I want a new compact

Mart61

Mart61

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Martin
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Hi ladies and gentlemen

I'm in the market for a new compact. I have a budget of about £1000 and would appreciate some input.

I think I may be looking for something that doesn't exist but thought I'd seek advice from this good forum.

I'm finding my TZ40 doesn't quite cut it. I struggled to get pics of killer whales in Canada earlier in the year and wondered if a compact with a viewfinder might make acquiring subjects a little easier.

I also fancy something that has a good zoom - 25x plus.

Everything points to the TZ70 but I was hoping for something a little better. I've looked at most of the Canon and Sony offerings but none seem to quite do what I want.

Any input would be gratefully received.

Merry Christmas!

Martin
 
Mart61 said:
Hi ladies and gentlemen

I'm in the market for a new compact. I have a budget of about £1000 and would appreciate some input.

I think I may be looking for something that doesn't exist but thought I'd seek advice from this good forum.

I'm finding my TZ40 doesn't quite cut it. I struggled to get pics of killer whales in Canada earlier in the year and wondered if a compact with a viewfinder might make acquiring subjects a little easier.

I also fancy something that has a good zoom - 25x plus.

Everything points to the TZ70 but I was hoping for something a little better. I've looked at most of the Canon and Sony offerings but none seem to quite do what I want.

Any input would be gratefully received.

Merry Christmas!

Martin
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WOW, you will get a cracker with that budget :)
 
jonbeeza said:
Would not bother with the TZ70 it has a tiny tiny sensor, that results in very very poor images..
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I'm thinking the same. Perhaps something with less zoom but a larger sensor would allow some cropping to get to those more distant subjects?
 
Crikey yes, £1000 for a compact!

The Sony Cyber-Shot HX90v didn't appeal then, with it's high price tag, 30x zoom and EVF? Seems to meet your specified criteria, so what made you reject it?
 
Mart61 said:
I'm thinking the same. Perhaps something with less zoom but a larger sensor would allow some cropping to get to those more distant subjects?
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If I had that sort of dosh to splash on a camera, I would forgo a compact and go second hand DSLR.

But as its got to be a compact, not sure what compact camera has a large zoom range with a very good sensor. is there one ? :thinking:
 
TimmyG said:
The Sony Cyber-Shot HX90v didn't appeal then, with it's high price tag, 30x zoom and EVF? Seems to meet your specified criteria, so what made you reject it?
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Thanks for the suggestion - I'll look at that one.
jonbeeza said:
If I had that sort of dosh to splash on a camera, I would forgo a compact and go second hand DSLR.

But as its got to be a compact, not sure what compact camera has a large zoom range with a very good sensor. is there one ? :thinking:
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Thanks but I have a DSLR - a long in the tooth D300 with a few fast lenses.

I travel a lot with my job and never have space or luggage allowance to take the SLR with me, hence my need for a decent compact.

Perhaps I should look at the Canon G3X? It lacks a viewfinder tho and I am reluctant to purchased the optional EVF.
 
Mart61 said:
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll look at that one.


Thanks but I have a DSLR - a long in the tooth D300 with a few fast lenses.

I travel a lot with my job and never have space or luggage allowance to take the SLR with me, hence my need for a decent compact.

Perhaps I should look at the Canon G3X? It lacks a viewfinder tho and I am reluctant to purchased the optional EVF.
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Oh I see, some really good compacts about, only limiting factor will be the focal length really..
 
Mart61 said:
Perhaps I should look at the Canon G3X? It lacks a viewfinder tho and I am reluctant to purchased the optional EVF.
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Just to say I really love the optional EVF - I use it on my EOS M3, and it makes the whole package feel much more like a dSLR. The only draw back is the additional cost, and if you are not careful, you might lose it.

I'm waiting for the January sales before I get a replacement :(
 
I don't think your ideal camera exists. The large zoom compacts tend to be based around small sensors so I'm not sure there's anything that's a step above something like the TZ70 for sensor and optics. The more premium end of the compact market tends to go for a more modest zoom range or forego zoom altogether. For £1k you could almost afford both a TZ70/HX90V and a Fuji X100 and pick the one that suits the trip...
 
I'm in the market for a decent bridge and am waiting to have a fondle of the Nikon P900 and hopefully get a couple of test shots on my own card to see what it's like in real life. It'll make a travel companion to the Fuji X30 which will be the more compact option, although it doesn't fit in a shirt pocket (the XF1 does but I keep expecting that to develop a terminal fault...)
 
Nod said:
I'm in the market for a decent bridge and am waiting to have a fondle of the Nikon P900 and hopefully get a couple of test shots on my own card to see what it's like in real life. It'll make a travel companion to the Fuji X30 which will be the more compact option, although it doesn't fit in a shirt pocket (the XF1 does but I keep expecting that to develop a terminal fault...)
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I thought you were already in the process of buying the Nikon P900 ages ago ?
 
Waiting for the price to drop a bit and to have a play before flashing the cash!
 
I must admit to having been drawn to the P900 too. My only worry would be that the P910, or whatever it'll be called, will perhaps be announced in March.
 
If it's not mentioned already, and I'd be surprised if it hasn't, the Sony RX100 mk4 (or any of them).

Edit - just seen your zoom requirements, you won't get that and good IQ with any compact! Do you need that length?
 
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Mart61 said:
I must admit to having been drawn to the P900 too. My only worry would be that the P910, or whatever it'll be called, will perhaps be announced in March.
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The p900 doesn't provide very good IQ at all in normal shooting, as s general camera it's quite lacklustre IMO.
 
I'd also investigate the Sonys, but check the zoom range fits with your requirements.

I've just invested in an Olympus 4/3 system and am really pleased with it - for when the DSLR is too huge to lug about. Would that be too large for you? You could have some flexibility then to add different lenses according to your needs at the time e.g. more zoom for whales. Also some of the lenses are really quite small and light.
 
Nod said:
Waiting for the price to drop a bit and to have a play before flashing the cash!
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Same here , got my eye on a couple and just waiting for the price to drop on them.
 
If I had £1k I'd forget a compact and get a Compact System Camera (2 totally different things) as the image quality of the CSC will generally be much better.

If you definitely want a compact the only ones I'd consider are the Sony RX100, Canon G7x and G5x, Sony RX10 (bridge rather than compact) and the Panasonic FZ1000 (again a bridge). Oh, and the Panasonic LX100. These all have substantially bigger sensors than your average compact.
 
You're right in that what you want doesn't exist but the nearest thing to your spec is probably the now-discontinued Fujifilm X-S1 but it's a bridge camera rather than a compact so may be too large.
 
With all that cash maybe the Nikon 1 series and you could use your Nikon lenses on them when home. The ones with viewfinders may not be ver compact but packing the lens separately may make them so.
 
Not quite a compact but with your budget I'd definitely consider the Fuji X100 series of cameras. Fantastic cameras that just make you want to take pics all day every day!
 
costa27 said:
Not quite a compact but with your budget I'd definitely consider the Fuji X100 series of cameras. Fantastic cameras that just make you want to take pics all day every day!
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Love mine but I don't think it would meet the OPs zoom requirement :)
 
Thanks for all your input good people. You've got me thinking about a CSC now. What's the views on the Sony A6000? It looks like that may fit my needs with perhaps only a small compromise on size? Perhaps with just the 16-50 it might do what I want? If I need a little more zoom I could perhaps crop due to it's 24mp and APS-C?
 
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Mart61 said:
Thanks for all your input good people. You've got me thinking about a CSC now. What's the views on the Sony A6000? It looks like that may fit my needs with perhaps only a small compromise on size? Perhaps with just the 16-50 it might do what I want? If I need a little more zoom I could perhaps crop due to it's 24mp and APS-C?
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Sony a6000 is a great camera, just make sure Sony has the lenses you want.
 
Ahh, since you've expanded the possibilities, then I'd agree that one of the Fuji csc cameras would be a great option! I don't have experience with m43 systems, but I'm sure there will be equally good options with them too - it will come down to personal preference with ergonomics.
 
I'd definitely go with a CSC with that budget.

You mention x25 zoom, which is a meaningless description (is that 1-25mm or 1,000-25,000mm? they're both x25 zoom..) - have you an idea of the actual focal length you want at the long end?
 
The Sony rx100 mk4 has got some great reviews. Not sure if the zoom range would fit your criteria though...
 
pridash said:
The Sony rx100 mk4 has got some great reviews. Not sure if the zoom range would fit your criteria though...
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Or whether you can justify the price :eek::eek::eek:
 
If I can jump in on this thread. The RX100 IV from the reviews is a cracking camera. Yes the price is high - can be had for £600 currently, but that is still a lot of cash.
Fro Knows Photo has just done a review on teh MKIV and rates it pretty highly.

It the one I am considering. I have a 5D MKIII as my main camera, but with 2 young children, carrying it around with me everywhere is a bit of a burden, so have been looking for something smaller, without comprimising image quality. Yes I even considered the Leica Q and the RX1R II, but the price is stupid for them, despite how much I long for the Leica.

I figure that the RX100IV has a good 20MP range, excellent quality given the 1" sensor it has, and the ISO performance, coming from Sony, is way better than anything I am going to get apart from the A7 series of cameras. This has to be the best alternative to vacation, travel and work all in a super small package.

I think I will be purchasing this before my work trip to New York in February. Lugging the 5D around for a week is heavy going, this means i can travel lighter, not be a target for thieves (as much) and still get amazing quality photographs.

I hope that helps????
 
messinghamp said:
If I can jump in on this thread. The RX100 IV from the reviews is a cracking camera. Yes the price is high - can be had for £600 currently, but that is still a lot of cash.
Fro Knows Photo has just done a review on teh MKIV and rates it pretty highly.

It the one I am considering. I have a 5D MKIII as my main camera, but with 2 young children, carrying it around with me everywhere is a bit of a burden, so have been looking for something smaller, without comprimising image quality. Yes I even considered the Leica Q and the RX1R II, but the price is stupid for them, despite how much I long for the Leica.

I figure that the RX100IV has a good 20MP range, excellent quality given the 1" sensor it has, and the ISO performance, coming from Sony, is way better than anything I am going to get apart from the A7 series of cameras. This has to be the best alternative to vacation, travel and work all in a super small package.

I think I will be purchasing this before my work trip to New York in February. Lugging the 5D around for a week is heavy going, this means i can travel lighter, not be a target for thieves (as much) and still get amazing quality photographs.

I hope that helps????
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I assume £600 is 2nd hand/grey?
 
messinghamp said:
....excellent quality given the 1" sensor it has, and the ISO performance, coming from Sony, is way better than anything I am going to get apart from the A7 series of cameras...
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Also the ISO performance won't match that of your 5d3. You know that right? (I know you're not comparing / replacing the 5d3 but as good as its sensor is, it's not comparable to the 5d).

It's not physically a 1" sized sensor!
 
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messinghamp said:
If I can jump in on this thread. The RX100 IV from the reviews is a cracking camera. Yes the price is high - can be had for £600 currently, but that is still a lot of cash.
Fro Knows Photo has just done a review on teh MKIV and rates it pretty highly.

It the one I am considering. I have a 5D MKIII as my main camera, but with 2 young children, carrying it around with me everywhere is a bit of a burden, so have been looking for something smaller, without comprimising image quality. Yes I even considered the Leica Q and the RX1R II, but the price is stupid for them, despite how much I long for the Leica.

I figure that the RX100IV has a good 20MP range, excellent quality given the 1" sensor it has, and the ISO performance, coming from Sony, is way better than anything I am going to get apart from the A7 series of cameras. This has to be the best alternative to vacation, travel and work all in a super small package.

I think I will be purchasing this before my work trip to New York in February. Lugging the 5D around for a week is heavy going, this means i can travel lighter, not be a target for thieves (as much) and still get amazing quality photographs.

I hope that helps????
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Sounds like very good reasoning!
 
messinghamp said:
.

It the one I am considering. I have a 5D MKIII as my main camera, but with 2 young children, carrying it around with me everywhere is a bit of a burden, so have been looking for something smaller, without comprimising image quality.
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Compared to a 5D3 you will actually be sacrificing image quality in everything but perfect light, and even in perfect light it won't be quite as good. In some situations the difference is small granted, but there's still a difference.

I figure that the RX100IV has a good 20MP range, excellent quality given the 1" sensor it has, and the ISO performance, coming from Sony, is way better than anything I am going to get apart from the A7 series of cameras.
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Just about every CSC (not just the A7) will have better ISO performance than the RX100, some by quite a margin too. The RX100 does not have a 1" sensor, it's a 1" 'type' (misleading I know) which is smaller than m4/3




This has to be the best alternative to vacation, travel and work all in a super small package.
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Depends on the individual. I prefer my Olympus EM5-II with 12-40mm f2.8, significantly smaller and lighter than my D750 with f2.8 short zoom with even less sacrifice in IQ and subject isolation than the RX100.

Sorry, Im not meaning to bash the RX100 here as it is a cracking camera. In fact I'm toying between this and the G7x myself as a 'have it on me all the time' camera. It's just I feel we need to have the right expectations (y)
 
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Your ideal camera doesn't exist, & £1000 isn't a great deal to spend on a compact system. If you could push the budget a bit then maybe a m43 body (omd-em5) & two zooms & a prime? Failing that why not just a rx100 MK 1? The MK 4 is way over priced for a compact imo.
 
If going for a CSC there's no better bargain out there at present than the Fuji X-Pro1, it can be picked up with the 27mm & 18mm lenses for £499 at the moment from most major retailers, that leaves you another £500 to spend on lenses, if you shop for refurbished ones on the fuji UK store you could probably add the XF18-55 & the XC 50-230 (great for shooting the whales) both are great lenses that produce good images
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I do agree that my wants cannot be met in one camera. My drive is to minimise the kit I need to carry. I just don't have the space, nor do I want to make the space by sacrificing other things I carry.

My travel is mostly business and I already lug around a MacBook, router, external hard drive, iPad, document scanner, and all of the power supplies and cables needed to run them. Thus what I want is perhaps only marginally bigger than a shirt pocket camera.

I think a small csc with a pancake zoom might work, with perhaps one further zoom to get the reach.

Does this sound like a plan?
 
Mart61 said:
Thanks for all the input guys. I do agree that my wants cannot be met in one camera. My drive is to minimise the kit I need to carry. I just don't have the space, nor do I want to make the space by sacrificing other things I carry.

My travel is mostly business and I already lug around a MacBook, router, external hard drive, iPad, document scanner, and all of the power supplies and cables needed to run them. Thus what I want is perhaps only marginally bigger than a shirt pocket camera.

I think a small csc with a pancake zoom might work, with perhaps one further zoom to get the reach.

Does this sound like a plan?
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A CSC is more than marginally bigger than a pocket camera! With a mid to big zoom you're at DSLR size. While the RX100 is a pocket camera. Yet it delivers images well and above that.
 
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