Looking at a panasonic Lumix FZ48 for my good lady who wants to move up from a compact camera but feels an SLR is a bit big.
Are these any good? Normaly a canon fan but this caught my eye

bridge cameras are generally good . Good zooms on most too .

No, a bridge camera is a compact with a big zoom bolted onto the front.

The thing that struck me was how slow the bridge camera I bought was. Get a small (Olympus / Sony) SLR if size is an issue

Done the bridge camera thing.
Done the SLR thing.

Canon G series just gets on with it.

I’d have thought if you want something smaller than an slr you’d be better off going for something like a Canon G series camera or the Nikon P7100, which I think has just been replaced by the 7700.

Lots of nice bridge cameras around now, including some of the Sonys. For 99.99% of the population 99% of the time they are ideal.

Look at the Panasonic Lumix range. I’ve got a G1 and it got used way more than my Nikon D300 ( that I no longer have!)

I think my one is a G3 now… Small body might suit her.

My son has just dropped and broken my Lumix DMC-FZ7 so I’m on the lookout for something new but I want something that’s as good but will fit in a cycling jersey pocket. Does such a thing exist? Any suggestions?

Bridges are pretty good and a nice step up (Panasonic ones especially), but she might be better off going for a small ISC camera like a Panasonic G series or a Sony NEX. A Panasonic GF5 with the little 14-42X lens is tiny and great quality – probably one of the best size/quality ratio cameras on the market. Can be had for not much more than a bridge if you shop around as well.

Thats a really tough question

It depends what you want. As other have said you won’t gain in image quality. You will gain in zoom range and control layout

To be honest the pictures wil almost everyones needs alost all of the time

However there are benefits to say going for a micro fourthirds. The zoom range is less but IQ and creative options are better, particulalry if you buy more lenses.

If just seen this. Last generation top qaulity little camera

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/G%20coded%20stock/products/Panasonic/LUMIX%20DMC-LX5%20Digital%20Camera%20-%20Ex-Demo%20and%20Used%20Stock-88126/Show.html?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Gcodedstock-_-all-_-all&ovc=&gclid=CInarbDmsrQCFUbKtAodOwUALw

Looked into this for my daughter’s birthday.
In the end as price was an issue (she was putting some savings towards it) we got a bridge camera for just shy of £200. It has a big zoom and she is more than happy- some manual features for her to get arty with but also pint and shoot simple. There s that compact camera shutter lag though
I think the Compact system cameras are probably better but is a hike n price. I liked the look of the olympus micro 4/3 ones.

Have you considered a micro 4/3 camera?

Will be able to change lenses for future & give the small size of a compact/bridge camera.

For me its the pocketable nature of a compact system camera that sells it.
Lugging around a DSLR seems a thing of the past, so much so that I no longer have a DSLR camera.

I’ve stuck with Panasonic, having had the GF1 (brilliant), GF3 (not so hot), G3 – brilliant but bulky with built in view finder and now use the LX7, which is the top end compact Panasonic offer.

I think of the lot a GX1 would currently be my preferred option with the powered zoom to retain the small pocketable nature of having a pancake type lens on the front.

The LX7 doesn’t have touch screen functionality, where as the GF range does, I am missing this on the LX7 but am generally pleased with the shots I am taking with it and love the small size.

No, a bridge camera is a compact with a big zoom bolted onto the fron

Not at all true. Bigger sensors, better lenses (wider, bigger, better quality not just more zoom), more manual oontrol, RAW capability etc etc.

Bridge cameras are between compacts and SLRs in terms of quality and functionality. That’s why they are called bridge cameras.

I have an SLR. All the pictures hanging on my walls are taken with my old bridge camera from 2004, and they all look great. My folks have a print from my 2001 vintage 2.1MP ‘bridge’ camera, and it’s truly stunning.

One thing to note when considering bridge cameras is that you always get good macro function due to the smaller sensor design, whereas with a SLR you probably need to buy another lens for that. You can also get good zoom capabilities at the same time, so you might get three lenses in one.

Quality wise, you won’t notice the quality difference between a good bridge and an SLR unless you go looking for it.

Not sure if it counts as a ‘bridge’ camera but I have Canon S95 and it’s amazing for it’s size. It has a slightly larger sensor than most compacts so you get less noise (the noise is also of the speckle type rather than colourful blob type so it looks more like film grain).

I quite often take it where I would have normally lugged my SLR a year or so before, it’s certainly a compramise but it’s not a big one to be honest.

My frame of reference (ba boom tish) is the quality I get out of my Canon 7D with decent lenses on it.

Is the shutter speed on a bridge style camera as quick as a DSLR?

Take a look at the Canon Powershot S100, I love mine and now the S105 is out it’s at a great price online

ke a look at the Canon Powershot S100, I love mine and now the S105 is out it’s at a great price online

Weirdly canon jumped to s110

it just swaps gps for wi fi and a touch screen

You may find this useful

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/12/21/enthusiast-zoom-compact-roundup