What pocket camera?

OldGoat

I got into photography through taking snapshots. Now I find that I can't take snapshots any more as I've become over encumbered with gear and artistic/technical barriers to just pointing and shooting. I've decided that the solution is to buy a pocket sized camera to carry out and leaving the dSLRs and the associated baggage until I have planned shots to get.

I'm drawn towards the Canon Powershot G16. Seems reasonable enough as a camera, slightly bulkier than most of it's rivals but I can live with that and I'm comfortable with the Canon layout & menus. Has anyone got any hands on experience with them?

Loire

OldGoat wrote: »

I got into photography through taking snapshots. Now I find that I can't take snapshots any more as I've become over encumbered with gear and artistic/technical barriers to just pointing and shooting. I've decided that the solution is to buy a pocket sized camera to carry out and leaving the dSLRs and the associated baggage until I have planned shots to get.

I'm drawn towards the Canon Powershot G16. Seems reasonable enough as a camera, slightly bulkier than most of it's rivals but I can live with that and I'm comfortable with the Canon layout & menus. Has anyone got any hands on experience with them?

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation to you in that I find that often when I'm out with the kids I don't have my SLR with me and also my SLR doesn't take video. After a ton of research I've gone for a Sony RX100 - it's arriving tomorrow so I'll post back my findings. I've gone for the MKI model as the latest one (MKIV) is about a grand! Basically, I wanted something that would take very good pictures and videos that I can carry around. When I want to do something a bit more special I can take out the "big gun".

The RX100 has a 1 inch sensor and a Zeiss T* lens so it should be pretty decent. As I said, I'll post pack my findings after I use it.

Loire.

OldGoat

The larger sensor of the Sony was very tempting when I was doing comparisons but I can't justify (read afford ) the extra money for that. I'm already dipping into my new 70-200 fund to get the powershot.

I borrowed an RX100 from a friend but if felt too small in my ogre-sized hands. Perhaps that is just a hangover from being used to size of the dSLR though.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on and to seeing what you can produce from the Sony.

dinneenp

Hi,
A few questions to consider:
do you want it to be truly pocketable?
how long a zoom do you want?
do you want a viewdfinder?
budget?

People rave about the RX100's, very small- too small you said. The Canon G7X is slightly bigger but maybe too small for you too.
The Panasonic LX100 looks lovely I think, I love how there's no aperture or shutter setting, if you want aperture setting you simply move the aperture ring, same for shutter. I only held it for a few minutes in a shop.

I had the Panasonic LX-7, replaced it with a Canon G7X. Why? pocketable, articulated screen, good controls, fast. It's not street ahead of the LX-7 but has larger sensor, articulated screen, several small improvements over the LX-7. That is a great camera too, nice amount of external dials.
Have a look at this good article from DP Review.com- 2015 advanced zoom compacts roundup link

And this one- enthusiast compact round up and lastly this one.

Good luck,
Pa.

Loire

Well, the RX100 came on Sunday. I'm miles away from being a competent enough a photographer to write a proper review, but here are my initial thoughts.

Firstly on the look & feel. It looks and feels very good for a small camera. A solid build and it's as good a camera that size feels. And that's my only issue with it. Having only ever owning SLRs before it didn't feel like I was taking photographs, but rather, "snaps". This is purely me though and nothing against this or any small camera and it will take time. It's probably like someone who has only ever driven Range Rovers (and old, base model ones at that!) deciding to buy spanking new run-around for the 9 times out of 10 when he or she uses the car to go into town.

The results from the camera appear very good. I've mainly taken pictures & movies of the kids, but the one below was taken out in the garden when the rain stopped for a awhile. No Photoshopping / cropping etc, just put it on Auto and took the picture. One or two of the kids, particularly close up, I found to be a bit soft/out of focus, but that may have been me also. It certainly didn't help when my youngest picked up the camera and smudged the lens with his greasy thumb! Also, the camera is plenty fast..Press down and it takes straight away.

The video results were especially impressive. The light is very good - I was recording my daughter and I could clearly see the detail in the garden even though there was a good bit of light coming in. Also, I find the sound really good - it picks up voices very well. I've shown a sample to a friend with a Nikon SLR which can record movies and he said the RX100 is a lot better.

It would be better with a longer range - it goes from something like 35-105, but anything longer and I'm guessing it would be slower and 35-105 is perfect for what I will normally use it for - family and group photos

So there, a very capable camera that fits in your pocket and takes good photos and movies. However, it won't replace my SLR though, as every now and again you need to take out those wellies and head for the hills!

OldGoat

You missed a few apples down the back there.

Loire

OldGoat wrote: »

You missed a few apples down the back there.

You should see the other side of the tree!