Bridge camera

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The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 bridge digital camera

The Fujifilm FinePix S9000 bridge camera

Bridge cameras are cameras which fill the niche between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the Point-and-shoot camera.^[1][2] They are often comparable in size and weight to the smallest DSLRs, but lack the SLR optical viewfinder system. In addition, SLRs normally feature interchangeable lenses, while current bridge cameras do not.^[3] The phrase has been in use at least since the 1980s,^[4] and continues to be used with digital cameras.^[5] The term "Bridge camera" was originally used to refer to film cameras which "bridged the gap" between point and shoot cameras and SLRs.^[6][7]

Most current bridge cameras are digital. These cameras typically feature full manual controls over shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and metering. Generally, their feature sets are similar to consumer Digital SLRs (DSLR), except for a smaller range of ISO sensitivities because of their typically smaller sensors (a DSLR has a 35mm, APS, or 4/3 size CCD or CMOS). Many bridge cameras have long zoom lenses, so the term "bridge camera" is sometimes used interchangeably with "megazoom", "superzoom", or "ultrazoom." However, there are bridge cameras which have only moderate or short zooms (such as the Canon Powershot G9^[8]), as well as compact cameras with long zooms which lack the advanced functions of a bridge camera.

One fixed but versatile lens

An example of a superzoom bridge camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30

Bridge cameras typically have small sensors, allowing their lenses also to be smaller than a 35mm or APS-C crop SLR lens covering the same zoom range. As a result, very large zoom ranges (from wide-angle to telephoto, including macro) are feasible with one lens. The typical bridge camera has a telephoto zoom limit of over 400mm (35mm equivalent), although newer cameras reach over 500mm.^[9] For this reason, bridge cameras typically fall into the category of superzoom cameras^[10]. The ability to fit such a wide zoom range in one single small-diameter lens makes lens interchangeability redundant for most photographers. However, most bridge cameras allow the use of secondary lenses to improve wide angle, telephoto or macro capabilities. These secondary lenses typically screw onto the front of the primary lens either directly or by use of an adapter tube.

LCDs and EVFs as principal viewfinders

Bridge cameras employ two types of electronic screens as viewfinders: The LCD and the electronic viewfinder (EVF). All bridge cameras have an LCD with live-preview and usually in addition either an EVF or an optical viewfinder (OVF) (non-parallax-free, as opposed to the OVF of DSLRs, which is parallax-free). A high-quality EVF is one of the advanced features that distinguish bridge cameras from consumer compact cameras.

All DSLRs, by definition, have a through-the-lens OVF. Newer DSLR models typically also allow 'live view' on the LCD screen as an alternative to the OVF.

Electronic viewfinders (EVFs) vs DSLR reflex viewfinder comparison

Live-preview EVF advantages

The EVF of bridge cameras, and the LCD of bridge cameras and DSLRs in 'live view' mode, continuously show the image generated by the sensor. The continuous digitally-generated live view has some advantages and disadvantages over the optically-generated view through the OVF of DSLRs. One advantage is that the digital preview is affected by all shooting settings and thus the image is seen as it will be recorded (in terms of things like exposure, white balance, grain-noise, etc) which the OVF of DSLRs is incapable of showing ^[11]. Another advantage is facilitating the framing from difficult angles by making the LCD movable (vari-angle). The LCD and EVF normally show 100% of the image while previewing (WYSIWYG). The OVF of professional DSLRs normally shows 100% of the image, but the OVF of consumer DSLRs may show slightly less than 100%.

Live-preview viewfinder disadvantages

The Konica Minolta DIMAGE A200 (2005), the most sophisticated digital camera made by Konica Minolta before its fusion with Sony

The disadvantages however are that the electronic screens of bridge cameras do not work as well as the OVF of DSLRs in situations of low light (or in bright daylight with the LCD), where the screen might be difficult to see and use for framing. Also the screen is of low resolution and refresh rate compared to the very high resolution and instantaneous refresh provided by an optical path in the OVF of DSLRs. This low resolution makes it more difficult to focus manually. However, most modern bridge cameras implement a method that automatically magnifies a central frame within the screen (manual focus point) to allow easier manual focusing. A slow refresh rate means that the image seen on the screen will have a fraction of a second lag or delay from real scene being photographed. The electronic screens used in modern bridge cameras are gradually improving in their size, resolution, visibility, magnification and refresh rate.

Another disadvantage is battery life. A DSLR's sensor (when not in live view mode) is not operating unless the shutter is open, and the electronic screen is typically off more, causing less battery drain.

In bright conditions the light impinging constantly on the sensor of a non-SLR to be able to show the image in the LCD or EVF viewfinder can heat the sensor, increasing image noise; in a DSLR, the sensor is exposed to the light only during the fraction of a second that the shutter is open.

Examples of bridge cameras

The Sony DSC-R1

Examples of bridge cameras are the Canon PowerShot S5 IS, Fujifilm FinePix S9600, Fujifilm FinePix S100fs, Olympus SP-500 Ultra Zoom, Olympus SP-570UZ, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50. The Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1 could also be considered a bridge camera, though its video features distinguish it from any other consumer camera. Kodak the EasyShare P-Series. Minolta (before the Konica Minolta merger) marketed the DiMAGE series, with the Minolta GT manual fixed zoom lens. Their bridge digital cameras were known as ZSLRs (zoom lens, single lens reflex). Olympus was the first to place a 20x zoom on a bridge camera with the Olympus SP-570.

The Sony DSC-R1 (2005-2006) and the Sigma DP1 (2008) are bridge cameras with APS size imaging sensors. The DP1 is much smaller than typical bridge cameras, and has a fixed focal length (non-zoom) lens. The Nikon Coolpix P6000,^[12] Canon Powershot G series,^[13][14] and Panasonic LX-3 are other examples of smaller bridge cameras with smaller zoom ranges.^[15]

Bridge cameras are gradually being supplanted at both ends of the range. Inexpensive DSLRs often overlap with bridge cameras, and manufacturers are giving priority to DSLRs since they can enjoy further profits from the sale of lenses and accessories. There is also the release of compact cameras with advanced functionality and large zoom ranges, features that could previously only be found in bridge cameras.^[16]

References