I was in the camera shop yesterday holding a Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom. Purely from a technical-spec side the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom is impressive; 9 megapixels, 10x/28-300mm zoom, f2.8/f4.9 max aperture, xD and Compact Flash memory support, 80 to 1600 ISO, RAW files, USB 2.0 and good macro mode. From a handling perspective it is even more impressive; it looks and feels like a DSLR with its zoom and focus rings on the lens, a good grip, manual controls for aperture and shutter as well as quick access to ISO.

All of that for just $699.

By comparison a Canon Digital Rebel XT was on the counter alongside. It was a bit larger in size with its EF-S 18-55mm kit lens attached but all things equal did not look or feel a whole lot different from the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom. Spec wise it is similar with 8 megapixels, 100 to 1600 ISO range, RAW support, Compact Flash memory and USB 2.0. The big difference being the 28-300mm lens of the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom vs. the, effective, 28-88mm lens of the Canon Digital Rebel XT. Plus the max aperture on that lens is f3.5/f5.6, worse than the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom.

Yet, with lens, the Canon Digital Rebel XT costs a full $200 more than the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom at $899. The Nikon D50 DSLR does not fare that much better either at $799 with the main spec difference being 6 megapixels.

Even I, a Canon EOS 10D DSLR owner, had a flash of doubt as I felt the solid heft of the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom in my hands. I don’t even own a lens capable of 300mm.

I was troubled but returned home and dug deeper into the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom. I found out why entry-level DSLRs have a viable future and why superzooms, or bridge, cameras like the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom, Sony Cyber Shot DSC-R1 and Panasonic DMC-FZ30 are not a real threat though they are still good cameras.

Lens and aperture

A well known and key difference between a DSLR and a bridge camera is the lens on a bridge camera is fixed to the body. DSLRs in comparison come as a body with a wide range of separate lenses that can be attached.

In this segment of the market I don’t not think this difference is so critical. Bridge cameras typically come with lenses that can go from a wide-angle of 28mm all the way up to 300mm on the telephoto end. The typical lens range that comes with an entry-level DSLR body is 28mm to 82mm (e.g. the 18-55mm on the Nikon D50 with its 1.5x factor.) There are some DSLR lenses which will go from 28mm to 300mm but that is more money, decisions, care and a host of other extras one needs to think of. Also the built-in lenses of bridge cameras are really quite decent quality wise. The Panasonic lens is a Leica (typically excellent) and the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom lens is rated well, as is the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-R1’s lens.

Now it is true that with the DSLR you can get lenses that go from 10mm all the way up to 1200mm (separate lenses) and so the total range is better. But 300mm is more than most people in this segment will use and 28mm is wide enough for most wide-angle needs. Also bridge cameras can be fitted with extension lenses that further the telephoto end, widen the wide-angle end and provide macro capabilities.

What does matter though is the minimum aperture available and here DSLRs have the upper-hand.

When a lens (separate or built-in) is marketed you will be told the maximum aperture e.g. f/2.8, f/3.5, f/4. What you won’t be told is its minimum aperture e.g. f/22, f/16, f/8.

It would take another post to explain the difference but in this segment where you have enthusiasts wanting to express their creativity minimum aperture is important.

Bridge cameras typically have at most a minimum aperture of f/8. A typical DSLR lens will have a minimum aperture of f/22.

I use f/16 and f/22 quite frequently on my DSLR and not having them available can be frustrating when you want to get creative.

Other areas where DSLR lenses will trump those in bridge cameras are; availability of filters, tripod mounts, support ∓ repair and if you break the lens on your bridge camera but the body is fine, you can’t just put another lens on.

Sensor and ISO

As you know megapixels are not the be-all and end-all of image quality. The size of the sensor in relation to the number of megapixels matters a good deal. Typically DSLR sensors are larger than in bridge cameras. Otherwise excellent bridge cameras such as the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 are let down by excessive noise at anything over ISO 100. The Canon Digital Rebel XT in comparison produces usable images at ISO 800 and even ISO 1600.

So while bridge cameras can produce excellent images they are often not as good as DSLRs. This is especially true in anything other than perfect conditions. If it is dark or very bright the DSLR sensors will not suffer as much as bridge camera sensors. The fall off on either side of perfect lighting is not as severe in DSLRs.

Another consideration is ISO range which most DSLRs will have more of. Not many bridge cameras offer ISO 800 or more with some capping at ISO 400. I suspect the low ISO range is because at anything higher the results are useless.

The thing is that high ISO results on many DSLRs are so good that ISO is becoming a setting similar to aperture and shutter. I shoot mainly on ISO 100 but will not hesitate to go up to ISO 400 on my 10D if I need it. Rather a smidge of extra noise than blur thanks to a slow shutter or a short DOF thanks to high aperture. ISO 800 I do think about but it is very usable.

RAW speed
This is where bridge cameras come up seriously short and is what prompted me to write this article.

Set my 10D to produce RAW files and hold the shutter down. You will get a rapid sequence of shots, 3fps for 9 images. Set the Canon Digital Rebel XT to RAW, hold the shutter down and you get 3fps for 4 images. After that it slows down but the buffer is not that slow to clear and allow full speed again.

Now set the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom to RAW and hold the shutter down. It takes one shot and then has to wait 19 seconds till it can take a shot again. 19, nineteen, seconds. Count that out in your head right now, that is diabolically slow.

The Sony Cyber Shot DSC-R1 is thankfully a good deal better at 1.9 seconds but you won’t be capturing rapidly changing scenes at 1 shot every 2 seconds. With the Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Zoom you could even miss key lighting moments during a sunset or sunrise as you wait for the last RAW show to process and clear.

The frame to frame speeds are a lot better when in JPEG mode but RAW support is a selling factor for bridge cameras. Be aware you won’t have the speed of a DSLR.

I suspect this is where the price/feature difference comes in. The Nikon D50 and Canon Digital Rebel XT have powerful processors which can handle the volume of data that comes off a sensor and is saved to RAW formats. They also have bigger buffers than the bridge cameras.

Other speed factors where a DSLR is usually superior are; start-up time and shutter-lag.

A few more

I have not seen this mentioned much but I suspect most bridge cameras will not have mirror lockup which at least the Canon Digital Rebel XT does have.

The view finders of bridge cameras are electronic and not optical like in a DSLR. I have yet to see an EVF that matches optical.

Auto-focus is generally better in even entry-level DSLRs, both quicker and more accurate. In low light a bridge camera can take up to a second to lock-on properly.

While the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 has good manual controls they are beaten by those on the Nikon D50 and Canon Digital Rebel XT.

Conclusion

It may sound that bridge cameras are all facade and no foundation from the above but really they are still fantastic. Many enthusiasts will be better served by a bridge camera than a DSLR as they are cheaper and offer more lens range.

But one should now be able to see why an entry-level DSLR is a viable option and not in danger from bridge cameras. Hopefully with the upcoming Christmas season you can now choose the right camera for yourself or a friend without being bamboozled by marketing and specification driven hype.