Recommendations for a compact

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duggiebee

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In June next year I am riding coast to coast in the States on a motorbike. I anticipate that I will be averaging 200 -300 miles a day and I intend to take in as much of Route 66 as possible.

I am looking to purchase a compact to take with me as I can't justify the weight and bulk of my 50d and various lenses (as much as I would love to!)

I am looking for a decent all rounder and I am prepared to pay £300 - £400, but it must be fairly small in size. I am completely open to ideas. Any suggestions?
 
Have a look at either Canon's S100, it doesn't have a very large zoom but the image quality is absolutely astounding.

If you want a really good all rounder, check out Sonys HX20. It's an absolutely fantastic camera and it's less than £300.

I've just got rid of my S100 and I fully regret it, the focusing was a little slower than it's competitors but it's over all quality more than made up for it. The battery life will be the downside to it though, so for that reason I'd say for you to check out the HX20.

:)
 
Samsung Galaxy Camera
Good quality, nice size screen for browsing the web while you away and 21x Zoom :)

Been having a play with mine over the last week and it's a cracking piece of kit :)
 
If you don't need a large zoom i would look at the fuji x10 or rx100. Or buy the Tamron 18-270mm PZD for your 50d and leave the rest of your lenses at home, its very compact for such a lens. Just pack less clothes!:)
 
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J4MIE_P said:
Samsung Galaxy Camera
Good quality, nice size screen for browsing the web while you away and 21x Zoom :)

Been having a play with mine over the last week and it's a cracking piece of kit :)
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You seem to always have the nice Toys Jamie, hope your keeping well, To the original OP the canon g series are great, g10 can be had on ebail for about £200 and take great photos
 
Another vote for the Fuji X10. Excellent image quality and flare free lens. Will handle all that sunshine easily!
Allan
 
We all tend to like what we have but I'd also suggest the Canon S100 as I purposely got it to go in a pocket when motorbiking.
It has 5x optical zoom but a surprisingly effective (digital) 2x converter which is much better than 'digital zoom' we know to hate.
Hardly the size of a pack of cards but shoots RAW in astonishing quality.
(oh and HD video too of course)
 
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Fuji X10 or Lumix LX7 from my experience. If the two if you don't shoot video then the Fuji if your thing. It's fantastic.

Small sensors + slow lenses I cannot see the appeal to, only really useful in daylight. I'm sure the s100 is a great camera but it does have a small sensor combined with a slow lens...
 
Phil Young said:
Fuji X10 or from my experience. If the two if you don't shoot video then the Fuji if your thing. It's fantastic.

Small sensors + slow lenses I cannot see the appeal to, only really useful in daylight. I'm sure the s100 is a great camera but it does have a small sensor combined with a slow lens...
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I wouldn't call the f2 at the wide end slow, once it gets really dim I tend to shoot wide and crop in which produces better results than any other compact I've used.

It's all about opinions and personal preference though as I wouldn't count either of your options as compact simply because they won't fit in a pocket and for me if it won't fit in my jeans pocket then it might as well be an slr.
 
I just bought the Sony hx20 from amazon for my wife £229 +£40 cashback so £190 way cheaper than anywhere else! I was set on getting s100 but thought it may be a bit to advanced for my wife!
The Sony is an excellent camera and out of all the compacts I tried the image was by far the best!!!
 
mjb123 said:
I just bought the Sony hx20 from amazon for my wife £229 +£40 cashback so £190 way cheaper than anywhere else! I was set on getting s100 but thought it may be a bit to advanced for my wife!
The Sony is an excellent camera and out of all the compacts I tried the image was by far the best!!!
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Interesting.

For images I found it quite bad actually.

Gave it to my girlfriend and for many reasons it was good ridence!
 
No one has mentioned the Olympus XZ-1. Nice fast f1.8-F2.5 lens which is apparently super sharp. You can also fit a evf. Price's are only around £200.
 
Phil Young said:
Interesting.

For images I found it quite bad actually.

Gave it to my girlfriend and for many reasons it was good ridence!
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I'm not comparing it to the s100 but I tried against a Panasonic and a Samsung and found the Sony to take a better picture!!
Anyway the compact isn't for me it's for her in doors and shell be happy!!
 
The S100 is a great compact camera, but if the Panny LX7 is even better than the Panny TZ25 (i'm sure it would be) and you don't mind a lens that sticks out a bit, then i'd probably go for the LX7 or maybe a Panny GX1 with the compact zoom lens - if it's within budget.
 
I'm using the Sony RX100, best compact available at the moment by a mile, and it's tiny!
 
The Sony has bigger sensor, big price too though, almost x2 some of the others mentioned.
 
4wd said:
The Sony has bigger sensor, big price too though, almost x2 some of the others mentioned.
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I was informed that the Sony I bought had the biggest sensor out of all the compacts!!
 
Canon G15 just becoming available, small sensor but fast lens 1.8 to 2.8 at *5 zoom. Bit bigger than some compacts but still shirt pocket ish I think.
 
mjb123 said:
I was informed that the Sony I bought had the biggest sensor out of all the compacts!!
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Yes it does and sets the standard for all compacts buts at a price. It also fits in your pocket unlike a lot of cameras mentioned.
 
mjb123 said:
I was informed that the Sony I bought had the biggest sensor out of all the compacts!!
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You were mis-informed, the HX20 has one of the smaller sensors in this class of compact. The RX100 has a 1" sensor, the largest currently available in a compact camera with a zoom lens. It may be more expensive, but the IQ is in a different league.

A couple of images:

RX_lakes_2.jpg


http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/3404/RX_lakes_3.jpg
 
Like a few others I recommend the RX100, it's very compact but some dislike the lack of a 'real' grip on it. Personally I think it's fine, but there is a grip by lensmate that can be added if that is an issue.
Once you've narrowed your selection to a few the best bet would be to head to a camera shop and try them out - the way one of them feels in the hand may well swing the deal for you.
 
Lee O'D said:
You were mis-informed, the HX20 has one of the smaller sensors in this class of compact. The RX100 has a 1" sensor, the largest currently available in a compact camera with a zoom lens. It may be more expensive, but the IQ is in a different league.

A couple of images:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/gallery/data/3404/RX_lakes_3.jpg
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With respect, I don't think this is a great example of a cameras ability to deliver results...

Most cameras can produce IQ to match this at this particular scene.

Got any shots of animals which will be a good indication of it's ability to capture detail? Or at the long end of it's zoom? Even in low light where detail will be lost...

I guess "bad" is a strong word for the IQ of the hx20v but having owned it, a p7000, an x10 and a LX7, I can honestly say you can get much more for the money.
 
Phil Young said:
With respect, I don't think this is a great example of a cameras ability to deliver results...

Most cameras can produce IQ to match this at this particular scene.

Got any shots of animals which will be a good indication of it's ability to capture detail? Or at the long end of it's zoom? Even in low light where detail will be lost...

I guess "bad" is a strong word for the IQ of the hx20v but having owned it, a p7000, an x10 and a LX7, I can honestly say you can get much more for the money.
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I understand you think there are better compacts out there than the HX20v and no doubt there is!
Although I wouldn't stand these 3 you've mentioned in the compact slip in your back pocket!!
 
niko said:
nice pics but isnt the canon gx1 the compact with the biggest sensor?
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Yes, you are quite right, the G1X has a bigger sensor, but I'm refering to the current crop of what I consider "compacts", the type that will fit in your trouser pocket. That's one of the reasons I bought this camera, I am a canon user but the G1X is far too big to live in my pocket.
 
Phil Young said:
With respect, I don't think this is a great example of a cameras ability to deliver results...

Most cameras can produce IQ to match this at this particular scene.

Got any shots of animals which will be a good indication of it's ability to capture detail? Or at the long end of it's zoom? Even in low light where detail will be lost...

I guess "bad" is a strong word for the IQ of the hx20v but having owned it, a p7000, an x10 and a LX7, I can honestly say you can get much more for the money.
Click to expand...

Here's one showing some detail, but you really need to see the full size 20mp image to appreciate how much detail it is capable of recording.

RX_5.jpg
 
mjb123 said:
I understand you think there are better compacts out there than the HX20v and no doubt there is!
Although I wouldn't stand these 3 you've mentioned in the compact slip in your back pocket!!
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Compact camera...not....pocket camera.

Op is on a motorbike, perhaps the slight variant in size will not be too much of an issue.
 
There are some here from the rx100 in low light, at iso 1000 - 3200 depending on the shot. Most are at 100mm, and none shorter than 72mm, so near or at the long end of the zoom.

I wasn't expecting much but they turned out better than I thought they would. I had never tried taking pics at a concert, never mind when standing in what seemed like the centre of the crowd.
 
stu.artd said:
There are some here from the rx100 in low light, at iso 1000 - 3200 depending on the shot. Most are at 100mm, and none shorter than 72mm, so near or at the long end of the zoom.

I wasn't expecting much but they turned out better than I thought they would. I had never tried taking pics at a concert, never mind when standing in what seemed like the centre of the crowd.
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Not much wrong with those Stuart, I'd be happy with them. Were they shot in raw or jpeg?
 
Thunderbird010 said:
Here's some of mine this was the normal picture

[/URL] 087 by Thunderbird_010, on Flickr[/IMG]

Then cropped

[/URL] macro crop by Thunderbird_010, on Flickr[/IMG]

And some others

[/URL] Mandarin Duck by Thunderbird_010, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/URL] scarborough castle bw by Thunderbird_010, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/URL] ray of light by Thunderbird_010, on Flickr[/IMG]
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For me it's the size of the camera that was the most important and the camera goes with me everywhere. I hah an x10 which is a great camera but I had to carry it in a small bag and if I had to do this I thought I might as well take the omd with me. I went on a recent trip to Yorkshire and the Sony was used more than the omd due to the size but it would never replace my omd.

The only thing i dont like about it is that the aperture reaches 4.9 pretty so not much dof when zooming compared to the x10 but as a pocket camera it cannot be beaten in my opinion.
 
I have no problem keeping my X10 in my jacket pocket, but most of the time it's round my neck :)
 
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