I lost my Nikon DSLR and lenses to my younger daughter in pursuance of her degree studies ...
That left me with just my Canon Powershot SX220HS compact which is without doubt an excellent camera, however it lacks a viewfinder which can be a limiting factor when taking pictures of aircraft (particularly if using/needing high levels of zoom and/or in very bright conditions).
Not being able to justify the cost of a replacement Nikon outfit I decided to try a Fuji Finepix 240SL, it has more optical zoom power and it has an electronic viewfinder; but I have to admit that overall it is not an adequate substitute for a decent DSLR ... The electronic view finder is 'nearly' OK to help with framing shots in long zoom and high sunlight environments, but over all the cameras program ability and image stabilization ability is not that good.
So the sad truth is there is no getting away from the value of a good DSLR with a long lens .... if I want decent pictures I know that's what I have to buy (again!)