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 No zoom capability, and might be superceded by a new model, but tactile, solid, and very desirable for a photographer to own.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/