What is considered a bridge camera?
Feb 10, 2019 12:30:42 #
Is there a true definition to 'bridge' camera or is it a loosely defined category?
I guess it was 4 or 5 years ago I bought a Sony DSC HX-400. I was shooting ducks in the pond across the street when a neighbor came over and said, "nice bridge camera". I said no, it's a Sony and showed him the name right on the front of the camera. He laughed and explained what a bridge camera was. I had really never seen the term or never paid any attention to it. With that added knowledge my photographs got much better and the ducks were much happier.
I passed the camera on to a nephew (grand nephew I guess) who used it as he studied video in high school. He just called it his video camera. I never wanted to disappoint him, so never told him it was really a bridge. He's in college now so probably figured it out. Must be why he passed the camera down to his younger brother.
Go figure!
--
I guess it was 4 or 5 years ago I bought a Sony DSC HX-400. I was shooting ducks in the pond across the street when a neighbor came over and said, "nice bridge camera". I said no, it's a Sony and showed him the name right on the front of the camera. He laughed and explained what a bridge camera was. I had really never seen the term or never paid any attention to it. With that added knowledge my photographs got much better and the ducks were much happier.
I passed the camera on to a nephew (grand nephew I guess) who used it as he studied video in high school. He just called it his video camera. I never wanted to disappoint him, so never told him it was really a bridge. He's in college now so probably figured it out. Must be why he passed the camera down to his younger brother.
Go figure!
--
Feb 10, 2019 13:05:56 #
A bridge is a means of getting across a gap which maybe a river, a road, a railway or other interruptions to a route. It can be a narrow footbridge, a superwide highway bridge or many widths in between. Similarly bridge cameras - they are a means of getting between P&S cameras and DSLR's with the "bridge" mainly meaning the user has the option of controlling the camera manually. P&S is generally meant to mean the camera is almost fully automatic and the user just "points and shoots" with no changeable settings available. Like a real bridge it can be narrow - 3x zoom, or wide 30x zoom.
Feb 10, 2019 14:08:01 #
olemikey
Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida
That's a good question! I bet there are many answers (already are). I always thought they were the superzoom DSLR lookalikes or small form factor cameras with short lens, with a sensor smaller than APS-C/M4/3 or 1", usually in the 1/1.63" and 1/2.3" range, but slightly larger than cell phone sensor. I consider my Fuji superzooms to be bridge cameras, smaller sensor, full auto to full manual, and short to very long telephoto.
Feb 10, 2019 14:48:39 #
Bokehen wrote:
IMO a bridge camera is a camera that looks like a standard size camera body and with a stock sort of lens. However, the lens appears in length to that of a 85mm but can extend beyond that point in other words.. a camera with a built in lens smaller sensor and not very reliable. I've gotten better images from my pocket camera and now my M6. I would avoid these types of cameras as they are trying to "bridge" the gap between the pocket camera and the full size DSLR
Thank goodness that this is your opinion and not fact. I have no idea where you got the idea that bridge cameras are not very reliable.
Feb 10, 2019 15:30:21 #
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_camera
--Bob
--Bob
Bill_de wrote:
Is there a true definition to 'bridge' camera or i... (show quote)
Feb 10, 2019 16:45:33 #
Feb 10, 2019 17:01:05 #
Bill_de wrote:
Is there a true definition to 'bridge' camera or i... (show quote)
Must be a bridge camera ... it bridges generations :-)
.
Feb 10, 2019 19:20:33 #
Bridge camera per wikipedia.
Bridge cameras are cameras that fill the niche between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the point-and-shoot camera which are prominent in the prosumer market segment.[1][2] They are often comparable in size and weight to the smallest digital SLRs (DSLR), but lack interchangeable lenses,[3][not in citation given] and almost all digital bridge cameras lack an optical viewfinder system. The phrase "bridge camera" has been in use at least since the 1980s,[1] and continues to be used with digital cameras.[2] The term was originally used to refer to film cameras which "bridged the gap" between point-and-shoot cameras and SLRs.
Bridge cameras are cameras that fill the niche between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the point-and-shoot camera which are prominent in the prosumer market segment.[1][2] They are often comparable in size and weight to the smallest digital SLRs (DSLR), but lack interchangeable lenses,[3][not in citation given] and almost all digital bridge cameras lack an optical viewfinder system. The phrase "bridge camera" has been in use at least since the 1980s,[1] and continues to be used with digital cameras.[2] The term was originally used to refer to film cameras which "bridged the gap" between point-and-shoot cameras and SLRs.
Feb 10, 2019 19:30:28 #
sailwiz
Loc: Santee, CA
My research seems to put Lumix fz1000 and fz2500 as the best answers to this question.
Feb 10, 2019 20:32:01 #
PHRubin wrote:
While the article says the camera should have the general shape of a small DSLR like my SX50HS, I consider my DMC-ZS100 which is pocketable a bridge camera. It has a larger (1") sensor, an EVF, and a 10X lens. I guess it hasn't been firmly pinned down, or if it has, I haven't been convinced.
I agree with you, in my opinion a bridge camera is a larger sensor than a point and shoot, like a 1", and a nice zoom lens.
Feb 10, 2019 22:19:48 #
A bridge camera has most or all of the settings of a DSLR with a fixed lens, generally a powerful zoom. You can shoot in Manual, have a broad range of ISO, maybe bracketing etc. It is a feature rich camera with a crop sensor and no mirror as it is not a thru the lens view. You could say, any camera that has a fixed lens and it not a point and shoot is a Bridge camera.
Feb 11, 2019 00:31:39 #
I don't think the size of the sensor defines what a bridge camera is. Neither can a full feautured compact necessarily be termed a point and shoot camera.
Feb 11, 2019 01:24:36 #
BlueMorel wrote:
What a not helpful response! If you know, it only takes a moment to respond. If you don't (like me) wait a bit for someone more helpful to come along so that both the OP and I can learn.
Feb 11, 2019 06:24:04 #
Wingpilot wrote:
I don't think the size of the sensor defines what a bridge camera is. Neither can a full feautured compact necessarily be termed a point and shoot camera.
Exactly, the first Sony bridge had an APS-C sized sensor....
Feb 11, 2019 07:20:22 #
jbmauser wrote:
A bridge camera has most or all of the settings of a DSLR with a fixed lens, generally a powerful zoom. You can shoot in Manual, have a broad range of ISO, maybe bracketing etc. It is a feature rich camera with a crop sensor and no mirror as it is not a thru the lens view. You could say, any camera that has a fixed lens and it not a point and shoot is a Bridge camera.
So is this a bridge camera?
http://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-Q/LEICA-Q
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.