z7 are much smaller. as a result the Z6 is said to be better in low light because it has larger pixels to grab more light. After that you will want to find a lens that is good in low light.

Think about a bridge type camera. You do not change the lens and usually have a very good range . I have a Panasonic lumix. The camera will have all of the traditional Settings so they can adjust sutter speed and aperture, and ISO. Several of them run about $400 or less. Nikon and Canon have have them. Just google Bridge camera.

I learned a lot that night. I have a new wide angle lens. I saw a great shot with Milky Way on the left arching above the light house on the right. Hope I get to go back to Hatteras.

Thanks

This is my first attempt to photograph the Milky Way. The lens was Tamaron 18x400, 18mm, f5.6, 22 sec, iso 4000.

There were 4 other Photographers at this site. Photo Pills was used to plan the shot.

I believe in backing up data to external USB drives, but I do not keep then attached to my system. If they are always spinning they will fail over time. You should also have some kind of off site back in case of fire or some other disaster. All of the online companies should also be backing up your data.

Some online (cloud) systems have size limits for files, so check it out before you commit.

My phone is for quick photo. I have a lot more options with my DSLR's.
Phones are a reason some of the camera companies are having trouble. It is hard to say what the camera industry will look like in 10 years.

I thought I would play online games when I retired. I built a gaming computer for about $500 four years ago.
Last week I put a 1tb ssd drive in it and added 16gig of memory. My total is less than $700 and it is a great photo editing PC. Gaming just was not for me.

I would look at a generic gaming computer Windows based. In my opinion Apple is proprietary and over priced.
Here is an add I saw today from Tiger Direct.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/email/3WWEBEML3991.asp?MobileOptOut=1&SRCCODE=3WWEBEML3991&utm_campaign=3WWEBEML3991&_kla_id=52c1ab031625752467b68900a5afdff005d75106b309181219134706d200b71a&utm_medium=main&utm_source=EML

I use Photoshop Elements, but have started using ACDsee Ultimate 2020. ACDsee has a lot more RAW editing options. With most software you can google a video to teach you how to do something. I found some free online classes through my Library when I was learning Photoshop Elements.