Africa Wild

Need some advice.

Looking to buy a camera for Safari, mainly animal photos(we aren't big on birds or plants). I have always just used the snap and go digital cameras but I am looking for something a bit better.

I have heard about options like bridge and dslr. What should I look for and where should I start?

Hi stefan9 and welcome to this forum

There are certainly lots of options out there in terms of upgrades from a point-and-shoot camera. Are you able to say roughly what kind of budget you're looking at? Price is often one of the inhibitors to some DSLR equipment and can make bridge cameras a good option. But if price isn't an issue and you're looking to get the best image quality possible then of course a DSLR is the way to go. Here are some of the pros/cons which might be worth considering:

• Bridge cameras are generally cheaper than a DSLR.

• Some of the zoom ranges on bridge cameras would require an expensive lens for a DSLR equivalent.

• A bridge camera provides an all-in-one camera whereas you might want more than one lens for a DSLR - making a DSLR setup larger/heavier to carry around.

• The sensor on bridge cameras are almost always smaller than a DSLR. So although they both might have 16 megapixels, the DSLR would give a better image.

• You can't change the lens on a bridge camera so there's no way of improving the glass in front of the sensor. Upgrades are an option on a DSLR (get a better, more expensive lens in due course), and again the image quality is normally lowered on a bridge camera as the lenses aren't as sophisticated as those available for DSLRs.

• Whilst you may be able to change some of the settings on a bridge camera, they generally don't have quite the same number of options as a DSLR. It might be an option to start on a bridge camera with a view to moving to a DSLR, but at the same time DSLRs do provide very automated settings which allow you to get used to the camera before starting to play around with it properly.

• The video capability is normally better on bridge cameras (but having said that I know the video capability on my DSLR is actually brilliant )

• Bridge cameras normally have electronic viewfinders in case the lighting is too bright to see the screen. These aren't ever going to be as good as an optical viewfinder found on a DSLR where you're really seeing what the camera sees.

I guess once you're comfortable on a decision between bridge/DSLR then you can start looking at options. Personally I very much like Canon equipment, but I have previously owned a Fujifilm bridge camera which gave some great results

If you have the budget I would go with a DSLR. We bought my son a bridge camera two years ago, but he quickly saw the difference between his pics and mine (from a DSLR) and he upgraded a year later, so really the bridge camera was an unnecessary expense.

Great response PJL

Flutterby wrote:If you have the budget I would go with a DSLR. We bought my son a bridge camera two years ago, but he quickly saw the difference between his pics and mine (from a DSLR) and he upgraded a year later, so really the bridge camera was an unnecessary expense.

Canon 550D with 500mm Sigma at 500mm



Canon SX50HS Bridge Camera with 50X optical zoom

The difference is clear BC



That's actually a good advert for the SX50HS
I hope Canon are paying you

Jokes aside, I know from my experience that although I would still get good pics with my bridge camera, moving back to a DSLR was a noticeable step up in image quality - particularly in low light situations or when animals were moving (better high ISO on a DSLR and much better autofocus for moving subjects). But... budget often has a lot to play in these decisions unfortunately. Otherwise I'd be walking round with a R125k lens

The quality on the SX50 is great. The Brat had the SX30 and there was a noticeable difference in image quality, so Canon has obviously greatly improved their bridge cameras!

The sensor on the Bridge camera is smaller than the normal DSLR, The question comes into play when you start printing as you are enlarging from a smaller base than that of a DSLR, Placing photo on the net is not a problem as you posting between 800px or 1024px along the longest at 96dpi, now enlarge to 40cm by 30cm (A3) at 300dpi and I think there could be a difference ,

What the hell is a bridge camera?

Richprins wrote:What the hell is a bridge camera?

A bridge camera is the camera you use to catch things speeding over a bridge, hence the name bridge camera