High end Compact

E

ElCapone

Suspended / Banned
Messages
247
Name
Elliott
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi folks, I am looking to purchase a good quality compact camera.

Will mainly be used for family shots really and other bits and bets.

Fed up of buying cheap and the IQ being rubbish so I am going to treat myself.

Budget £400-500

Been looking at the Canons and fujifilms. Is the X20 released yet?

Would like it to be good in low light conditions aswell

Thanks
 
the Fuji X20 would be a good choice. should be available this month at just under £500
likely to drop to £450 with in weeks if it follows the normal pattern.

I have the X10 which is also excellent, but the X20 adds quite a lot.
 
The Canon G1X must come under consideration too and is in your budget.

The only thing I don't like about mine is the min. focus distance on the Macro setting but apart from that I can't fault it.
 
I like my G1X too but haven't had it very long. Feels great in the hand but then I don't have big hands....
 
If you want a true compact then the RX100 is pretty hard to beat, if you don't mind something a little bigger than the Fuji X20 would get my vote.
 
I have the x10 and its a great little camera, image quality is very good.

What about the Panasonic Lumix FZ200 bridge?

Gets some good write ups, 25x zoom and f2.8 aperture throughout.

Little on the big side, but not too much bigger than the Canon.
 
Last edited:
Your budget opens a variety of possibilities, most of which have been covered.
The one glaring omission, perhaps, is a pre-owned Fuji X100, which there should be a good few coming up for grabs as those owners switch to the new X100S, if not XPro-1 or XE-1.

In fact, if you go to Fuji's refurb section on their Shop page, you'll see there is a/are some X100's for £499, and if you search for a "fuji voucher code", you can apply it for a 10% discount. ;)
I'll give you the fun of finding the code......:thumbs:

Full year's warranty too, iirc - just like Apple refurbs.
 
Phil, the Fujis you mention are small interchangeable lens cameras rather than compacts. The X-10 and X-20 are compact but still a little bulky for many pockets but the XF-1 is truly pocketable (and shares its guts with the X-10). The X-20 adds information to the viewfinder (the lack of that information is my only gripe with the X-10).
 
The RX100 is also truly pocketable. The decision comes down to whether you want a viewfinder or not as that increases the size and makes then not as pocketable and it also increases the cost as the viewfinder makes up a portion of the overall camera cost.
 
thanks for the replies folks, lots to think about. Will have a look in to all the suggestions and read some reviews.

Thanks again
 
For me your key decision is what do you mean by compact? If you mean smaller than a DSLR than you have loads of options but if you mean a properly pocket size go anywhere camera then your options are reduced significantly but fortunately your budget covers the Sony RX100 which is pretty much a no brainer in that market segment!
 
Is this Sony RX100 really that good? I will go over lots of reviews for it.



Was hoping for something pocket size but this wasn't a major issue
 
Last edited:
Anybody own or used the Sony DSC-HX20V. Just having a look and it gets some great reviews for half the price.

When talking about IQ should this be considered with the others mentioned?
 
If you're going down the route of the HX20 bridge, then you ought to look at Fuji's HS30 as an alternative.
I'd even say look at the X-S1, but then you're into a DSLR size and weight camera, but by God it's gorgeous to hold and operate.
 
Nod said:
Phil, the Fujis you mention are small interchangeable lens cameras rather than compacts. The X-10 and X-20 are compact but still a little bulky for many pockets but the XF-1 is truly pocketable (and shares its guts with the X-10). The X-20 adds information to the viewfinder (the lack of that information is my only gripe with the X-10).
Click to expand...

I only suggested the X100, which isn't interchangeable lens - I'm presuming you've misread my remark about current X100 owners ditching theirs for the X100S or either of the two inters.
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC WX300 is out in a couple of weeks, it will replace the HX20V.
 
ElCapone said:
Anybody own or used the Sony DSC-HX20V. Just having a look and it gets some great reviews for half the price.
Click to expand...
it's one of the best of it's type & price.
However, compared to an RX100 it doesn't do RAW & it has a far smaller sensor (so worse high ISO IQ).
On the plus side it has a wider zoom range.
 
The Olympus XZ-2 would be a great buy IMO. I have an XZ-1 and its a great little camera.
 
ElCapone said:
Is this Sony RX100 really that good? I will go over lots of reviews for it.

Was hoping for something pocket size but this wasn't a major issue
Click to expand...

If you want it in your pocket then yes it really is that good.
 
ElCapone said:
Is this Sony RX100 really that good? I will go over lots of reviews for it.



Was hoping for something pocket size but this wasn't a major issue
Click to expand...

I've recently bought one as a "take anywhere" solution when not wanting to lug around my DSLR...I'm very impressed so far, it produces excellent images, fits in a pocket and has some clever functionality

Here's a photo from a recent trip to cambridge taken with it:

 
Really appreciate the replies guys, it looks like the Sony RX100 is the winner here.

Looks quality Simon, thanks for the pic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top