Battle of the cameras, bridge vs dSLRs.

Battle of the cameras, bridge vs dSLRs. 

One of the hottest debates ever

One of the major debates currently dominating the Indian debatespace is, whether bridge cameras in future would be able to successfully replace the dSLRs or not. The average Indian consumer feels that dSLRs are way too expensive for day-to-day photography, and even entry-level dSLR devices can truly cost you a fortune, in the proper sense of the term. Taking the advantage of this mindset of the Indian consumers, 'Bridge' devices have come up to dominate the market of high-end cameras. Devices such as Nikon's Coolpix P510, armed with superzoom capability and many advanced features which would otherwise be found in entry-level to mid-end dSLRs, have successfully grabbed a portion of total camera market shares. 

However, the major question that comes to the mind of any potential buyer is, are bridge cameras really worth their names? Are they capable of turning the tide and ruling the market space in future? And most importantly, is it better to buy a high-end bridge or stick to an entry-level DSLR?

Basically, the question can be answered both technically and philosophically. The primary philosophy of photography is to capture the four-dimensional world (considering time as a dimension, governing the ever-changing, fast, dynamic world) into a two-dimensional frame. The photo is basically the tool used to produce in the mind of the viewer feelings similiar to those that arose in your mind as you took the shot. And both bridge and dSLRs are capable of shooting good photos. The main difference between the two is that, dSLRs are more advanced, expensive and certainly feature a large variety of additionally buyable and usable lenses, which with a bridge camera you have only the default, non-replacable lens.

Let us examine the situation in a point-to-point manner. First, lets look at the advantages and disadvantages of dSLRs. dSLRs, or Ditigal Single-Lens Reflex camera devices, are arguably the kings of modern camera varieties. Armed with extremely large and powerful sensors, these cameras can capture the lowest detail possible to be captured with today's technology. So, here are the major advantages of dSLRs over bridge cameras:

• Better image quality: This is definitely a go. Larger sensors contribute to sharper images, with a greater detail of colour. Even the most advanced bridge cameras are no match for dSLRs in this regard. 
• Multiple lenses: The main point of buying a dSLR is that you can buy and use a wide variety of different lenses. From wide-angle to telephoto zoomers, you can actually enjoy anything that your device supports. 
• Better low-light photography: Although bridge cameras are improving fast, dSLRs still govern this genre of photography. Larger sensors contribute to this great advantage a dSLR enjoys over potentially any rival device. 

Now, the major disadvantages of today's dSLRs are:

• Greatly expensive: Yeah, this is the reality. Even a basic, entry-level dSLR costs much more than many high-end bridge cameras. And indeed, if you are not a professional photographer, and would only like to capture a few random shots of your life, then buying a dSLR is next to pointless. 
• Heavy and inconvenient: I don't know how many I've read this particular point. dSLRs are really inconvenient to carry, and at any time of the day you can find yourself carrying multiple lenses. The greatest strength of a dSLR often contributes to this disadvantage, it's very flexibility in terms of using a multitude of lenses. With a superzoom bridge camera on the other hand, you can have one single lens that can double as a wide-angle lens and a superzoom telephoto one when needed. 

I would say that a high-end bridge camera is far better than a low-end entry-level dSLR, if you're someone new to the world of photography. A high-end bridge camera boasts a number of dSLR-like functionalities, while it also has full-auto modes to aid you if you're not familiar with some of the more advanced settings sported by your camera.

Another major advantage enjoyed by modern bridge cameras is a DSLR-like flexible design. Most high-end bridge cameras have command dials and function buttons, electronic viewfinders and much more. While one may still miss the optical viewfinders that a dSLR typically has, modern EVFs are not at a loss. Most bridge cameras also support external tripod stands, which is a major advantage.

In terms of portability, bridge cameras definitely enjoy an edge of superiority over their dSLR equivalents. With a bridge camera, to mention it once again, you have a single lens that can serve serve in multiple ways. For example, my Nikon P510 has a 42X ultrazoom nikkor lens. It can shoot objects that are really distant, and also excels at taking photos at a distance of 5 cm from the device (with Macro mode). Thus, bridge-users are not really much behind dSLR users. Instead, since we have single lens and a much lighter device to carry, we can enjoy more dynamic shooting.

An online review of bridge cameras has nicely put it as “Bridge cameras sport the best of both worlds”. In a sense, this is absolutely true. However, in terms of image quality, DSLRs are simply unmatched. Although bridge devices are advancing fast, we don't know if they would catch up with their more massive opponents any time soon. As such, the final verdict is quite clear. Buy a high-end bridge camera if you want to spend less, enjoy more portability, get better performance/price ratio, and especially so if you're new to the world of photography. But at a certain point of time, you'd simply feel the need to buy a DSLR if you can afford it. Till that times comes, however, we can continue to be proud of our bridge devices.