GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

I was wondering why with what seem like really high quality bridge cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Fuji, and Panasonic (trying not to make this a brand name question) would someone want to go to an entry level DSLR and have to carry around all glass that the bridge camera already has on board. I have seen some beautiful work on UHH taken with bridge cameras and was wondering is there an advantage to the DSLR at the truly entry level?

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

No.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I have read comments that suggest many people equate "better" pictures with spending more money. Sort of the American way :)

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Not sure what a bridge camera is specifically but if you include small mirrorless, then I'd say that shooting a smaller zoom mirrorless is definitely a thing to consider.

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

Short and to the point! Thanks

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

I here ya!!

NeilL Loc: British-born Canadian

It is becoming a little hackneyed, but this fits here. It depends on the person taking the shot.

amehta Loc: Boston

It's not about where someone is, but where they want to go. The first category I split cameras between is interchangeable lens or not (ILC/non-ILC). If someone says they want a decent camera for family/travel/etc, and that is their overall goal, then a bridge camera is a good suggestion. But if they say they want an entry-level camera so they can learn photography and develop further, an ILC might make more sense, since it allows them to use different lenses as their interest grows.

amehta Loc: Boston

I would include a small mirrorless, like the Nikon 1, with the DSLRs, because I think the interchangeable lens is a much, much bigger differentiator than having a mirror or not.

JimKing Loc: Salisbury, Maryland USA

By most definitions "bridge cameras" do not have interchangeable lenses. Many of them have extremely long range zoom lenses of pretty good quality so with 28x zoom range you hardly need longer or shorter lenses.
The longer the zoom range the more difficult the designers problems to keep quality but they've done a pretty good job. Large, expensive, high quality zoom lenses are in the 3x neighborhood. To get into that 28x area you spend about $6000 and have 3 large heavy lenses. I've said several good thing about the bridge lenses but you will not get $6000 worth of quality for $500 (and that 6k doesn't include the camera). With a bridge camera you are stuck with the lens it came with. With an intro level DSLR you will get a better quality lens (with a much smaller x range) but as you improve your photography and need more range and desire better lenses you can add them to your collection. When you are ready for a new camera all your lens investment is still good and works with the new camera body. With a DSLR you can build for the future and add quality as you go, with a bridge you pass it on and start over. If you just want a camera to carry around that will give you good shots and are not planning on going through the learning process (and spending process) then a bridge could be a good camera to have.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Many bridge cameras offer raw + manual, aperture priority and shutter priority shooting modes. Less control over depth of field, especially at wide angles, but much can be learned about exposure and processing with them.

Heck, my neighbor just paid $175 for a new Canon p&s that has exposure compensation, and the shooting modes I mentioned!

And composition can be learned with any camera. Not to mention old library books written for film :)

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

A great response Jim...thanks.

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

I've been playing piano for almost 60 years. There's an expression that say a Steinway won't make you a better pianist. No, but it will make you sound better. I can sit down at any piano and play the same music but it will sound different depending on the quality of the instrument. However, if I never learned to play properly no matter what piano I sat down at, it would sound, well, crappy. I suppose the same theory is true with photography.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

:thumbup: :thumbup:

JimKing Loc: Salisbury, Maryland USA

One way of looking at it is that a photo that a bridge camera will take well will be hard to beat with an expensive camera but with an expensive camera you will be able to take photos that you could not take with a bridge.