My son is 16 in Feb and he wants a Bridge camera so as we have no idea and a budget of £120 I though I would look to STW for any good buys. Already seen a Nikon L810 half price in Argos but don’t know if this is a good camera or if there is a better one for the same price.

Forgive my ignorance, but what’s a bridge camera?

we bought my daughter a fuji one for about that cash from jessops, remember them?

what tipped the scales in favour of that one was that as well as the screen you could use the viewfinder as well.

We got one at Christmas – one of these

Maybe more than you want to spend on a present but a top camera. Really pleased with it.

Try Tesco too, they have a good selection of Canon, Nikon and Fuji bridge cams for just over a ton. I’m sorely tempted meself! 😀

Just seen an advert for Argos on TV – advertising a Nikon Bridge camera for £120. Maybe £130….

Search the Argos website for Nikon L810.
Weirdly, every colour except for black says that it’s less than half price – £119 down from £250.
But the black one says save £20 down from £140 to £120…

Review here:
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/nikon-coolpix-l810-1076588/review

No idea if it’s any good or not. Just saw this & thought it worth mentioning….

Why a bridge? I bought my daughter one last year. She insisted that was what she wanted, so we got her a Fuji. It looks great, and it took great pictures…… except it was crap for action shots. There’s a shutter lag/delay which meant that anything more than an object at walking pace was missed/mis-framed/blurred etc. This year she happily sold the bridge and got what I said she should have got in the first place, a Nikon DSLR. (Both I and her brother have Nikons, so we can share lenses and accessories)

They are dearer than a bridge camera, unless you find a good used one on eBay, but soooooo much betterer. Perhaps you could team up with some other relatives and get it for him between you?

I’d forgo the bridge style camera and go for something like a Panasonic TZ25.

Argos have these on offer at the moment too.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5598964.htm?CMPID=GS001&_%24ja%3Dkw%3A{keyword}%7Ccgn%3Apla%7C%7C5598964%7Ctsid%3A11677%7Ccn%3Apla%7C%7C5598964%7Cmt%3A{MatchType}%7Ccrid%3A14542145259

They are much more manageable to take around than a bridge camera with a similar size sensor.

Thanks for the suggestions,He wants to attach the camera to his scope for when he goes bird watching so I think the bigger camera is more suited for that purpose, just a presumption though.

Try currys I got my other half a lumix lz20 for 110 on sale tis really good

I found taking images through a scope easier with a compact camera than my bridge camera because when you put the lens up to the eye piece the compact fitted better and not as much vigneting, you can get adaptors to attach the camera to the scope. Are the birds far away ? You can get some bridge cameras with 400mm lens but I think thay may be a bit more money

For xiphon and anyone else who is wondering,

Bridge cameras are cameras which fill the niche between the single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) and the Point-and-shoot camera. ….

‘cos I had no clue either!

tthew – that means we’ve had one for 5 years, and not known its proper name.

Cheers!

gavtheoldskater – Member

what tipped the scales in favour of that one was that as well as the screen you could use the viewfinder as well.

That was why I chose my compact, and it has proved to be a wise decision.

They seem to have rebranded bridge cameras as superzooms these days.
They all seem to be 20+ X zoom.
Worst of all worlds for me, but there are loads of them about so they must suit someone. For £120 I guess they are a good entry into a bit of everything (most of them zoom during video) to see what takes your fancy.

The Lone Bird Watcher – Severn Beach by SGMTB, on Flickr

😉

They seem to have rebranded bridge cameras as superzooms these days.

Indeed they have.
You now have
– compacts
– bridge cameras
– Four thirds/micro interchangeable lens cameras
– DSLRs
there are few other types inbetween too. (and of course, someone will come along and tell me i’ve got the categories wrong!)
It is bonkers trying to decide on a camera these days!

I bought fuji bridge s2970 last year takes lovely pics & has lots of easy to use settings as well as custom shutter speeds & exposures etc,these two are taken with it using “fireworks” mode & “b&w”…. check em out.. ..

Camera cost less than £100 from jessops,but i see amazon have them cheap too!!…. buy one!

Forgive my ignorance, but what’s a bridge camera?

One of these I think
They seem to get good results
http://madisoncounty.com/index.php?page=the-bridges