Dear Tweeters,
Thanks to everybody who replied to my RFI on so-called "bridge cameras." The Canon SX50 apparently does fit in the pocket of my birding vest, so I have ordered one. I was actually ready to buy an SX60, but none of the brick-and-mortar stores that I visited in Skagit County had that one in stock, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy the costlier, older SX50, since several people do seem to think it is better than the new one.
The decision to buy a bigger, better camera was spurred on by the ever-more-frequent malfunctions of my little point-and-shoot camera, which tend to increase in frequency as the rarity of the subject bird increases.
By the way, the only reason the SX50 camera fits in my vest pocket is because I have a "Big Pockets" brand vest. The only things I have tried to fit into it that do not fit, so far, have been the Ecuador field guide and a 1957 Buick Roadmaster.
Yours truly,
Gary Bletsch