Camera Manufacturers and Marketing

cliveh

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Lately, I have heard the phrase entry level camera and bridge camera. Can someone explain what they mean? As I haven't a clue.
 

Chan Tran

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I think the first bridge camera was the Olympus IS series starting around 1990. They are SLR with zoom lens but the lens is not interchangeable.
 

reddesert

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Specialized cameras are sometimes named for their application or subject, like the early "skyscraper camera" view cameras, the torpedo camera, and so on. Similarly, the entry level camera was a self-leveling view camera used by architectural photographers and municipalities to record doorways and entryways from street grade, while the bridge camera is a panoramic camera used to photograph an entire bridge in one go (usually from a boat) for inspection and maintenance purposes. The first bridge cameras were actually made from military surplus of the aforementioned torpedo cameras - swords into plowshares and all that. Unfortunately revolutions in photographic technology, digital recordkeeping, and the difficulty of converting these specialized cameras for pictorial purposes mean that working examples are hard to find in use today.
 

Pieter12

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cliveh said:
Lately, I have heard the phrase entry level camera and bridge camera. Can someone explain what they mean? As I haven't a clue.
Click to expand...

Marketing speak. Generally, an entry-level camera is one that is inexpensive and easy to use, usually with simple automated features, sometimes programs like ”portrait,“ “close-up,” “landscape.” Also, a point-and-shoot also falls into that category. A bridge camera is more sophisticated with build and features between the entry-level camera and a more advanced camera designed for professional use. Some bridge cameras might have extended range zoom lenses or interchangeable lenses. These are not official designations, just up to the marketing and sales guys to use as they see fit.
 

MattKing

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I don't know that "Marketing Speak" is the phrase that I would use, but it is close.
The terms are certainly related to marketing, but related more to whom the cameras are marketed to.
The cameras themselves were designed to fill perceived needs. The "entry level" versions were designed for those who were interested in replacing their simple box cameras or Instamatics with slightly more capabilities, without imposing heavy user requirements for technical knowledge.
And the "bridge" cameras were designed to bridge the difference between cameras that were simple and easy to use and cameras and systems that offered more flexibility and capability - usually in a single package.
The "bridge" cameras tended to incorporate zoom lenses that took the place of a several lens kit, in the days when zoom lenses were more exotic than they are now.
I have friends who did a lot of travelling and took excellent travel photographs. They made tremendous use of the Olympus IS line - which offered them results very similar to a multi-lens SLR kit, in a much smaller package.
 

koraks

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cliveh said:
bridge camera
Click to expand...

The term "bridge" refers to spanning the gap between two (seemingly) distinct market segments. Apparently, camera manufacturers at some point figured out that there were people who wanted more than the entry level/amateur camera (typically a compact with auto modes as @Pieter12 suggest), but weren't willing to pay (financially, in terms of weight, complexity etc) for the 'pro' option (SLR or mirrorless with exchangeable lens, lots of features etc). The manufacturers identified a gap between these two segments and decided to bridge that with a product that has desirable features of both categories.

If you're cynical, you could consider a "bridge camera" as a "stuck in the middle" camera. Or "neither fish, flesh nor fowl", if you will. Of course, I'm not a cynic, so...
 

Chan Tran

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That was the idea. But I found the bridge camera is the most complicated type of camera. The tried to scamp everything in a camera. A system camera with interchangeabe parts like lenses, battery pack, flash can be complicated but you can pair it down to a body and a lens.
 

koraks

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I've never been entirely convinced by them, either. I always found they combined the worst from the segments they tried to bridge. All the complexity of the higher segment, but the more limited image quality of the lower segment.

Then again, I might be a cynic after all, so...
 
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