Thinking of going compact....help needed!

[Mark-Anthony]

Hi All

I've been toying with the idea of going compact with my photography. Not only rto save space, but to downsize on some of my gear.

As far as compact cameras go, I know absolutely nothing about them.

Now, I'm a nikon man who has had roughly 12 different nikon dslr's in my time of shooting photos. However, I did have a samsung nx1000 compact camera, but sold it before I really got to know anything about it.

Ideally I'm looking for advice off people who have one, or have had one and can rate them well.

Been looking at the Nikon 1 J5....opinions?

My main aim for photography is

Holiday snaps
Long exposures/light trails etc

Nd filters available for these?

Lots of questions i need answering

Go!

 

[GaryS70]

I have a Panasonic LX100 as my compact and finding I am using that more than my DSLR these days.

It's a great camera although not perfect - I expect the replacement will address these points (fixed LCD, no touchscreen etc) when it is released - to be honest, none of them are deal breakers for me though.

I have used it for a number of long exposures and have been able to use my filters on it, using step rings etc. The main issue for LE's is that the bulb mode is limited to 128 seconds which could be an issue.

This isn't the sort of LE that I do, but gives an idea of what some compacts are capable of - http://www.lonelyspeck.com/photographing-the-milky-way-with-a-point-and-shoot/

 

[Snapsh0t]

The answer is the same as it was when this question was asked last week and the week before: Panasonic LX100 or one of the Sony RX100s. It may be worth looking at the Canon G7X if you can live without a viewfinder. I don't think the Nikon J5 has anything in particular to recommend it. If Nikon ever gets its DL range to market then the answer may change.

 

[Nod]

Compact or CSC? You say compact in the title but then want advice on a CSC!

I have an earlier Nikon CSC - a V1 which I use with an FT-1 adaptor and F mount AF-S lenses. The body's smaller than any of the DSLRs but the lenses I use are full size (18-200 [Dx] and 70-300 [Fx]). Not much of a space saving. My travel kit is now a Fuji one, an X-T1 and X-Pro1 with a trio of lenses covering 10mm - 800mm (using a 2x telecon) and is far lighter than any comparable DSLR setup as well as delivering superb IQ.

For compacts, I use another Fuji, an X30 or an XF1. The X30 is better in the handling department but the XF slips into a shirt pocket, even in its case. Both deliver files that print well up to A3+.

 

[littleted]

i found compacts without a EVF a problem in sunlight cant see a flipping thing, i eventually bought the RX100MK3 very good camera in fact voted the best on DPreview but after 3 months with it i sold it as the reach wasn't enough, so i now have the Lumix TZ100 the first travel zoom with 1 inch sensor. fits in my jeans pocket, has a small EVF for sunlight, 200+ zoom, Post focus, 4k Photo mode and 4k Video, can be soft at the long end but I'm fine with that. Nikons J5 is good but no EVF i think, so i left that alone, the Tz100 also has built in Time Lapse for Star trails same as FZ1000

 

[odd jim]

Loads of topics on this already, just type 'compact' in the search

I researched and tested lots, and bought the Sony RX100 (mk1), great little compact.

 

[Mrbaker]

I've had great results with my olympus stylus 1 and printed to 16x20 and larger on canvas but only usable to 800 iso really.

 

[Gyles]

I'm mostly an M43 shooter and love to travel and it's a great system. Something like the Panasonic GX7 or GX8 with Panasonic 20/1.7 and 12-32 pancake could be a great travel option for you.

However......you still end up carry various kit about with you.

I'm looking to switch to a proper compact APC sensor camera with fixed lens for travel and going full frame for more creative stuff.