Budget Travel Compact

[taxboy]

I've been asked by friends to recommend a compact camera that can be used for travel shots - landscape, cities, people budget circa £350ish
They are looking for improved image quality compared to their phones that will be able to be printed for the occasional enlargement.
My experience is limited to DSLR so seeking to tap into the collective experience here for recommendations please on where to start.
I appreciate they will need to handle the camera but looking to draw up a shortlist for them to try.
My initial research has found the Lumix TZ90, which seems a relatively old model in the digital world - but all input appreciated, especially from any users with regard to handling and ease of use

 

[Nod]

The TZs are decent. I'd go for a good second hand Sony RX100, as new a model as budget allows.

 

[nandbytes]

I have been liking the canon offering myself, specifically G5xii
Sony ones have slightly sharper lenses but I didn't like thier handling.
There's some annoyance with canon too but it's not too bad

 

[taxboy]

I have been liking the canon offering myself, specifically G5xii
Sony ones have slightly sharper lenses but I didn't like thier handling.
There's some annoyance with canon too but it's not too bad

Can I ask what you dislike about the Canon

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Can I ask what you dislike about the Canon

Bear in mind that when you ask this question you'll get lots of conflicting answers.

Perhaps you can narrow it down by asking your friends...

1. How much size and weight will they accept?
2. What sort of things do they want to photograph that their phones won't do for?
3. Are they likely to spend a lot of time near the sea and will a waterproof camera be needed?
4. How big are they likely to print?
5. Are they techies or do they like things simple?
6. ABOVE ALL ELSE - remember it's their purchase. The prejudices of you, I or anyone else shouldn't get in the way.

That said, if they're typical phone users, who just want to take pictures of distant objects that their phones can't manage, then the travel zoom style of camera is reasonably affordable and can cover almost anything they're likely to come across.

I have personal experience of the Panasonic and Sony ranges. The Panasonic cameras are tougher and simpler to use. The Sony range have more sophistication and are a touch smaller and lighter.



The sort of images they will provide: first the Sony, then the Panasonic...

 

[taxboy]

Bear in mind that when you ask this question you'll get lots of conflicting answers.

Perhaps you can narrow it down by asking your friends...

1. How much size and weight will they accept?
2. What sort of things do they want to photograph that their phones won't do for?
3. Are they likely to spend a lot of time near the sea and will a waterproof camera be needed?
4. How big are they likely to print?
5. Are they techies or do they like things simple?
6. ABOVE ALL ELSE - remember it's their purchase. The prejudices of you, I or anyone else shouldn't get in the way.

That said, if they're typical phone users, who just want to take pictures of distant objects that their phones can't manage, then the travel zoom style of camera is reasonably affordable and can cover almost anything they're likely to come across.

I have personal experience of the Panasonic and Sony ranges. The Panasonic cameras are tougher and simpler to use. The Sony range have more sophistication and are a touch smaller and lighter.

View attachment 346411

The sort of images they will provide: first the Sony, then the Panasonic...

View attachment 346412

View attachment 346413

You make some very valid points.
1. Smaller and lighter is better. Definitely no interchangeable lenses.
2. Landscapes, cityscapes, travel images e.g. candid street photography and anything else that piques their interest on their travels. No wildlife but looking for better quality when zooming in - optical megazoom not required
3. Waterproofing not required.
4. No bigger than A4.
5. No great techies but happy to use technology. Ease of use is welcomed.
6. Hopefully not. As I said I have no experience with these type of cameras but trying to build a short list that they can have a play with

I think I have sparked a bit of interest in photography in them and they want to try out the hobby a bit more without spending a fortune or going down the rabbit hole of equipment

 

[nandbytes]

Can I ask what you dislike about the Canon

The AF is no where as good as later Sony bodies especially for tracking.
The camera doesn't remember your previous zoom setting so it always turns on wide open which I don't like.
pop-up EVF needs to be manually pulled out and tucked back in whereas on latest Sony bodies they EVF automatically does this which is a nice improvement.

I have owned following compacts:
Sony RX100M3
Sony RX1M2
Canon G1Xii
Panasonic LX10
Panasonic LX100
Panasonic LX100ii

and I have tried Sony RX100vi, Canon G7xii and Ricoh GRiii.

Out of all of these I think I enjoyed using LX100ii most despite it having the worst EVF quality wise and a fixed LCD screen. Its AF was also not that great tbh.

I am quite keen to try canon G1xiii but its a bit expensive.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

they want to try out the hobby a bit more without spending a fortune or going down the rabbit hole of equipment

The Canon Ixus range might be a good place to start. They're small, fairly reliable and in my experience give reasonably good performance. Jessops are currently offering the 285 at under £200, which will give them a maximum focal length roughly equivalent to 250mm on full frame.

My own Ixus is a fifteen year old 70 which lives on my belt and gets used where a phone won't do. It truly is tiny (not far off the bulk of a Minox "spy" camera). The latest ones are only a little bigger and offer much better facilities...

 

[MartynK]

My wife has a Panasonic TZ9, bought for a trip to Rome about ten years ago. This slotted in between the TZ8 and TZ10, and was a special order produced for Currys. It's pocketable, and we shot just about everything on 'Intelligent Automatic' (it has various other settings too). I didn't expect too much, but was highly surprised by the results which were very good.

I'd have no hesitation in choosing one of the TZ9's descendants as a travel camera, if serious photography isn't the primary reason for the trip.

 

[woof woof]

The Panasonic TZ100 is worth a look. It has a 1" sensor and a 25-250mm zoom and you can set it to go to 25mm or your last zoom point on turn on.

 

[nandbytes]

The Panasonic TZ100 is worth a look. It has a 1" sensor and a 25-250mm zoom and you can set it to go to 25mm or your last zoom point on turn on.

Slow lens that dips into refraction range which makes a already less sharp lens softer

 

[woof woof]

Slow lens that dips into refraction range which makes a already less sharp lens softer

You have to choose your compromises. You can have a faster zoom or you can have a longer zoom but if you want long and fast in a compact at this size and price good luck with that. As for the rest, I assume anyone looking at this sort of camera for "travel shots" is going to accept that they're going to be fine for full image viewing and occasional printing but will not match the state of the art ff offerings when pixel peeping.

There's a TZ100 thread...

Panasonic TZ100

Recently purchased from the forums - surprised not a bit more chatter about this fine little compact in the Equipment sub-forum. I'll kick off some photographs with a test of the zoom capability: TZ100 zoomed out by Jeff, on Flickr TZ100 zoomed in by Jeff, on Flickr These were after the...

www.talkphotography.co.uk

 

[nandbytes]

You have to choose your compromises. You can have a faster zoom or you can have a longer zoom but if you want long and fast in a compact at this size and price good luck with that. As for the rest, I assume anyone looking at this sort of camera for "travel shots" is going to accept that they're going to be fine for full image viewing and occasional printing but will not match the state of the art ff offerings when pixel peeping.

There's a TZ100 thread...

Panasonic TZ100

Recently purchased from the forums - surprised not a bit more chatter about this fine little compact in the Equipment sub-forum. I'll kick off some photographs with a test of the zoom capability: TZ100 zoomed out by Jeff, on Flickr TZ100 zoomed in by Jeff, on Flickr These were after the...

www.talkphotography.co.uk

Think TZ100 is too far a compromise in the lens department.
The rx100vi gets the balance right but it's expensive. Certainly not £350.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Think TZ100 is too far a compromise in the lens department.
The rx100vi gets the balance right but it's expensive. Certainly not £350.

This what I was writing about above...

ABOVE ALL ELSE - remember it's their purchase. The prejudices of you, I or anyone else shouldn't get in the way.

These people are asking for advice about a camera to get them started.

They almost certainly don't care about lens resolution and how many pixels are on the sensor chip. From what the OP has told us, they want reasonably sharp images to record their travels, that they can print on their home or office printer. We can infer they want a camera they can point and shoot without needing to take a 10 week course.

Why not just forget our own prejudices and concentrate on answering the question?

 

[Harriers9]

Have you considered a Canon M6 + EF-M 55-200 lens. At the mo total price on MPB used is £375 and for that you get an APS-C sensor with a versatile lens that should do most of the things they would need in a travel camera.

I have a Panny TZ90 and would never consider printing from it or going above 200 iso

 

[taxboy]

Have you considered a Canon M6 + EF-M 55-200 lens. At the mo total price on MPB used is £375 and for that you get an APS-C sensor with a versatile lens that should do most of the things they would need in a travel camera.

I have a Panny TZ90 and would never consider printing from it or going above 200 iso

Thanks for the suggestion but they are looking for a compact