Compact camera recommendations

We should have a thread about how we 'normally' shoot and process and stuff.

― exploding angel vagina (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, January 13, 2010 6:30 AM (13 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah i was gonna start a LR/Aperture workflow thread

oh you already did it

Thanks for all the responses. One day I would love a DSLR (if I ever have time to learn to use it) but for now compactness is key -- I have to cart about all kinds of crap for two under-threes wherever I go and I need something I can just shove in a pocket.

I just devote one compartment of my Crumpler bag to pull-ups, nappy sacks, wipes, snacks, spare pants! Well, they are a bit older (and I'd love something like a GF1 in a pocket rather than the faff of pulling out the 40D)...

a used panasonic LX3 might fit under 250 - it's got that crucial f2.0 aperture which will help with getting good indoor shots. a bit bulky as far as compacts go, cause the lens sticks out.

I got an LX3 for Xmas and so far I'm pretty impressed, really loving being able to take shots in 16:9.
The lens is pretty good in low light, but true to form anything above 800 ISO is too damn noisy.

I have a new compact, actually - my brother won it in a raffle and figured, seeing as he already has a perfectly good camera, why not give it to the couple with, er, 13 cameras? (Ok, a lot of them don't work, including our only existing digicam). Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 - quite good fun, nice sharp WVGA video, fairly hopeless flash and poor at high ISO, but great for casual snapping. Leave it in "intelligent auto" mode, tweak a little in Lightroom, voila...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2680/4294341712_80805d555c.jpg

Was that a RAW file Michael?

No, the little Lumix doesn't do raw. It does 12MP JPGs in 4x3 mode (or 10.5M in 3x2, 9M in 16x9) or a variety of lower resolutions. Hilariously, that's more pixels than my 40D. The above shot was a quick LR job - Direct Positive preset, rolled back the blacks a bit, exported with a LR/Mogrify border. (And yes, all those presets are optimised for raw - the effects on JPGs tend to be a little more extreme, which is probably all the better for a smeary 1/10sec, ISO 800 digicam shot).

I should read the manual at some point.

And here is the fun item...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4305180088_cf13201622.jpg

Ah righty, wrt that pic how weird that you can see Centre Point now that the Astoria building is trashed. I work just over the other side of Soho Sq.

I go to Soho Sq a lot - usually to see the people at C20th F0x.

PEPSI DRINKER

Em's likely to unfriend you on Flickr for that - she's a Coca Cola fascist.

But they taste the same! (j/k) Classy shot - fizzy drink can in the background, Panasonic balancing precariously on my wallet (SYMBOLIC, yes?).

Ok so I have got my options down to the Fujifilm F200 or the Lumix (although a friend has the Lumix and says not great for dim indoor shots, but what is I guess?)

which lumix? the fujifilm is not going to be any better, I can guarantee.

Was looking at FX150...

would probably go withfuji...

Well I have gone with my gut feeling and just ordered the Fujifilm F200EXR from Amazon, thanks for everyone's input, I shall report back when it arrives (as well as pick everyone's brains on how to use the damn thing).

OK the Fujifilm arrived a couple of days ago, have been playing around with it and pretty happy so far. Here are a few sample shots in case anyone cares -- all taken in automatic mode by a camera dunce (=me) and not tweaked or anything afterwards...

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BAPM5-aMXrRJjHUANpUaIA?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_AkruGwMfUKw&feat=embedwebsite";><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R5pCKr_jI/AAAAAAAAOpI/J8XgL_cHjSU/s800/DSCF1012.JPG"; /></a>

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/l3ft9gv0HVJYzV8iKiUB3w?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_AkruGwMfUKw&feat=embedwebsite";><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R52iQLxCI/AAAAAAAAOpU/W3bHjDHMtCU/s800/DSCF1023.JPG"; /></a>

oops

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R5pCKr_jI/AAAAAAAAOpI/J8XgL_cHjSU/s800/DSCF1012.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R52iQLxCI/AAAAAAAAOpU/W3bHjDHMtCU/s800/DSCF1023.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R6EKnJ_BI/AAAAAAAAOpg/xm0aXeDpEbY/s800/DSCF1026.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/S3R6Ti1fIaI/AAAAAAAAOps/eH2miiHvaDU/s800/DSCF1068.JPG

Well, they're great! I could totally murder a nice pint of McMullen's too.

I just had an orange juice because I was driving :(

Also would like to point out that I didn't take Archie to the pub with me, that was on another occasion!

Future bro-in-law just bought himself this, following a chat with me;

http://www.findbesttech.com/lumix_dmc-lx3.jpg

Kinda jealous; very sexy.

Took delivery of a G11 yesterday that work bought me so I can make their websites spanky. Very hefty; reckon you could take out an intruder with it if you got a good headblow in. Not really had chance to experiment with it but I've got it home over the long weekend to play with.

Have decided I don't really like compacts anymore. But it'll do for work. Found it very, very odd trying to frame things.

sorely tempted by the X1

:(

just held a canon s90, wow that seems like a fun camera.

the samsung ex1/tl500 sounds like a very tasty camera. 24mm f/1.8 lens

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sam-ex1.shtml

I have the samsung TL225 which is the one with the screen in front and back of camera. great for photographing kids because they get mesmerized by their own image. also you can choose 'kid mode' which will show a creepy clown if youre looking to get pics of your kid in a state of hysterical fear induced sobbing

Just got a Fujifilm X100T. Couple of test shots:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8660/15956699220_3548f8f56e_z.jpgDSCF0020 by disbister, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8651/15956562278_6a3814c224_z.jpgDSCF0041 by disbister, on Flickr

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8600/16143252932_e007d4d809_z.jpgDSCF0034 by disbister, on Flickr

Loving the size and ability to shoot in low-light. My old Pentax had problems in low-light, and was only 6MP, so I couldn't really crop anything...

I got a DSLR years ago which I really enjoyed and thought would be great for kids, but now that I have kids I HATE lugging it around and only really leave the smallest prime lens on it. I think I'm going for an original X100 to see how I like it. The other option would be something like the RX100 which is maybe too small.

Glad you revived this - I've been thinking a lot about plunking down for something up-to-date in this department. I bought a Canon G15 while scrambling to get ready for a trip a few years ago, but I've never warmed up to the darn thing. I like that it gives me the range of control of an SLR (shooting RAW, moving between Av/Tv/M, easy access to self-timer and stuff like that), but sometimes it's a little too much fiddling, undermining the value of a real quickie point-and-shoot, not to mention that it's just bulky enough to not really be something I keep in my jacket pocket on the regular (though at least I can keep it in my everyday backpack). It also seems like it's out of date in ways that matter - the dinky 1/1.7 sensor, which I guess was not even great at the time, just doesn't deliver the fine detail. In particular night shots really don't look good at all, which is a problem since half the reason for me to have a compact camera is for fun/socializing shots while out on the town and not packing the big 5Dii. In a way, I just really miss the simplicity and reliability of the various film-type Canon Styluses I had in the early 2000s, which, assuming I was packing fast enough film, pretty much always gave a photo I loved with no fuss.

I'm really really drawn to aesthetics/look/feel of the X100 line but I worry that I'd be getting snookered into a high price tag by these kind of irrational factors. On the other hand, a camera I love is a camera I'm likely to shoot with. On the other other hand, maybe I should be giving a closer look to the Sony and Panasonic offerings, even if the sleek modern-day tech-product look isn't really my thing. I think the only thing I'm certain about is that I want to shoot through a viewfinder, not peering awkwardly at a screen on the back. Help?

cameras are so good these days, just spin a wheel

I love my little Fuji X-M1. Yes, the glass for it isn't cheap (I got a very good bundle deal that included the 27mm pancake prime and basic 16-50mm zoom but eventually shelled out for the 35/1.4) and I miss having an eye-level viewfinder, but it's so small and light and I take it everywhere. My rationale for getting the (joint-)cheapest Fuji was that, seeing as I couldn't stretch to the X-T1 with its amazing EVF, I should just do without entirely and have a different photo experience.

It's not great for events where autofocus needs to be super-quick but the quality is astoundingly good. Also, it's the runt of the litter - no longer in production and very few firmware updates - so can now be found, secondhand, body-only, in proper camera stores in the UK for around £120. When you consider what sort of secondhand DSLR that money gets you - something from 2006-08, maybe, low-res screen, crap over ISO800, no video, certainly no wifi - that's amazing value.

(Having said all that, it's precisely a pair of 10yo Canon DSLRs that I've got the girls for Xmas...)

hmmm. does anyone who's used both have opinions on point-and-shoot compact versus interchangeable lens compact? i've never really used the latter - interested in how they stack up in terms of weight/convenience. for myself, i'd be thinking of something i'd keep one lens on at all times, for simplicity / "always at the ready" reasons versus my SLR.

xxxpost: the earlier x100 and x100s are much cheaper used $350 to $600. Also, their out of camera jpegs are supposed to be amazing which I'm interested in because I never shoot RAW anyway.

I'm in the same boat with the 5DII which I love using, but hate carrying, storing, etc etc. I thought about switching to the 6D which is somewhat smaller and lighter, but I still think these big cameras are just rarely appropriate unless you're a professional.

I actually went to a camera store to get a sense of the sizes of these. The RX100 was really really small - like, too small and seemed fragile when using the popup viewfinder (using the viewfinder seemed silly). The Fuji was a little bigger than I was expecting which was actually a plus. That said the X100 is a jacket pocket camera and the sony is truly pocketable and performs almost as well except in certain conditions (but then I always have my iPhone for a good portion of those conditions).

I think the X100 having a single focal length is an advantage at this point in my life.

cameras are so good these days, just spin a wheel

Also agree with this. In fact, for 90% of people, a modern phone camera is the best option.

I definitely would not give up my 5D - full-frame sensor, solid optics, really easy to futz with the controls just spinning dials around with the thumb without looking away - but yeah, I hear you on all that. Maybe an earlier x100 model makes sense for my pocket-ish cam.

If you go for the original, beware of something called "SAB" which might affect some early serial #s (google it). X100S doesn't seem to have the problem.

As for the 5DII, I love it, but I'd be perfectly happy giving it up if the X100 performs as well as some say and I don't miss anything.

Go for an X100s over the X100 - the improvements to usability (viewfinder, speed, AF) are immense. Sensor difference is negligible IMO but the S was loads easier to deal with.

Buy a cheap thumb grip off Ebay or Amazon plus the off brand (JVC? I think) filter ring/hood combo. Thumb grip doesn't add any size but makes holding the body much more stable. The cheap filter ring/hood lets you either use filters (I don't) but more importantly add just a couple of MM of space between the front lens element and the world.

There are a couple of projects in my mind that I'd like a high-megapixel full frame for (to use like I would a 4x5 or MF SLR, giant prints) but it's not something I can realistically pursue and the high-MP cameras are still ungodly expensive.

One thing I love about the smaller mirrorless cameras these days is AF accuracy - it's maybe not blazingly fast but there are no front/back-focus issues (or worries that you're making the issues up in your head) with an X camera.

Agree about AF accuracy. With the 50/1.4 on my Canon, it's a bit of a lottery - esp when the subject is more than a couple of metres away and I'm shooting fairly wide open in low light. Maybe 60% of images are truly sharp (much better hit-rate for closer subjects). I end up pixel-peeping and fiddling fruitlessly with in-body microadjustment. The L lenses are better (my 135 rarely misses). But the Fuji, *when it can focus* (and often I get a red box in difficult conditions - again, the centre-point AF on the 6D is the king here), is dead on every time. If you get a green box you know it's perfect.

I think the higher-end Fujis have a proportion of phase-detect pixels too, enabling better tracking.

Milo, the X100 was given a final firmware update in late 2013 after being discontinued that increased focus speed by 20%, added focus peaking etc. Also the sensor is different and some people prefer it to the later versions (JPG NR for skin at higher ISOs is bad) . That said, I'm still debating which one to get.

I also have the 50/1.4 which drove me crazy til I set only center-point on P mode. I'm also at about 60% for truly sharp photos. They look dreamy at small sizes though.

Whew, good to know it's not just me with the AF issues on the Canon! Does drive me nuts sometimes. I usually just say to myself, well, that's why you were taught to focus a camera manually in the first place. (Though, god, you could never get me to go back to the bizarre ''line up the circles'' ground-glass deal.)

Get the F. And report back. :) I have the T and I love it, but I’d like the F just for the ability to crop.

I’m thinking of getting an XT20 maybe. Replaceable lenses would be nice.

i would just get a new one

Sorry to hear about the X100S! Maybe by now there are X100Ts out there now for less than what you paid for the S two years ago?

(I know this is the *compact* camera thread, but talking of holiday deals, B&H and Adorama torture me every year with their Black Friday bundle emails. B&H were doing 6D2 + pro-grade printer + paper + spare battery + bag + battery grip + 64GB SD card for the dollar equivalent of £1070. That camera retails for about £1700 over here, body only. Of course, I don't *need* a 6D2 or anything else).

I got the F and the joystick is a PITA (it bumps around when I wear the cam around my neck) but overall it's the same experience/pleasure to use

also MJ the f*ing 5DIV deal is staring me in the face as my 5DIII is literally falling apart in places so I'm w/ you on the TORTCHA

http://78.media.tumblr.com/58cd0b2b77e342ab565bf97b2453e1b8/tumblr_owllpfGgrl1qb3bjyo1_1280.jpg

^ that's w the F. not that it really shows anything!

I have an X-T2, which is the same sensor as the X100F, it's really good (though 99.9% of photos I take are for my store's social media or Ebay now). Fuji's made big improvements in the autofocus speed in the last two generations.

Those rooftop babes appear very life like

er... is that supposed to be a reference to my friends?

fwiw anybody who is thinking about shelling out for the X100F, I can say that I am a million percent satisfied with mine. haven't gotten anything shot with it online yet but it is everything i liked about the X100S, but better. the focus point joystick thing is REALLY REALLY REALLY helpful, very fast and beats focus-and-recompose by miles. plus pretty easy to explain to people if you need to hand over the camera. the increased number of programmable buttons and dials is very helpful too and having the front dial to dedicate to ISO saves a ton of button-massing to change this very basic thing. i also think there's a real leap in high ISO performance, which was already excellent on my X100S. if you have a working S or T, it's not an urgent must-do upgrade, but if you're just in the market for a great camera to keep in your bag, and the price works for you, i really think it's phenomenal.

Was thinking abut the x100 for awhile but now the Sony a7s has my attention because of its reputation working with low light

X100 4 LYFE
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3798/12351945543_afc3631df0_o.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/711/22545069306_3c853e5d05_k.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3903/14355250525_0edb973750_k.jpg
All straight from the camera, no tweaking needed.

yeah, this line can do amazing things.

X100. Oh dear wish I'd not clicked on this thread now...

some discussion here

The camera thread.

Why did you do that the late great when I had pretended to have not bookmarked the thread? I have already been salivating on eBay.

doooo it

Soooooo I did it. X100 as early Xmas present to me. Looking forward to testing. Any tips for best results for an x100 beginner? Should I stick with the auto settings for best results?

Works for me! I pretty much leave it on Auto most of the time.

If you notice the lens hunting a lot to focus, make sure you didn't turn on macro mode (by hitting the up arrow - at least on my X100T).

Still in love with my x70, the way it picks up light is striking.

Re X100,
(a) make sure the firmware is updated, it fixes a lot of focus issues
(b) have the focus setting switch on the middle position (it has a box in the middle not crosshairs) - it tends to focus quicker and with less fuss at the expense of occasional errors
(c) straight JPEG out of the camera usually looks pretty phenomenal
(d) http://fujix-forum.com is a good support community for beginners to pros

Thanks for all the tips re X100. Getting more used to its idiosyncrasies now.

can anyone recommend me a point-and-shoot I can find for less than ≈$50 on eBay? I like the specs on the Canon PowerShot S95 (1/1.7" sensor, f/2.0–f/4.9 lens, 10MP, manual focusing and exposure, shoots RAW, seems to work well in low light) although the 3.8x zoom is a slight drawback. I just want a solid carry-around camera and I don't really care if it's 5+ years out of date as long as the image quality is decent.

I’ve had good experiences with the old Sonys, still have an old 10x Optical zoom model that works great.