Best Bridge Cameras | 2026

The king has returned! Sony’s RX10 cameras were once the undisputed top of the pile when it came to bridge cameras, but it was starting to look like the RX10 IV from 2017 was going to be the last in the line. But the series has come back with a bang in the form of the upgraded Sony Cyber-shot RX10 V, which takes its rightful place as the best and most powerful bridge camera you can buy.

This bridge camera is still built around the winning combination of a 1-inch sensor with a 24-600mm equivalent Zeiss-made zoom lens, covering all shooting scenarios from wide-angle to super-telephoto. However, this upgraded version has received a boost in the form of a dedicated AI processing unit. Together with the stacked Exmor RS sensor and BIONZ XR processor, this allows the RX10 V to focus and shoot with incredible speeds. 

The processing unit powers a super-fast autofocus system with the must-have camera feature of the 2020s – intelligent subject recognition. This means that the RX10 V can identify and lock onto individual subjects such as people, animals and vehicles – and with its 30fps blackout-free burst rate, you can be sure of capturing them. 

Scintillating image quality, enormous flexibility, and now incredible speeds – the Sony RX10 V is certainly the top of the pile when it comes to bridge cameras.

Panasonic’s capable and affordable bridge camera, the Lumix FZ82D, is a great option for beginners who aren’t ready to commit to a camera like the Sony RX10 V. Equipped with an 18.1MP MOS sensor and 20-1200mm equivalent F2.8-5.9 lens, it’s capable of handling a broad plurality of shooting situations – just as a bridge camera should be. 

The sensor is a 1/2.3-inch type, smaller than the RX10 V’s 1-inch chip. It’s still capable of capturing vivid and bright images in a range of conditions, but the smaller size does have an impact on its capability in low light.

As this is a Panasonic Lumix camera, it is of course highly video-capable. The Lumix FZ82D shoots 4K video at up to 30p and can capture slow-motion HD at up to 120fps. Its 4K video capabilities also support a number of photographic functions, including 4K Photo, which effectively provides a 30fps burst rate by extracting high-res stills from 4K 30p footage, and Post Focus. This clever feature allows you to set the focus point post-capture, and dovetails brilliantly with the Lumix FZ82D’s macro-shooting capabilities for close-up work.

The big addition is ramped-up video recording, the Lumix FZ2000 having been equipped with a huge range of pro-level features, including the option to record in both DCI 4K and UHD 4K flavours. Video shooters will also be pleased to note that the FZ2000 sports microphone and headphone sockets.

If you want the biggest zoom possible from your bridge camera and nothing else will do, the famous Nikon Coolpix P1100 should be your port of call. With an absolutely whopping 24-3000mm equivalent focal range, its 125x optical zoom is powerful enough to capture detailed moonscapes – and its range can be further digitally extended to 6000mm equivalent with Digital Fine Zoom!

Its lens offers high quality and delivers sharp results right the way through that mega zoom range. When you’re shooting handheld, you’re aided by Nikon’s powerful Vibration Reduction stabilisation system, which helps suppress camera-shake to make the extreme telephoto focal length easier to use.

With a 16MP 1/2.3-inch sensor, the Coolpix P1100 offers lower resolution and image quality than bridge cameras like the Sony RX10 V. However, thanks to its incredible lens, it’s capable of doing things that genuinely no other camera can do (at least, not without spending an absolute fortune).

One of the most affordable bridge cameras around, the Kodak Pixpro AZ528 pairs a 16MP 1/2.3-inch sensor with a 52x optical zoom lens that starts out at an equivalent of 24mm and can reach a whopping 1248mm equivalent. It also boasts 6fps burst shooting, and a sensible control layout that makes it intuitive to operate – though be aware the rear screen is fixed, and there’s no viewfinder to speak of

However, the real ace in the hole for the Kodak Pixpro AZ528 is its price tag – this bridge camera offers absolutely tremendous value for money. And what’s more, if it’s still out of your budget, Kodak also offers even cheaper bridge cameras with shorter zoom ranges. There’s the Kodak Pixpro AZ405 (40x optical zoom) and the ultra-affordable Kodak Pixpro AZ255 (25x optical zoom), or now the slightly more expensive Kodak Pixpro AZ653.