L-O-N-G Lens Compacts and "Bridge" Cameras Better than DLSRs?

My three year old digital SLR and a zoom lens vanished. Hopefully, it is tucked away somewhere in my office and (hopefully) will show up.

Lacking my 80-300mm zoom lens, I needed a camera with a longer "super zoom" range. This would be handy, as my work sometimes demands a last-minute tight shot, and I do not always tote the large SLR. “Super zoom” models offer the range of an SLR system with much less bulk and expense.
 
Many places offered a (now discontinued) largish Kodak Point and Shoot 8 MP camera with a 12X Schneider Variogon zoom. This optic is the 35mm equivalent of a 36mm to 432mm zoom lens on a film SLR! There is some optical stabilization built in to help with such high magnification coupled to such a lightweight body.

Offered originally in May 2008, the Kodak Z8612 IS was $250 but now is half that on clearance, and only about $95 on the "refurbished" market. Refurbs come with free shipping, plus a 2 GB card and a few added extras (card reader, useless flimsy tripod and OK cleaning kit.) Not bad if you wished to gamble. I did.

Aside from the long zoom, the Kodak Z8612 sports a fairly common feature set with full auto, program with overrides, and the semi-auto modes of aperture priority, shutter priority and then full manual operation. There are also the ubiquitous “scenes” and movie mode, but no face recognition or smile and blink detection. (No big loss in my book!) Again, the main reason for owning this camera is the long zoom lens.

Alternatives to digital SLR's

Along with the seemingly unending selection of so-called “compact cameras,” you will find a steady progression of what are known as bridge cameras.

These cameras have many of the characteristics of a digital single lens reflex camera, but without the removable lens. In many cases the zoom lens is two or three ( or ten) times longer than any compact camera. In addition, the design of the camera lens itself is more balanced when shooting at extreme telephoto ranges (often up to 30 X zoom). Another feature critical to good photography in general and telephoto photography specifically is the addition of an additional viewfinder eyepiece that allows you to carefully compose the image in broad daylight and also hold the camera closer and tighter to your body. One of the limitations of the Kodak camera mentioned above was that it was difficult to compose the image using the screen on the back of the camera in bright light. Also, many users with glasses tend to hold the camera away from the body in order to see the screen properly. This does not promote steady shooting!

Should you buy a bridge camera instead of a digital SLR? There is no doubt you will save considerable money and, in most cases, the lens quality of the “super zoom” is comparable to the so-called kit lens that comes with your digital SLR camera. You also do not have to worry about dust entering the camera body, which can produce specs in your finished images if the particles settle on the sensor. However the typical bridge camera may not be quite as fast shooting as the full-sized dSLR. This is changing. I have seen some bridge cameras in the $500 range that have an extraordinary zoom lens, quick response, and a host of features including HD video...all packed into a relatively compact form factor. Bridge cameras have gotten so good that I am seriously considering forgoing the purchase of a digital SLR as most of my work does not require a variety of lenses and high speed bursts.

As usual, when shopping for a bridge camera, compare zoom ratios, maximum ISO and the apertures of the lenses. The ideal bridge camera would have a 30 to 40X zoom lens that only varies from 2.8 to 4.0 and a usable ISO of 6400 or higher. This last part may not be available today, but will be in months to come. Also be aware that some low-end bridge cameras are doing away with the extra viewfinder, rendering them much less usable and not that different from the Kodak camera mentioned above.

As is the case with all digital camera purchases, you need to take a very serious look at the kind of photos you take. There is a big difference between having a camera with a very long lens because you use it often and having a camera with a very long lens because you might use it someday! And if you need to shoot rapidly in low light with a telephoto lens, the choice of a digital SLR and a large aperture (expensive) telephoto lens may still be your best choice.