I am looking into a new cameraq maybe in a few months, a still camera as my 1.3MP brick is a little old and crap.
A bit long in the tooth now.
But, I keep seeing SLRs and lenses, what can different size lenses achieve? Do they give a wider angle for shooting with?
Apart form what Mongoose has so eloquently said versatility, they allow you to do stuff that you wouldnt be able to with a single fixed lens. A zoom will give wider angle at one end and a narrow one at the other, how far this goes depends on the specific lens.
With these lenses will the camera adapt to what youve there or will you have to adjust it yourself?
Normally you can just adjust the zoom and let the camera decide everything else. Issues can arise in poor light or under artificial illumination but they tend to be fixable with software.
Modern lenses plug and play. Basically its mostly up to the photographer and their imagination.
You might want to consider a bridge camera, a camera with a superzoom lens permanently attached. I believe that there is a replacement for the Fuji F5600 now out and there is still the Canon and Panasonic alternatives. Big advantage is you dont have to change lenses, except that is a big disadvantage too.