Daljeet Gharyal

What is better for telephoto shooting...a 150/600. Lens or a bridge camera.....?

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

If you can handle the weight and size a 150-600.

Daljeet Gharyal

Thanks Richard

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Some Bridge cameras have a longer focal range than the 150-600mm. The Canon SX60 Bridge camera has a focal range to 1365mm. That's over double the range. But, you're not going to get the sharpness as with the 150-600mm. Whether it be a Tamron or Sigma lens.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

What camera do you have now?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

That depends ENTIRELY on what you want to do with your images. If you only want to post to Facebook, Instagram or the like, then the tiny sensors and long equivalent focal lengths of the bridge cameras will be more than competent.
But if you ever want to print bigger than 4x6 or sel or submit your images for publication, then the 150-600mm lenses on a full frame or even APS-C camera will do a FAR superior job.

Acountry330 Loc: Dothan,Ala USA

The 150-600 lens will beat the Bridge camera hands down. Happy shooting.

Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

If you are lucky enough to own a Nikon the best and only telephoto you will ever need is the Nikon 200-500 on the D500 camera. Second choice would be the Canon D7 Mark II with the new version of the Canon 100-400 lens. Third choice would be the new Nikon 70-300, but that would not be long enough for you. Bridge camera's would not be my first choice but they would be the cheapest, the best one would be the Sony RX10 III with the 24 to 600 f4, which, in my opinion, is over priced for what you get. I do not trust or like third party 150-600 mm lenses, they are not worth much used, and that should tell you everything you need to know about third party glass.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

A bridge - like the Nikon P900 - will give you greater reach, but a tele lens will probably give you better quality - depending on your skill and shooting conditions.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

There are lots of bridge cameras.

Then there is the Sony RX10 IV that bends the rules about reach and image quality.

lhardister Loc: Brownsville, TN

I agree. And in addition to getting better IQ on a shot to shot comparison of in-focus images, it is not unusual to find that the interchangeable telephoto lens will deliver an image, while the bridge camera will not even be able to deliver an in-focus shot, particularly if the lighting conditions are less than ideal or the subject is flanked by a dark/confusing/non-contrasty background, and that notwithstanding assiduous efforts to spot focus the bridge camera.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You cannot compare the focal ranges on a one to one basis. The SX60 has a 35mm equivalent angle of view of 21-1365 as a result of it's small sensor size with a crop factor of 5.62. However, the actual focal range of the SX60 lens is approximately 3.7- 243mm. If one could somehow attach and use a 150-600mm lens on an SX60 body the 35mm equivalent view on the long end would be 3372mm.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

This is correct.

In fact, to achieve that extreme range of focal length "equivalents", the sensor in the typical "bridge" camera is VERY small.... such as a so-called 1/2.5" that measures 4.29x5.76mm for a total of about 25 square millimeters. To fit 16MP worth of pixels on such a tiny sensor requires each pixel be extremely small and as a group that the pixels be very closely crowded together.

In comparison, an "APS-C" DLSR that can use a 150-600mm lens has an image sensor roughly 15x23mm with an area of 345 square mm.... close to 14X larger than what a typical "bridge camera" uses.

It's even greater difference with a so-called "full frame" DSLR, with an even larger 24x36mm sensor that has an area of around 864 square mm... more than double the size of the APS-C and almost 35X the size of the sensor in the bridge camera.

SIZE MATTERS when it comes to image sensors and the quality of the images they can produce. Larger sensors can be higher resolution (many are 24MP, some as high as 50MP) without being nearly as crowded, which reduces problems with noise caused by heat and cross talk. The higher ISOs you're able to use with tiny sensors are very limited. Where you might only be able to use ISO 400 or 800 with a bridge camera, you may be able to get as good or better image quality at ISO 12800 or 16000 or even higher with an APS-C or especially a full frame camera.

The larger sensor cameras are also able to use much larger individual pixel sites that do a better job catching light for more fine detail and may be able to use weaker or no "anti-alias/low pass" filter, which is used to slightly blur images to reduce moiré problems in images.

Longer focal length (whether real or "equivalent") also are harder to hold steady for a sharp shot. Most camera systems today of all types offer some sort of image stabilization.... but it can only do so much.

Finally, an extremely long focal length may allow you to photograph subjects from a much greater distance... But that means shooting through more atmosphere, which often degrades image quality significantly. It's always better to simply get closer to your subject (and there are always subjects just out of your reach anyway, no matter how "long" your lens).

So, for many reasons you will find that an APS-C or full frame interchangeable lens camera with a 150-600mm lens on it will make for MUCH better images than are possible with a bridge camera. Depending upon how you use your images, you might not see the difference.... for example if you only share your images online in typical sizes and at low Internet resolutions. But if you make prints much larger than 4x6 (or crop your images at all), you'll definitely be able to see advantages of the larger sensor cameras.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Based on your previous post about looking for a hobby in retirement I would look at the Nikon Coolpix B700 bridge camera with a 24mm -
1440mm focal length. It is light weight and easy to carry and shoot handheld, takes 4K video, and the optical telephoto at 1440mm is amazing. It is about 1/2 the price or less of a 150-600mm telephoto lens, and a fraction of the weight. There are a number of youtube videos of this camera taking amazing shots and videos of the moon. I don't think you will be disappointed. I bought myself one for Christmas and tested it when I got it. It's now wrapped with other Christmas presents.