Compact camera recommendations

Hello, I am venturing over from I Love People-making to ask for a digital camera recommendation. I have an Exilim which is a bit cack at indoor shots of the kids, have just returned a Samsung ST45 as the focusing was terrible and it gave no control over selecting modes..

Needs to be sub £250, pocket-sized and easy to use as I are not a proper photographer, but would like a reasonable amount of control along with point n click simplicity. But take nice clear shots of fidgety toddlers.

Any advice welcome...

As I'm sure you know, all compacts are, to some extent, limited by the same problems: poor in low-light (high ISO pics are very grainy), slow autofocus, not great for portraits as you don't have much control over depth of field. Having said that, I've heard good things about the Canon Ixus 100 IS and the Fujifilm S100fd - they're both in the £160-£180 range on Amazon at the moment.

(If you ever do decide to go the DSLR route, it can be done for £250 and I've got loads of advice! But not pocketable and, if you want to get the best out of it, not all that simple).

Find another £110...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-PowerShot-Digital-Megapixel-Optical/dp/B002LSI1I2/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263309711&sr=8-21

Nice big aperture for indoor kid shots.

I've used several IXUS models and liked them all.

I had a play with the S90 this lunchtime (hey, I was picking up prints from Jessops, whaddya gonna do?) - it really is very nice and apparently quite simple to use once you set it up right, but I stood there for 5min trying to figure out how to change white balance. I played with the Fujifilm F200EXR too, which was pleasingly solid (£176 on Amazon). Does all kinds of clever things like combining multiple exposures for the best single image (cheapo HDR, I guess), Fuji film filters (Provia, Astia, etc). The Fuji camera has a very slightly larger sensor than the Canon (though they're both about as big as you get in compacts (around 45-50mm2).

Oh, that does look lovely. Really is out of budget, though :(

X-posts. That Fujifilm one is on my list actually.

I never sort the white balance cos it's so easy to do in Aperture afterwards.

Fine if you're shooting raw. I just wanted to get a decent looking image on the (very nice, better than our DSLRs) LCD. Funny that camera shops use bloody awful fluorescent strip lighting, just like everyone else. I wonder if they go round after the light starts to fade outside and change all the WB settings on the display models so prospective customers can get natural-looking shots of their dubious partners/bored kids in-store as they dither over a purchase.

Amusing stuff that modern cameras do, part #321: face recognition on posters/newspaper ads/billboards. But it's not a real human!

I shoot jpeg; I still don't really understand RAW!

Hmm, you can't really change colour temp in JPGs - you can pick a neutral with the dropper and let Lightroom/Aperture/Photoshop do a best approximation, but it's usually a bit of a fudge. Raw gives you much more control. (That said, back when I shot JPG all the time - when I had the 300D, as it was so slow writing Raw to the card - I didn't encounter too many problems. Oh, apart from one kids' party under fl tubes, which was a disaster).

Im starting a beginners photography night school course soon. I want to purchase a budget DSLR but dont have clue where to start, any ideas for BEST BUY!?

Hmm, you can't really change colour temp in JPGs

so when i drag the WB slider in lightroom, what's it doing? is my image quality suffering? maybe i'll shoot some raw and compare.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/jpg-follies.shtml

the raw file can have the warmth of the late afternoon sun completely removed

why would you do this?!

but yeah thinking about it, i have noticed similar problems, usually after shooting in low light. i will dip a toe into the exciting scary sloooww world of raw.

yeah it's meant to be a limit case but like MJ sound, fluoroscent lights often trick your camera's WB sensor, so it's nice to have. if you're using lightroom anyway, I can't see any reason to choose JPG over RAW except for storage conerns, as Lightroom makes the RAW process completely transparent to the user

Kiwi - all the major manufacturers all make great entry level DSLRs - visit any camera shop and have a play with them and buy the one you like best

That Luminous-Landscape page has left me completely unconvinced.

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2008/06/more-thoughts-o.html

ledge, you'll get bigger problems making colour temperature adjustments at high iso because it has to boost, say, the blue channel, which effectively puts that on an even higher iso with all the noise problems that can cause. but you can get a lot more out of a raw file and make more drastic adjustments.

here's a couple of shots from the luminaire, one from some random flickr guy which has the lights a sickly orange (they're gelled that way, so his pic is probably more accurate) and one from me where i've changed the white balance to bring back the natural skin tone and turn the dull grey background blue. it gives you more options.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2154/2109352258_b30c1af3a5.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2418/2201428189_7ed2fac37e.jpg

I much prefer the latter but I know my missus would want to see something more akin to the former. Borders, white balance, flash - we disagree on some of the fundamentals of photography which is why our joint Flickr stream is so all over the place.

so when i drag the WB slider in lightroom, what's it doing?

The main colour temp slider in Lightroom is limited to some vague +/- blue/yellow thing for JPEGs; for Raw files you have the full K range from 2000 to 50000 (plus a load of drop-down presets). I'll read that LL article later but, in my experience, fixing really f-ed up JPGs shot with AWB is not really possible; with Raw, it genuinely doesn't matter what you shot at (but it's good to be close so the LCD image - a quick and dirty JPG the camera makes - is reasonably representative).

It's funny how I've become a Raw convert in the last six months; I used to use it sparingly in awkward lighting conditions, now I just leave it on. Bad news for my hard drive.

that second one is a great pic. still find it hard - despite my love of lightroom presets - to stray too far from the verité side of things though.

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

(We should really get back on topic otherwise Meg is never going to come back!)

So, any other compact suggestions?

Ixus all the way from me, I guess.

back to the topic..

I think a olympus E-420 with a 25mm pancake would easily satisfy all the requirements except being pocketable - actually it's about the smallest DSLR you can get, will definitely focus quickly and get good shots indoors. it's still kind of heavy and doesn't have a patch on the portability of true compact cameras.

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

They are like 25 years old and yes, even the really basic camera handling techniques are like some ancient art to them.

They break the pins by shoving the card in the wrong way. Then they shove it in the RIGHT way, which damages the card itself. Then that doesn't work, and they leave the card lying on a desk, which someone else then tries to use in another camera, and the broken card then breaks the pins in THAT camera.

We have provided classes but only the motivated ones take the classes and/or pay attention, and they're not the ones we need to worry about anyway.

I have had a vote for the Fuji X10/20/40 series, so will go down to a shop and see how they feel.

Memory cards are going to be an issue with every camera - I guess an SD card slot is less breakable, but they'll be snapping the cards themselves left and right.

this is so weird to me tbh - how many cameras exactly have they broken? feel like just learning the "don't force things" rule and maybe like, idk, marking the cards and cameras up with brightly-colored electrical tape or paint or something to give you an "orange lines up with orange" type system might be cheaper than buying a new set of cameras.

or have another, separate person in charge of all memory card loading/unloading

lol

marking the cards and cameras up with brightly-colored electrical tape or paint or something to give you an "orange lines up with orange" type system might be cheaper than buying a new set of cameras.

Oh believe me we've done all this sort of thing. Colour-coded stickers, big clear arrows drawn with Sharpie, the works. That's why we're not letting these particular folks borrow the 7Ds anymore. They will be buying their own cameras, probably 2 of them, and I want to give them a recommendation about what to get.

what... class is this?

Maybe one of these?

http://m.thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mirrorless-camera-under-1000/

I love my X100t, but there are many cameras for much less that are pretty close in image quality, and probably easier to use.

It's a radio station, Jimmy :/

Fujifilm X-A2 looks pretty nice. Do you need the ability to connect different lenses (like big zoom lenses for example)?

aaaaah I see...

If they need to use your existing EF lenses, a cheap Rebel makes the most sense. Familiar handling too, if they've been using the 7D. Dead-simple EOS M also an option, given how low their sale prices have gone in the past.

Awesome, thanks! EOS M is WAYYYY less expensive and looks super simps..

X-Pro2 announced from Fuji - more megapixels, better faster stronger etc..

X200 coming soon, then?

So over the holidays i traveled to visit family and didn't even bother to bring my big camera. I did miss it a few times but I just dont ever want to travel with it again so I resolved to slim down. I found an excellent original X100 on eBay (for cheap) which is arriving soon and will report back on whether it can at least partially fill the Canon's shoes.

So far, I think I'm really digging the X100S. Haven't Flickred anything from it yet but just from some preliminary poking in Lightroom I'm really impressed. The biggest thing is just how well that sensor performs - I can shoot at ISO 2000 and the images look good. I can shoot at 4000 and if I got a good exposure the images look good. If I have to boost overall brightness or shadows, I do start seeing some noise, but compared to where I would start on my previous camera, I mean, ISO 4000 looks like ISO 400 or something.

I do wish it were a little quicker on the draw, or maybe I just don't have my technique down yet. Need to read the manual through again and see what other kinds of shortcut/customization options I have. There's this very slight delay between pressing the topside function button and the associated menu popping up which is maybe part of my issue. Would love an actual physical dial for ISO just for maximum speed of being able to set that, but obviously there are strong reasons not to go that route. Overall though I'm feeling good about this camera and these images.

it's not you it's slow on the draw

http://www.shutterbug.com/content/old-becomes-new-olympus-unveils-pen-f-mirrorless-digital-camera-based-analog-classic

drooling uncontrollably

Nice but I still think Fuji have the edge in aesthetics.

I'm thinking of getting a new camera - I have a LUMIX FZ38 which is good but bulky and about eight years old.

Has anyone used the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II?

I've been using an E-M1 for the past couple of years, and Micro Four Thirds as far back as the GF1.

The E-M10 Mk. II is pretty hard to beat as an entry-level mirrorless camera, especially if you are interested in picking up additional lenses down the line. All it really lacks vs. the higher-end bodies is weather sealing, but you still get twin control dials, touchscreen, and a nice OLED viewfinder.

The new Lumix GX85 seems to be getting great reviews and has much better video quality, but it's a bit more expensive. Maybe Fuji X-E2 or XT-10?

Size comparison between the likely contenders: http://j.mp/2dQQHCn

Fuji a bit misleading since they lack a compact kit zoom, but most of their prime lenses are quite small.

I have a mk1 and love it

That's great, thanks all.

a sad end to a happy thanksgiving: dropped my X100S and it is a dead duck. on powering up, i get only a fixed display of white static in the viewfinder (whose shutter is incidentally stuck closed) and no response from any other part of the unit. :( last time i needed something fixed (purple static viewfinder glitching), it cost $300 which was half what i paid for the camera. now the price for a refurbished one is down to $300-500 so is it even worth trying to fix/sell?

confession, a dumb part of me is like, "wellp, guess that's the excuse to finally shell out for the X100F!" but that's a pretty big purchase! and i don't want to just get caught up in the holiday madness. and yet and yet.... that is a two-generations improvement. seems like biggest things are more megapixels, more customizable dials (freeing up one from being ISO, which should have been a dial to begin with), and most intriguing of all, the focus-point selector joystick... should i do this???

i guess i never really came back here to really report on the X100S but i really loved it, thanks again to those who chimed in with advice on this thread. kept in my backpack at all times and i got some great, great shots, not just "great for a compact" but great (imho!). in particular the dynamic range and performance in low light/high ISO are real winners. when i go out with my DSLR i still pack it and use it for tough "sunlight but also deep shadows" situations since my 5Dii just can't match that performance (might eventually have to make an upgrade there too - but, $$$).

the majority of what i snapped with it over the past two years (!) isn't online, but here's a few samples to show off its capabilities:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4418/37034677435_c51e9c3188_c.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4396/36893841121_970c7c7158_c.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4390/36199487274_a7959e5241_c.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4410/36987133876_7352962473_c.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4415/37004913472_b8a74b56b1_c.jpg

(all shot raw and then fiddled in lightroom)

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.