Intro
Bridge cameras don’t get much love these days. Out of all retro cameras, compacts are cute, premium compacts exhibit that oh-so-loved retro vibe, DSLRs are simply great, but bridge cameras – except for a few cult cameras – don’t seem to generate much enthusiasm. It’s a pity on one hand, because some are awesome, and great on the other hand, because they’re super cheap to get!
Bridge cameras in the lower market segment were always about the zoom. But in the upper segment they were a sweet mix of sensor size, a versatile yet optically excellent lens, and solid ergonomics. Up to the release of the Canon EOS 300D, they were the epitomy of the enthusiast camera. They made quite a lot of sense post that as well, given that kit lenses coming with DSLRs were substandard even for the 6MP sensors. Bridge cameras couldn’t compete with burst shooting, AF or the battery life of DSLRs, but none of those were truly important for non-professionals. They could however come with lenses so good that matched high-end interchangeable glass. The Zuiko lens of Olympus’ C8080WZ beats its legendary contemporary Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 for outright resolution. Canon’s PowerShot Pro 1 had a red ring on its lens for a good reason. The Leica-designed superzoom fixed on the Panasonic FZ-50 (and it’s Leica twin, the V-Lux 1) is miles ahead of any Nikon or Canon kit lens from 2005. The Zeiss glass on the Sony R1 was also quite amazing. When the R1 was released with its APS-C sensor, many people believed Sony was going after the DSLR market with a bridge camera – then they bought Minolta.
As prices started to fall though, and ISO 800 became comfortable and 1600 usable on APS-C, there was no going back. People could get away without a flash even indoors, which was impossible with any bridge camera. There was a generation shift in the DSLR market which opened up the used market for second-hand camera bodies and lenses. This set the DSLR barrier even lower, and writing was on the wall for bridge cameras, especially in the premium segment. Sony and Panasonic managed to stay afloat (the RX10 and the FZx000 series are still alive and well), and Fujifilm had a few more attempts, but the premium bridge camera segment is a niche since 2006.