'Bridge' Cameras

So-called because when they were introduced they 'bridged' the then gap between compact cameras and DSLR cameras. Most bridge cameras have a non-interchangeable, large range zoom lens, and most have a single lens reflex (SLR) system which enables the photographer to see the image in the viewfinder through the lens which takes the final photograph (there's no separate viewfinder, such as those found in older design compact cameras). 

On the plus side, they're normally smaller, lighter and less expensive than DSLRs with similar quality as some cropped DSLRs, and as long as yours has Aperture Priority (A or Av) or Manual (M) exposure mode, you'll be able to follow my courses and workshops.

Be aware though that the cheaper bridge models often limit the functionality of key features (for example, some limit the choice of f. stops that the photographer can set to a choice of just two!!) and that as with smaller mirrorless or advanced compact cameras, because space on the camera body is limited it's often fiddly to get to functions that are used often. Larger DSLRs with more traditional control layout don't suffer from these problems quite so much.

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Most bridge cameras also do not have  an optical viewfinder like the majority of DSLRs. What's an optical viewfinder? One that doesn't have a small LCD screen that you use to frame / focus your image with - many photographers prefer to see a 'real life' analogue image through the lens that takes the picture. If that's you, you may not get along well with an electronic viewfinder (EVF).





Mirrorless

Recent years have seen a rise in popularity of mirrorless camera designs. 'Mirrorless' because there is no need in the design of these cameras for a mirror to be mounted inside the body to allow the photographer to see the image through the lens that takes the picture.

NB Mirrorless cameras are split into two broad groups - those with no viewfinder and those that look visually very similar to a DSLR, but which actually have an electronic, as opposed to an optical viewfinder (the bit you look through is a smal LCD screen, rather than an analogue view through the camera lens!!)

Whilst mirrorless cameras without viewfinders are smaller and more compact, the fact that there is no viewfinder forcec you to operate them at arm's length - not great for avoiding camera shake or subtly taking candid shots!

However, mirrorless cameras are a sign of things to come, wth many models boasting a range of high tech features that aren't on many DSLRs. Image quality on higher spec models matches what any DSLRs can deliver.

And as battery technoolgy improves, we won't have to worry about cameras that are so heavily dependent upon, and use so much, battery power.

My advice - don't ever be tempted by a mirrorless camera without a viewfinder. Just say no.

However, the good news is that if you have a mirrorless camera already, even one without a viewfinder, and your camera allows you to adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and select modes like Aperture Priority (AV or A) or Manual (M), you'll at least be able to complete the lesson tasks at PhotoSchool Workshops and on the Online Course.

Compact Cameras
Sometime around the late 70s / early 1980s, camera manufacturers settled on a new label for smaller-than-SLR size 35mm cameras... the COMPACT camera. They were small, normally had a fixed, non interchangeable lens, and a separate viewfinder which displayed ever so slightly a different view from the view of the lens which would take the final picture. Compact Cameras were another step up in the camera evolutionary scale from the 'instamatic' cameras of the 1960s and 70s, themselves a development of the first mass produced 'point and shoot' cameras of the 1920s and 30s.



Today's compact cameras, of course, are a lot more clever, and a lot more digital than the cameras of 90 years ago. The most advanced compact cameras today offer a similar degree of control as the features on DSLR cameras, but they suffer from non-interchangeable lenses, and, like mirrorless cameras, from having to use their rear LCD screens as viewfinders. Like mirrorless cameras, their design is fundamentally flawed and their operation clumsy.



However, if you have a compact camera as your main digital camera and your camera allows you to adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and select modes like Aperture Priority, you will at least be able to complete the lesson tasks in this course.

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