Are Bridge Cameras As Good As DSLR Cameras?

Bridge cameras, like the Nikon P-90 illustrated here, lie in between cheap compact digital cameras and true digital single lens reflex (DSLR) cameras. They are supposedly made for photographers who are familiar with using a compact camera and who are thinking of upgrading to a proper camera, but are apprehensive about moving away from their comfort zone.

Perhaps they fear that they may not be able to get their heads around using a DSLR camera. Perhaps they fear of wasting their money if they plunge for an expensive DSLR camera system and later find that it is too complicated for them. Whatever the reason, camera manufacturers know that there is a buoyant market for bridge cameras, which is why they create them.

But are bridge cameras any good? Although they cost less than DSLR cameras, they are not that cheap. They are often similar in size and weight to the smallest DSLR cameras, but generally lack an optical viewfinder system. DSLR cameras have interchangeable lenses; most bridge cameras do not.

Bridge cameras do give you full control over shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and metering. They are therefore quite close to giving you the DSLR camera experience, but with a smaller range of ISO sensitivity due to the smaller sensor. For instance, the Panasonic FZ38 bridge camera has a sensor size of 6.13mm x 4.60mm; compare that to a typical APS-C sensor in a DSLR camera, like 23.6mm x 15.7 found in Nikon and Sony DSLRs.

The much larger photosites on DSLR camera sensors give a much better signal-to-noise ratio, meaning there is much less noise in the resultant images. Also, the small sensor sizes of bridge cameras still prevent images being acquired with a shallow depth-of-field, so there is no way you can capture decent proper portrait shots with bridge cameras. In the end, you get what you pay for.

Another thing that bridge cameras cannot do is close down the aperture beyond f/11. Compare that with f/22 or f/32 depending, on the lens, on a typical DSLR camera.

Arguably, the main benefit of using a bridge camera is its convenience, and as a learning assistant. A bridge camera is light in weight and you do not need to lug around a lot of gear with you, such as lenses and filters. Nevertheless, some photographers do like bridge cameras because of the ‘everything in one box’ feel they give. So long as they are good for the purpose, bridge cameras are fine.