Compacts

After my recent post about buying a new camera, I was encouraged by a good response from everyone out there. I had some great suggestions from a few readers, including a real top tip from photographer Martin, via Pippa. Cameras are quite a niche topic, so anyone with no interest in them, please stop reading now. It gets more involved…

I have a new shortlist. My previous front-runners have now gone, due to the small sensors found in them. Sensor size is fairly crucial, so a few favourites have had to go, as their sensors do not manage to overcome their good points. That’s a shame, as they are also considerably cheaper. This means that my previously well-researched shortlist of two cameras has now had to be scrapped, and extended to three. All of the three are substantially more expensive, but as this might well be the last serious camera that I ever buy, it might be worth the extra expenditure.

The evenings at chez beetleypete have been consumed with Internet research. I have read reviews, user forums, seller websites, and photo blogs, until I was literally exhausted with camera-speak. I have drawn up physical and mental shortlists, saved pages as bookmarks, visited manufacturer’s websites, and perused the selling pages of every known camera supplier in the UK. Suffice to say, research is now done. My shortlist of three is now complete. Two Fuji products, one Panasonic, all around the same price. They all have good size sensors, with the Panasonic the smallest, at micro four-thirds.
Here we go.

1) First choice. Panasonic DMC LX 100. (Thanks Martin) Leica lens, 24-75mm equivalent, lots of features, does most things I could ever want, but it has a separate flash. Modern style, with a retro feel, not going to fit into a pocket, but a manageable size, much smaller than any SLR.

2) Fuji X100s. Unashamedly retro, fixed 35mm equivalent lens, beautifully made, and built-in flash. No zoom capability, and might be superceded by a new model, but tactile, solid, and very desirable for a photographer to own. Loved by reviewers, perhaps a little overpriced.

3) Fuji XPro-1. This is a solid camera with interchangeable lenses. The best lenses are very expensive, almost as much as the camera body. The current deal is with two cheaper lenses, with 35mm equivalents of 27mm and 40mm. It is incredibly well made, and loved by ‘serious’ photography equipment reviewers. Flash is a cost-option, but it has a full-size APS-C sensor, so the potential is there.

All of these are the best part of £600 to buy, and I might be exchanging my current kit to reduce costs a little. Any ideas? Does anyone have these cameras, or experience of them? Advice appreciated. Pete.

I am including links below, for anyone remotely interested.
http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/lumix-digital-cameras—point-and-shoot/compact-cameras/dmc-lx100.html
http://www.fujifilm.eu/uk/products/digital-cameras/proenthusiast-fixed-lens/model/x100s/
http://www.fujifilm.eu/uk/products/digital-cameras/interchangeable-lens-cameras/model/x-pro1/

**Update** Since writing this, I have abandoned both of the final choices shown. I am now on to a whole new list of ‘possibles’. Result to follow…

After many years sticking to an SLR after disappointment with a bridge camera, I have had to come to terms with a sobering truth. I’m not using it. I just don’t take it out. It requires a camera bag, attracts attention, and as a result, I have taken very few photos in the last three years. I want to take photos. Not for the blog, but to document the last chapter in my life, the new things I have seen in Norfolk, and the times I enjoy out with Ollie, or the visits from friends and family. Despite the availability of my new smartphone, I cannot ever get used to using this as a camera. I need a viewfinder, not a screen at arms length.

I would like more options when shooting, an element of control not offered by phone cameras, and something substantial in the hand. So I have done what I do best, research. Endless hours on the Internet, with a list of must-haves, and don’t-needs, exploring the camera market in 2015. I have a maximum price in mind, excluding many possible contenders. The issue of portability is key. If I carry it around, I might actually use it. I am less concerned about megapixels, more about usablility. How it feels in the hand, and how the control system works, and suits my requirements. Is it fairly incongruous, and does the lens meet my needs? What of the pedigree, and of owners’ reviews? I have had to eschew the fast prime lens, and I cannot afford the larger sensors. Some examples are so large, I might as well stick with the SLR. Others don’t have a viewfinder, and basic modes for use by a complete novice.

Over the years, I have owned some marvellous film cameras. The incomparable Canon T90, the reliable Canon A1, and the state-of-the art (at the time) Minolta Dynax 7, with the superb 24-105 lens. My forays into the world of digital have been reluctant. A Fuji 610 compact, leading eventually to a very well-specified Fuji S5 Pro, with a Nikon lens and add-on flash. On the way, I tried an Olympus super-zoom, with a slow telephoto lens, and lamentably slow write-speeds to the memory card. I got Julie various digital compacts, including a very useful Samsung only a couple of years ago. But she prefers her phone, so be it.

I now feel the time has come to move on. A one-body solution, with modern write speeds, multiple functions, and fast zoom lenses. They are finally here, and well-thought of too. After much deliberation, I have narrowed my choice down to just two. The Fuji X30; retro-styled, attractive to look at, and well thought of. It is hampered by a small 2/3 sensor though, and softness in the lens. Then there is the more recent Olympus Stylus 1. This has a 28-300 zoom, with a constant 2.8 aperture available. It has a metal body, and a tilting screen, as well as a viewfinder found on the flagship Olympus cameras. It also benefits from the marginally larger 1.7 sensor, and the reputation of Olympus from the old days. It is about £50 more expensive than the Fuji, and less attractive to the eye. So my friends. Many of you are photographers. Some use compacts, others use 4/3 mirrorless systems or high-end SLR cameras. What do you think? I would value your advice. I really would. For those of you who find all this tiresome and uninteresting, my apologies.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Olympus_STYLUS_1/

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders/cameras/compact-cameras/fujifilm-x30-1262034/review