A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Actually I think we should look upon it more as a bridge over troubled customers.

So many people come to see us after getting themselves into a real turmoil about which camera to get - and about 90% of them have done so by reading forums on the internet and getting mates to advise them. Lucky ones have a dial-up connection and only one mate - at least the level of static is lower...

It is pretty simple in the end. Everything does actually work - all cameras will take pictures. Scratch off the nonsense stuff and the ones that might be dead out of the box - good sense should keep you from the former and Australian warranties save you from the latter. What you are left with is a variety of sizes and shapes and a price that increases with the sophistication of the gear. Start low and go high.

What's your best compromise? if you don't need to conceal it in your change purse, or want to haul the equivalent of an artillery transfer case everywhere you go, you might well consider the bridge camera.

These are made by all the major player - Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Leica, and Panasonic. They comprise a camera with a bigger lens than a compact - and a bigger body to house it - with a greater optical reach. Sometimes there is a really useful flash on board and sometimes a really useful optical viewfinder. You can score a tilting LCD screen or a touch screen on some but be prepared to pay a bit more. At the top end of the bridge camera range the results really DO rival the kind of thing you can get from a DSLR.

And all in one piece. No lens changing, no clouds of dust falling inside. A neater, lighter package, and well able these days to produce the sort of tourist or art work that the average punter really wants.

See enclosed examples. Not great art but nearly there...just a little further over the bridge.