Bridge cameras anybody?

[djrwhittle]

Does anybody still use a bridge camera?

When I was using my 4/3 gear and wanted to travel light I used to take a Panasonic Lumix FZ330 with me and leave the DSLRs and all the heavy glass at home. Since treating myself to an EM-1 Mk2 travelling light means taking the 14-42 pancake and 40-150 plastic fantastic with me. Now the Panasonic is left in the company of the DSLRs. It hasn't been out since I got the EM1 2. I'm still using (and enjoying) my 4/3 glass with an MMF-3 and getting results I've could only dream about before. Maybe I should think about selling on the Panasonic before it depreciates in value enough for me to justify to myself that it's not worth the hassle.

Derek

[blackfox]

I got a panasonic fz1000mkii for the wife to use ,super camera shoots in raw and more than adequate for b.i.f .. if I had the money spare I would have got her a sony rx10mk4 but there £1500

[AndyMor]

My Wife has a Sony RX10Mk3 , she has been very happy with that for nearly 4 years and very often gets better images than I do with the EMI mk2 and various lenses. The Sony is weather resistant (no issues so far ) has a very good zoom lens and is ok at close macro, manual control if wanted etc. The advantages of Mft include bit bigger sensor so slightly better noise, faster continuous focus and more focal length choices and larger aperture choices ( but you need a bag to carry them!).

[Ian]

The telephoto reach of some of the many bridge cameras I have been able to try thanks to my work in reviewing cameras over the years has always been astonishing, but very often so has been the poor image quality. the primary exceptions have been various models from Sony and Panasonic, in particular.Olympus was a strong player in the early days with the likes of the C-750 10x Ultrazoom. I really liked the early Panasonics because they combined very good performance with truly compact dimensions but the trend towards bigger sensors resulted in bigger cameras that were more like small DSLRs.

Bridge cameras have weathered the storm brought on by smartphone cameras relatively well.

Ian

[biggles3]

I loved the Sony Mavica MVC-CD1000 with its massive 2.1Mp (!) sensor - the design of the camera was very advanced for the time (2000) and the lens was amazing being a constant f2.8 from 39-390mm! Unfortunately I often forgot to initialise the 8cm CD-Rs after shooting which could be a nightmare. I still have one CD that I've not been able to view since selling the camera about 10 years ago - I know it has photos of a favourite model I used to work with; despite the low pixel count, if I found the camera at a sensible price, I'd probably still grab it. Within a year or two of the Sony, I bought my first Olympus digital models - the E-10 and E-20 - but could never afford the accessory lenses to extend their versatility. I got rid of them the moment the E-1 became available with that lovely 12-54mm and then added the 50-200, since when Olympus has provided my go-to cameras and lenses.

I flirted briefly with the Fujifilm X-S1 shortly after it was introduced here in the UK. It was a superb camera with an excellent lens (until you got to the 600mm+ telephoto range when it became merely 'OK after post-processing'). I loved it BUT that long extension of the lens when focusing at 624mm made me really twitchy about it being knocked and decided to sell it. That was the end of my times with bridge cameras. I enjoyed their convenience and the absence of exposing the sensor to dust but always felt uneasy that if there was an issue with either the camera or the lens, you lost both until a repair could be carried out.

[MikeOxon]

I had a Panasonic FZ200 for a while but the slowness of operation was its downfall. If something interesting happened then, by the time the camera had started up and the leisurely zoom had extended,, the action was history!

[Andel]

I still use my Stylus 1, very handy when on a day out you don't want the bother of a larger camera.

[Ross the fiddler]

Same here. We have two in our household (& a third with sand in it ).

[Ian]

I have the original Digital Mju somewhere, and an XZ1 but that has a lump of dust on the sensor and it's probably marginal on getting it cleaned?

[OM USer]

I would quite like a Stylus 1 as a something to carry around in my suit/jacket pocket. The latest bridge cameras tend to have zoom ranges in the region of x35 which must count for something as an all in one solution. Better to get the shot than miss it because you are not carrying around a number of interchangeable lenses.

[Downwind Dec]

My FZ200 has been collecting dust for 4 years, since I got my EM1.2. I hope to redeploy it for situations where I'd rather not risk the good camera. Otherwise, when I really need portability I pocket my GM5 and a few f1.8 primes or just the 12-32.
The FZ200 replaced an FZ20 that gave 10 years of excellent service. I never bonded the same way with the FZ200.

[MikeOxon]

You'll find that the FZ200 viewfinder seems very primitive after the E-M1-ii. I also have a TZ25, which has the same sensor as the FZ200, and I still use that as a pocketable camera.

[Downwind Dec]

Indeed. I did give it an outing last year, and found the EVF to be a real eye test on a bright evening.

[RobEW]

The E-M1 II with the 12-100 f/4 seems to give everything you might want from a bridge camera ...

[Gate Keeper]

I bought a Canon Superzoom Bridge Camera several years before migrating to Olympus. The Canon was too good to throw in the bin, so I gave it to my wife. It still gets some use on safari and it takes excellent close ups of the moon and wildlife in the bush..

[blu-by-u]

I am still with my Stylus 1. A camera that is with me when I am too lazy to carry my EM1. I may start looking for the Stylus1s.

[Ross the fiddler]

It's looking a little more worn than mine. Although the grip on mine is looking out of shape too.