The best bridge camera in 2021: ultra-zoom cameras for far off subjects

Consider the best bridge cameras if you can't decide between the convenience of a compact or the ergonomics of an interchangeable lens DSLR or mirrorless camera. These fixed-lens cameras are designed to look and feel like DSLRs, with the range power of the best superzoom lenses, and best of all, many of them can be picked up for a fantastic price!

The huge zoom range of bridge camera mean that they can tackle practically any photographic subject. The super telephoto lens settings mean they are particularly popular for shooting shooting distant subjects such as birds, safari wildlife and the moon – helping you get a frame-filling photograph.

So, you might be wondering, why don't all photographers use bridge cameras all of the time? Well, while bridge cameras are great for a variety of applications, they do have a few drawbacks that are worth being aware of before you take the plunge.

First is the aforementioned fixed lens. While many bridge cameras have whacking great superzoom lenses affixed to their fronts, you are and will always be limited to the length and quality of the lens on the box. With a DSLR or mirrorless camera you have the option of swapping to a prime if you want a sharper image, but you'll have no such luck with bridge cameras. There's also no boosting with a teleconverter, or swapping to something unorthodox like a fisheye, macro lens or tilt-shift lens. What you see is what you get.

The other half of the picture is inside the camera: the sensor. Bridge cameras have smaller sensors than those you'll find in DSLRs or most mirrorless cameras. This even applies to newer bridge cameras like the Nikon Coolpix P950; this camera may come boasting raw capture and 4K video, but its sensor is still the 1/2.3in type found in many bridge cameras.

Best bridge cameras in 2021

The Nikon Coolpix P950 is a successor to the P900, and represents a continuation of that camera's ambition to be one of the biggest and best superzooms going. Accordingly, the P950 boasts an impressive 83x optical zoom with an equivalent focal length range of 24-2000mm, and if this somehow isn't enough for you, it can be digitally extended to 4000mm with the 166x Dynamic Fine Zoom. The P950 adds a lot of features that people felt were missing or sub-par on the P900: it improves the viewfinder, adds RAW capture and ups the maximum video resolution to 4K. The only reason it's not further up the list is its small sensor size – an 83x zoom range is great, but we reckon a larger sensor is overall more useful.

Read more: Nikon Coolpix P950 review

The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV is the latest incarnation of Sony’s RX10 bridge camera series and takes a useful step forward from the RX10 III. The main highlight is the inclusion of a 315-point phase-detect AF system, which makes it far better suited to tracking moving subjects, while the introduction of a touchscreen, a feature that's been oddly absent from the RX10 line-up – and indeed, many of Sony's others lines until recently – is also noteworthy. Its 24fps burst shooting, which is a significant improvement over the already-capable 14fps on the Mark III, together with Bluetooth connectivity, distances it further from the camera it updates. Because of all this, it's a much more capable camera for sports and action and the best bridge camera you can buy right now – but this comes with a significant premium over both the Mark III and rival cameras.

Sony has now released four RX10 models and has a policy of keeping older models on sale, so while the RX10 Mark III is not the newest, it still gets second place in our list. It introduced an impressive 600mm maximum zoom setting, and a very respectable f/2.4-4 maximum aperture range. While it isn't a replacement for the Mark II model (still on sale), it boasts a slightly better battery life and a nine-bladed diaphragm in comparison to the Mark II's seven-bladed alternative, although it does miss out on the ND filter that made an appearance in both previous models. The camera can be found for some great prices now, so, if you don’t need the RX10 IV’s high-speed AF and shooting, this model can save you a lot of cash.

The FZ1000 II is a welcome update to the original Panasonic FZ1000 bridge camera. Look closely, and you'll see that you're still getting a hell of a lot of current tech for the money. The 20.1MP 1in sensor and 25-400mm (equiv.) f/2.8-4 Leica-branded lens come together to form a capable core, with 4K UHD video, 5-axis Power O.I.S. stabilization, a 2.36million-dot OLED EVF, Wi-Fi and NFC, and raft of video-specific additions such as zebra patterning on top of it. Definitely one to snap up if you don't need the fancy tricks of the more recent FZ2000 / FZ2500.

Panasonic already won many people over with the FZ1000, with its 1in sensor, 25-400mm (equiv.) f/2.8-4 zoom lens, 4K video and masses of control making it a fine DSLR alternative. The FZ2500 (sold as the FZ2000 in Europe) delivers plenty more, including a slightly longer lens, touch-screen control and an electronic viewfinder with a slightly higher magnification than before, but its in video where Panasonic has made the most significant improvements. So, here we get DCI 4K video and a variable ND filter, for example, although the latter can, of course, be used for stills too. The lack of weather-sealing is a pity, but its falling price, together with the occasional cashback deal, makes it a brilliant-value competitor to models in Sony's RX10 series. If you need something more for stills than video, however, you may find the FZ1000 II (above) makes more sense – particularly when you see just what you get for the money.

From its junior models right through to its various flagships, Panasonic has always been generous with features. This has allowed its models to remain appealing in the face of newer competitors, and 2015's FZ330 exemplifies this perfectly: a sub-£500/$500 camera with 4K video recording, a splash-resistant body and a 25-600mm (equiv) lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture. You simply don't get that anywhere else right now! On top of that there's a tilting touchscreen, a 1.44million-dot EVF, Wi-Fi and image stabilisation, which round off the specs to deliver a mighty fine proposition for the advanced novice or enthusiast on a budget. 

With its 24-2000mm (equiv) zoom lens, the Coolpix P900 made headlines, but the new P1000 walks all over it with an astonishing 125x zoom range, offering the equivalent of a 3,000mm telephoto lens at full stretch. It is a stretch, though, because at this setting the lens's maximum aperture loses a full three stops from its f/2.8 maximum to a pretty miserable f/8. You'll be glad of Nikon's in-built VR (Vibration Reduction) system to cut camera shake, though it can't fix the general lens softness that creeps in at longer focal lengths. It does improve on the P900 in some key areas, offering raw format shooting, a higher-resolution electronic viewfinder and 4K video. However, its asking prices is almost as astronomical as its zoom capabilities – it's a lot to pay for a bridge camera with a small 1/2.3-inch sensor. But if you want the longest zoom range the camera world has ever seen, you can't expect it to be cheap.

Read more: Nikon P1000 review

After the excesses of the Nikon P900 and P1000, the Panasonic FZ82 looks pretty tame. By comparison, its 60x optical zoom range is somewhat ordinary, its maximum aperture range of f/2.8-5.9 is uninspiring and it uses a small 1/2.3-inch sensor, which caps the image quality you can expect. But three things raise the FZ82 above the ordinary. First, the price: this camera easily undercuts all its rivals in this list while giving them a real run for their money in features. Second, it shoots 4K video and has Panasonic's neat 4K Photo modes for high-speed image capture. Third, its 60x zoom offers a wider 20mm equivalent wideangle setting than any of its rivals, so it's a good deal handier for shooting in tight spaces – a great advantage in travel photography.

On paper, the SX70 HS looks a close rival to the Panasonic FZ82 (above), offering a slightly longer maximum zoom and nearly matching the Panasonic's wideangle setting. But its f/3.4-6.5 maximum aperture range is on the low side and its 20-megapixel resolution can't overcome the limitations of the small 1/2.3-inch sensor size. The SX70 does handle well and it's not that big for a bridge camera, but the opposition has moved on, with bigger zoom ranges, bigger sensors or lower price points. The SX70 HS offers solid enough specifications but at a price point which makes its rivals look more tempting.

The Nikon Coolpix B500 is a very popular bridge camera - due to just how much bang you get for your buck. Despite a lower price than many bridge cameras, it offers 40x zoom range and a lot of advanced controls – making it a great choice for those wanting telephoto reach for shooting birds and other distant subjects without paying a fortune. Drawbacks include having to make do with the LCD screen - as there is no eyelevel viewfinder - and that could be hard work if trying to track a fast moving subject, or shooting in bright sunlight.

Also read Should you buy a NIkon B500?

What is a bridge camera?

The simple definition of a bridge camera is this: big lens, big body, small(ish) sensor. But the reality is a little more complex than that. Once upon a time, manufacturers could only make those enormous zoom ranges work in bodies if they had a small 1/2.3-inch sensor, the kind you'd find in a point-and-shoot camera.

This all changed, however, when Sony, Panasonic and Canon figured out how to make bridge cameras with 1-inch sensors, which are much closer to those of DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, and the jump in quality is just as noticeable as the jump in price.

The bigger sensor also means a smaller zoom range, so it's up to you where your priorities lie. That's why we've split our bridge camera guide into two halves: the first section deals with advanced, comparatively expensive bridge cameras with 1-inch sensors (though many are a few years old and can be picked up for much less than on launch). The second half of our list comprises, 

But the bigger sensors mean smaller zoom ranges and higher price tags, which has split the bridge camera market into two halves. The more expensive 1-inch models at the top of our list have a smaller zoom range, but we reckon it’s worth it for the extra image quality. The cheaper 1/2.3-inch models in the bottom half of our list have spectacular zoom ranges and friendly price tags, but only average picture quality.

Read more: 

The best digital cameras 
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The best travel cameras 
The best point-and-shoot cameras 
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