What Is a Bridge Camera?

A bridge camera is a fixed-lens camera. It combines the body style and some of the capabilities of a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera with the usability of a point-and-shoot camera. It is neither wholly a DSLR camera or a point-and-shoot camera. It's hybrid, with additional features unique to bridge cameras.

Bridge Camera vs. DSLR

Bridge cameras have easy-to-handle camera bodies, as do DSLRs, so many people confuse the two. Though these cameras may look similar, bridge cameras differ from DSLRs.

Lens Differences

The most crucial difference between bridge cameras and DSLRs is that DSLR cameras have interchangeable lenses. A photographer can switch between a 35 mm and wide-angle or zoom lens to ensure they get the perfect shot for every picture.

A bridge camera has a fixed lens. There is one lens attached to the camera that can't be changed. But this isn't necessarily a downside. A bridge camera's lens has a variety of capacities, including wide-angle features. But the most notable trait of a bridge camera is its zoom abilities. A bridge camera's fixed lens often can zoom to 400-600 mm, which is much higher than most DSLR lenses can zoom.

DSLR Cameras Have More Control

Control is the other significant difference between a DSLR and a bridge camera. A DSLR may have automatic controls, but it also has a greater range of manual control, including the ability to set every adjustment, including aperture, shutter speed, focus, and more. This kind of control allows experienced photographers to capture the exact photo they imagine.

Bridge cameras often have some controls. For example, bridge cameras can usually switch between scene modes and lens capabilities. However, bridge camera controls are generally limited, similar to point-and-shoot cameras.

Bridge Camera Limitations

Bridge cameras may also have other constraints. For example, although bridge cameras often have ultra-long zoom capabilities, that may not be as much of an advantage as it would seem.

The longer a lens zooms, the less stable the camera becomes. Even though many bridge camera manufacturers try to counter this with stability and anti-shake features, when the lens is extended to its longest zoom, the picture may appear slightly blurry or have more noise, which is incorrect color variations at the pixel level. Adding a tripod when taking long-range pictures helps, but doesn't completely counter these issues.

If you want to use Photoshop or other image-editing software on your photos, you can't with a bridge camera. Most bridge cameras don't capture images in RAW format, which is less processed and allows more control when editing. Instead, bridge cameras usually process images in JPEG format, a compression format that reduces image size by removing pixels the camera software deems unimportant.

Bridge Camera Capabilities

While bridge cameras might not be right for professional photographers, a casual or beginning photographer will find the features useful. For example, most bridge cameras have HD video capability that includes dual stereo microphones for capturing great video and sound.

Bridge cameras also have a large, LCD format that clearly displays the image being captured. Often, that screen tilts or swivels to allow better viewing from different angles. These capabilities, along with image stabilization, let new photographers capture better images than if they were using a point-and-shoot camera.

The Cost of Bridge Cameras

While bridge camera prices can be lower than high-end DSLR cameras, some bridge cameras cost as much. These generally cost more than point-and-shoot cameras.

Since you don't have to buy additional lenses with a bridge camera, these are more cost-efficient than a DSLR. DSLR camera users must purchase different lenses for different purposes. Those lenses often cost as much as, or more than, the camera body.

Who Should Use a Bridge Camera?

Professional photographers may find bridge cameras limiting due to the inability to manually control camera settings and being restricted to certain file formats. Professional photographers may want more control over the final images.

Casual users, such as family photographers, as well as budding professional photographers just learning to compose photos, will find that a bridge camera offers a nice transition from a point-and-shoot camera.

Bridge cameras let photographers have some control, customizing a shot's focal length without having to guess at the other settings necessary to capture a great photo.