DSLR/Bridge Difference?

El Gringo

El Gringo

El Gringo

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Might someone tell me, once and for all, what the advantages are of a DSLR over a good bridge cam. What sets the two apart? I understand that the mp and sensitivity will be higher, but what else? What does an extra £200 get you?
I've been considering a cam for a long time, and though I was set on getting a bridge a friend is trying to convince me to go all the way and get a DSLR. What are the arguments?
Thanks :)
 
El Gringo said:
Might someone tell me, once and for all, what the advantages are of a DSLR over a good bridge cam. What sets the two apart? I understand that the mp and sensitivity will be higher, but what else? What does an extra £200 get you?
I've been considering a cam for a long time, and though I was set on getting a bridge a friend is trying to convince me to go all the way and get a DSLR. What are the arguments?
Thanks :)
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Interchangeable lenses for a start.
 
Cuchulain said:
Interchangeable lenses for a start.
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Not necessarily, you can get non SLR cameras with interchangable lenses and vice versa although there are very few fixed lens SLRs. However for the purposes of the OP's question it can be treated as an advantage.

The benefits as I see it are:
  • Genuine through the lens view on SLRs, proper DoF preview, focus preview etc
  • Physically larger sensors mean less noise and smaller DoF
  • As mentioned previously, interchangeable lenses. Use the lens which suits the situation, no need to compromise in lens design. Also means that lenses can be kept and the body upgraded.
  • Auto focus systems can be faster and more accurate

There are disadvantages to think about though as well.
  • Size and weight. Check my sig, you think I get that in a pocket?
  • Interchangeable lenses. Unless you want to compromise the optics you'd need to carry 2 if not 3 lenses to cover the range offered by most bridge cameras.
  • Cost. The body is just the start, in my bag it represents about 30-40% of the total value.
 
there is an olympus now with 18x zoom (28 - 508)
now my choices are down to that one or a fuji s9600

£300 is abotu my limit, I would love a dslr but then you have to put sooo much money into lenses it can become very expensive.

One of the main differences, not taking into account the lens issue, has to be the ranges on the aperatures and shutter speeds

most Prosumer / bridges have a range of F2.8 - F8 (or F11 on a few)
where as with DSLRs you can go much higher (dependant on the lens I guess)

and same with shutter speeds, DSLRs have a more of a range.

I dont think the MP is realy an issue any more, with Prosumer going upto 9mp and beyond now.

I would imagine even the cheaper DSLR lenses are as good quality as prosumer lenses (but that is just a guess, not a fact) so getting an expensive lens would make a difference in your picture quality.

The other aspect as well, If you somehow manage to scratch your lens on a DSLR you can at least bin the lens and buy a new one, if the same happens on a prosumer then you are in dire straights.

Prosumers have their own advantages as well
 
Bolerus said:
most Prosumer / bridges have a range of F2.8 - F8 (or F11 on a few)
where as with DSLRs you can go much higher (dependant on the lens I guess)

and same with shutter speeds, DSLRs have a more of a range.
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Having a smaller aperture is really handy for those landscape shots, or shots where you want to capture motion by using a slow shutter speed. F8 on a sunny day is not going to allow you to use a shutter speed of 1 second.

Exposure

If you cannot have a long enough exposure you might not be able to let enough light in to capture the shot. A lot of my light trail pics I've used have been about 30 seconds long, with an aperture of around F32. You have the bulb mode to with allows you an unlimited exposure time (battery pending! ;))

Bolerus said:
I dont think the MP is realy an issue any more, with Prosumer going upto 9mp and beyond now.
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Depends on the sensor size, it's noise city when you get 10mp on a 5mm sensor. An 10mp SLR @ £600 (inc kit lens) is going to be hugely better quality than a £200 COMPACT/BRIDGE camera. Again night shots where you want to freeze motion you'll want a fast shutter speed, so you'll need a high ISO, which means more noise, some cameras obv deal better than others.

Don't get me wrong compacts/bridges have their place, and many rush into Digital SLR's. Just get what's right for you, if you get a D-SLR and leave it on auto all the time, you are probs best off getting a bridge and exhaust its functionality first.
 
Aside from image quality and low ISO noise performance the biggest advantage is speed.

A SLR/DSLR is always ready to take a photo or review images on the screen; the photographer NEVER has to wait for the camera to catch up.

For example - wedding photography
Guest with their point & shoots are a nightmare, even those with 'bridge' cameras. By the time they have focussed on the first group of people I've taken 8 images and moved onto the next two other groups of shots.

Shooting with a DSLR
  • Turn the camera on; it's instant, read to shoot straight away.
  • Setup : Shutter, aperture, ISO, focus, White Balance etc; all done by quick control dials and buttons - no menus or slow multi controllers to use.
  • Focus : almost instant
  • Shutter lag : None and continuous speed from 3fps up to 9fps (camera specific)
  • Reviewing images : Even whilst the camera is buffering shots to the memory card you can still view your shots taken a few moments before.
 
SDK^ said:
The Sony R1 is not a DSLR - it's a bridge camera :)
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I know there was a lot of debate on this issue when this camera first came out, but I would put it in the class of DSLR mainly because it has a sensor size almost the same size as many 1.6 crop sensor DSLRs, and is infact bigger then all the 4/3 system DSLRs. It also has a lens that is very good quality.

Sure it does not have a true optical viewfinder, but you are actually see the image you are taking. My main argument is the sensor size that seperates it from bridge cameras.
 
FranchiseJuan said:
I know there was a lot of debate on this issue when this camera first came out, but I would put it in the class of DSLR mainly because it has a sensor size almost the same size as many 1.6 crop sensor DSLRs, and is infact bigger then all the 4/3 system DSLRs. It also has a lens that is very good quality.

Sure it does not have a true optical viewfinder, but you are actually see the image you are taking. My main argument is the sensor size that seperates it from bridge cameras.
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If it doesn't have proper viewfinder/movable mirror it's not a D/SLR, simple as that, regardless of the sensor size.
 
Cuchulain said:
If it doesn't have proper viewfinder/movable mirror it's not a D/SLR, simple as that, regardless of the sensor size.
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^^ Yup :)

(Single Lens Reflex) A mirror reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror flips out of the way and the shutter opens to expose the film/sensor.
 
SDK^ said:
^^ Yup :)

(Single Lens Reflex) A mirror reflects the image from the lens to the viewfinder. When the shutter button is pressed, the mirror flips out of the way and the shutter opens to expose the film/sensor.
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If you want to me that exacting about the definitions and not usage terms of cameras, neither the E10 or E20 are fixed lens SLRs either, as neither of them actually had a mirror.
 
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FranchiseJuan said:
If you want to me that exacting about the definitions and not usage terms of cameras, neither the E10 or E20 are fixed lens SLRs either, as neither of them actually had a mirror.
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Regardless of how Olympus liked to market them, they aren't SLR's.
 
The E10/E20 are SLRs, the viewfinder is fed with light collected through the viewfinder - take a look at the diagram in the dpreview review. Granted there is no mirror, rather a beam splitter prism is used to provide the the viewfinder view and simultaneous live preview via the CCD sensor. This isn't a new development, the Canon EOS-1N RS used a similar system to allow for 10fps shooting.
 
rpstewart said:
The E10/E20 are SLRs, the viewfinder is fed with light collected through the viewfinder - take a look at the diagram in the dpreview review. Granted there is no mirror, rather a beam splitter prism is used to provide the the viewfinder view and simultaneous live preview via the CCD sensor. This isn't a new development, the Canon EOS-1N RS used a similar system to allow for 10fps shooting.
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Sorry, I disagree, the actual definition of an SLR is:

"Of or designating a form of reflex camera in which the reflecting mirror retracts when the shutter is released."

There is no reflex system on the Olympus.
 
Cuchulain said:
Sorry, I disagree, the actual definition of an SLR is:

"Of or designating a form of reflex camera in which the reflecting mirror retracts when the shutter is released."

There is no reflex system on the Olympus.
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If you use that definition then you're correct and I'm happy to concede that there is a grey area in the definition and it revolves around the means by which the viewfinder if fed.

I've always gone with an SLR being a camera whereby the viewfinder is optical and collects light through the main objective lens. This includes the likes of the E10 and the EOS1-N RS but excludes rangefinders and things like my old Canon Pro90 which looked like a wee SLR but had an electronic viewfinder fed off the main sensor.

I think we'll need to agree to disagree on this one.
 
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