Best Compact Camera

[Peter Kazmierczak]

The Lumix TZ range seems to be getting the  on here.

 

Thanks for all the comments thus far.

[tanatvalley]

I can highly recommend the Sony RX100 which has a 20MP 1" sensor. The results from it are almost as good as from my 16MP DSLR (Nikon D7000). Although the latest version is way over what you want to pay, you can still get the Mk1 version for just over £300.

It is an excellent camera, I have had one for over 4 years. It has one downside which other small zoom compact cameras seem to suffer from and that is dust can get sucked in as the lens collapses and on to the sensor. Try searching for 'dust on sensor' and then the make of camera to find out more.

[Oldddudders]

All those online camera reviews are doing my head in. Person x will say that a particular model is the best thing since sliced bread. Person y will say don't touch it with a bargepole.

 

 

 

I avoid those. They are written by people like me! Fine for hotels and restaurants, rubbish for techie things. 

 

I take this bloke at face value http://www.bythom.com

[Kylestrome]

All those online camera reviews are doing my head in. Person x will say that a particular model is the best thing since sliced bread. Person y will say don't touch it with a bargepole.

 

The trouble with photography forums and comments is that there are more 'fan boys' and 'haters' than there are in the computer world. It's best to avoid the comments and just rely on what the serious test reviewers say about cameras.

[jetmorgan]

If you haven't already tried them have a look at Trusted Reviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/

 

I've used them a number of times and seem to know their stuff and be thorough

[Pyewipe Jct]

We bought our daughter a Sony Alpha 5000 for Xmas, so she could use it for her Art GCSE (& eventually A Level), & she's been happily snapping away since with no complaints. It's not a 'compact' as such, as it does have interchangeable lenses, but it's still pretty compact (if you get what I mean!). It seemed to get some good reviews & Amazon had it for £50 less than their current price, so it seemed like a bit of a bargain. I haven't managed to get it off her for 'testing' yet, but I'm still trying...

Sony A5000 in-depth review

 

 

Kevin

[raymw]

Hi Peter,

 

My suggestion would be to get to a decent camera shop, and discuss with them, try what suits. Trying to assess what you want, from your original question shows a bit of ambiguity, and some specifics have been missed out. battery life is not a problem, you can carry a few spares, for example, that is not a deal breaker. However, I think you could possibly get on OK with a 'bridge camera', the type that sis between a simple point and shoot and an SLR system/whatever, If you can get to Bristol, or LOndon, try Calumet, but they may overwhelm you, They list a Panasonic, which on the face of it is pretty good https://www.calphoto.co.uk/product/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ72EB-K-Bridge-Camera-Black/125-202A?tracking=|searchterm:bridge|cameras but I would want to look at a more detailed spec, maybe if listed on DPreview.

Remeber, that half the camera is in your PC, which most folk tend to ignore, but then they're only posting on the web, images viewed in non colour calibrated systems, etc. One thing you need to look out for is shutter lag, delay in writing to memory, etc. Number of pixels is not relevant, it's what you do with them that counts..

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions and comments.

 

I've finally gone for a Lumix TZ60

 

Not the latest model, but it ticks most of my boxes. l saw it at a good price at both Argos and Currys/PC World, but found they were out of stock in store or for delivery. Rather miffed as I took so long to decide, though it does show that model is popular.

 

Then I thought, what about John Lewis? Not everyone's first thought for cameras - well at least not mine. They had the camera at the same (out of stock) price as the other two retailers, plus an offer on a leather case and genuine spare battery. Plus they deliver free to your local Waitrose, so I don't have to wait for the postman (or lady we sometimes have).

 

Getting it on Thursday. Never had a Lumix before - more used to Canon, Nikon and Sony.

 

I'll post up some pictures in due course .

 

Thanks again,

p

[Ray M]

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions and comments.

 

I've finally gone for a Lumix TZ60

 

Not the latest model, but it ticks most of my boxes. l saw it at a good price at both Argos and Currys/PC World, but found they were out of stock in store or for delivery. Rather miffed as I took so long to decide, though it does show that model is popular.

 

Then I thought, what about John Lewis? Not everyone's first thought for cameras - well at least not mine. They had the camera at the same (out of stock) price as the other two retailers, plus an offer on a leather case and genuine spare battery. Plus they deliver free to your local Waitrose, so I don't have to wait for the postman (or lady we sometimes have).

 

Getting it on Thursday. Never had a Lumix before - more used to Canon, Nikon and Sony.

 

I'll post up some pictures in due course .

 

Thanks again,

p

Come on Pete, own up. 

How much.

I may have a look around my local Argos(s). And treat myself.

[Ray M]

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions and comments.

 

I've finally gone for a Lumix TZ60

 

Not the latest model, but it ticks most of my boxes. l saw it at a good price at both Argos and Currys/PC World, but found they were out of stock in store or for delivery. Rather miffed as I took so long to decide, though it does show that model is popular.

 

Then I thought, what about John Lewis? Not everyone's first thought for cameras - well at least not mine. They had the camera at the same (out of stock) price as the other two retailers, plus an offer on a leather case and genuine spare battery. Plus they deliver free to your local Waitrose, so I don't have to wait for the postman (or lady we sometimes have).

 

Getting it on Thursday. Never had a Lumix before - more used to Canon, Nikon and Sony.

 

I'll post up some pictures in due course .

 

Thanks again,

p

I`m sorry Peter ,i just not let you do it on your own.

So i called in the Leeds Jessops today. And went for the same one (TZ60)

+ little case + 32GB card

£ 263.52.

 

Ho sorry, and £1 for parking.

[Pete the Elaner]

 

Don't be too sure that digital is the way forward...CD's were always said to be the death of vinyl and downloads the death of the album and yet the sales of vinyl albums has increased so don't throw out that old film camera...still keep using it. I've just bought a second hand Canon film camera.

Good analogy but there are a couple of points to consider.

CD is hampered by the format. When it was introduced it was not universally preferred over vinyl. We are still stuck with the 44.1KHz sampling rate CD standard introduced in the early 80's (1984?). There is only so much you can do with the electronics around it.

There is also something nice about buying something real, not virtual such as a download.

 

When TFT TVs & monitors were introduced, they were hugely inferior to the CRTs at the time. Its convenience won out & commercial support for CRTs was shifted to TFTs. Could you imagine 4k or even 1080i on a CRT?

 

Photography is different again. If a manufacturer wants to push their standard forward, they bundle in upgraded software to accompany it. When it started to become popular about 15 years ago, it was nowhere near as good as film photography. Since then support for film has all but stopped. Digital is evolving all the time.

Digital has other advantages too. Instead of flicking through a pile of photos or having to post them, we upload them to the web & share them. Also if you want to zoom in, you just click a button. Much easier than getting out a magnifying glass.

They appear instantly too. There is no waiting for developing or its associated costs. You just take loads of pics & delete those you don't like.

You can also adjust the ISO when you want. With film, you have to remove the roll & re-load another.

Scanning them always give you poorer results than an image from a digital camera.

I work for a media company & at events, the photographers' photos are uploaded back to the office with virtually no delay. Beating your competitors is a major advantage.

 

I like my old SLRs, particularly the fully manual ones. There is something satisfying about having to get everything right yourself. Hearing the clockworks in the mechanical ones whirring on a timed exposure is particularly nice.

As much as I like them, I feel they are much of a learning aid & toy. My digital cameras are much more practical photography tools.

 

Back to topic, I had an earlier compact camera but the focussing was so slow that it made it useless for taking moving shots. I photo'd a 225 once. I tried to get the 91 but by the time the camera sorted itself out, I got a blurred shot of about the 4th Mk4. I trust they have moved on now but so did I - I have 2 mirrorless cameras. They has most of the functionality of an SLR but without the pentaprism viewfinder or high price tag.

The other advantage of an SLR or some mirrorless cameras over a compact or a phone is adjustability: Switching ISO, manual or semi-manual control or overriding the exposure (which you may want for highlighting underframe detail) is just the turn of a wheel instead of fiddling around with a menu.

Also, you may be happy with a fixed zoom lens now, but this may limit you in the future. Most interchangeable lens cameras come with a versatile zoom which will probably be fine...but will not limit you should you move on & want to do something more advanced with it.

[Ian J.]

Now that I'm working and have a bit of income, one of things that I feel needs 'upgrading' is my venerable Lumix TZ3. I've read through this thread and noted a couple of reviews for the TZ80EB and TZ100EB. Neither are particularly cheap cameras, but both would be welcome upgrades to the old TZ3. My only concern is what the 1" sensor of the 100 really gives me over the 1/2.3" one in the 80, especially when it costs around £150 more and the optical zoom is only 10x vs the 80's 30x. My impression is the larger sensor is far more capable in more extreme lighting conditions. But is there anything more to it that that?

[Ray M]

Now that I'm working and have a bit of income, one of things that I feel needs 'upgrading' is my venerable Lumix TZ3. I've read through this thread and noted a couple of reviews for the TZ80EB and TZ100EB. Neither are particularly cheap cameras, but both would be welcome upgrades to the old TZ3. My only concern is what the 1" sensor of the 100 really gives me over the 1/2.3" one in the 80, especially when it costs around £150 more and the optical zoom is only 10x vs the 80's 30x. My impression is the larger sensor is far more capable in more extreme lighting conditions. But is there anything more to it that that?

4K video

[Ian J.]

4K video

 

According to the specs for the two cameras, both do 4K video, and both have a similar megapixel count (18 for the 80, 20 for the 100) so that's not what makes the 1" better.

[ColinK]

Also relevent is your computer. All these pixels and HD video use up lots of memory (and computing power for video). When I switched to digital HD video I had to buy a new computer to handle it all.

[D9020 Nimbus]

A 1" sensor should have higher resolution and lower noise.

 

The TZ100 also has an EVF—not sure about the other model.

[raymw]

A wide aperture and large sensor will give a more selective depth of focus, i.e subject in focus, but background/foreground oof. (most noticeable watching a film on the tv, cf a video from 20 years ago). However, neither camera has a small aperture, so one (maybe both) offers automatic focus stacking of a burst of images to give something more suited to macro photography. There are image samples you can download and play with on various review sites, which may help you decide if the extra is worth it. Personally, if all you are doing it looking at images on a monitor/emailing to friends/fora, then virtually any camera will do, and if I was spending the higher amount, I would be looking towards something else.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Though I'm full of cold, I wanted to get out to try my new camera.

 

Here's the very first picture taken with it; but where am I?

 

 

Clue 1 - A disused railway

 

 

[Ian J.]

Somewhere between Broadstone and Wimborne?

 

Re the TZ100EB, I'm thinking it might be worth it, as it has a manual focus ring, which I don't think the TZ80EB has.

 

Edit: I've just checked out the specs of the 100 and 80, and they both appear to have manual control of focus via a ring round the lens, but the rings do look a little different, which might be what confusticated me. So the main advantage of the 100's 1" sensor appears to be better image quality, particularly at low light. As one of my uses of such a camera would be in taking pictures of layouts at exhibitions which might have no lighting on them (and which the TZ3 really struggles with) I think it might be worth it, though I will have to wait a bit to accumulate enough cash from work to afford the extra cost. Until then I'll keep my options open just in case any other candidates come along that have the same pocket-sized profile.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

So very, very close Ian; I'll give it to you.

How on earth did you get it? I had loads of other clues lined-up..........

 

Actually it's looking NW along the track-bed of the Somerset & Dorset just to the north of Broadstone.

 

Well done!

[Ian J.]

I know you're in the general area there, and i've been along the trackbed between Broadstone and Wimborne so it was a logic guess rather than one based on knowing the actual location

[relaxinghobby]

Don't buy the little Polaroid, cheap and nasty, grainy picture.

[Night Train]

I recently purchased an Olympus Stylus 1S precisely because I wanted control and an easy to travel with camera. I am exceptionally impressed with it. It has an incredible set of features, a proper view finder that can be used wearing glasses and a really wide aperture lens.