What Pocket Compact

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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Sophia aka Paul
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ok an odd request in these times but I want a nice 35mm pocket compact which will do full auto snap shots and it needs to look cute :D
 
Olympus XA, XA2, XA3 or XA4.Good lenses, very pocketable, quick to use and can be had quite cheaply. As reliable as any oldish camera.
 
Digital..... a Sony Nex is so useful esp for taking most makes of old lenses for manual focus.
 
Mju II, or if your budget is lower then one of the MJU zooms.
 
Seconded the mju II, most pocketable camera I've used.

Not sure how a NEX with adaptor and legacy lens would fit the criteria of a pocket compact though. :thinking:
 
Strappy said:
Not sure how a NEX with adaptor and legacy lens would fit the criteria of a pocket compact though. :thinking:
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Well unfortunately film users are stuck when taking low light colour shots and have just seen some shots with a Nex used beyond it's capabilities at 12,800 ISO in colour (jpgs) and the results were quite good....so it's an option if you want to take low light shots.
A 24mm f2 film camera lens at 3200 ISO on a Nex :eek: would be useful at times, but if you are quite happy to use a film compact in brighter conditions the Yashica T4, T5 are good (but expensive) but the 35mm Zeiss lens is only F3.5...and my T5d measures 4.5" X 2.5" X 1.5".
I haven't come across a bad Nikon or Minolta yet (I pass them all to my wife over the years and she must have a small drawer full by now :lol: ).
 
Hi, I would recommend an Olympus XA. I've had one from new and still use it. Excellent 35mm lens, Rangefinder focussing, Aperture priority, Self timer, Plus 1.5 exposure compensation, and very reliable.

And contrary to another post they are available with the excellent A11 electronic flash.

Hope this helps.
 
In fact I have two, going up for sale soon in the classifieds.
 
A Zorki is cooler, but you need deep pockets.
And a meter.
 
The flash, especially the A16, adds size, weight and the camera becomes barely pocketable. Just the weight of the 2 AA batteries for that flash alone adds a lot to the weight...

I sold my XA and XA2 and changed to a mju - I know when a flash is too clunky, and when an inbuilt one is better.
 
Wow, the weight of two AA batteries. I don't know how I managed. :)
 
kendo1 said:
Wow, the weight of two AA batteries. I don't know how I managed. :)
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I'm not sure what I did to deserve lappings of sarcasm, but cameras where their light weight is a selling point, having a rubbish bolt on flash is hardly a feature IMO.

The XA series is superb, but regular use with a flash is not their strong point. Sorry if you disagree with this, but this is purely my opinion from personal experience.
 
freecom2 said:
I'm not sure what I did to deserve lappings of sarcasm, but cameras where their light weight is a selling point, having a rubbish bolt on flash is hardly a feature IMO.

The XA series is superb, but regular use with a flash is not their strong point. Sorry if you disagree with this, but this is purely my opinion from personal experience.
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Just having a laugh :) No offence intended.
You did mention the weight of two AA batteries after all...

You're right though, the add on flash almost doubles the size and weight of another wise cute and dainty camera. I have a mju 1 and an XA on the coffee table in front of me at the moment.
 
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Olympus Trip? A little bigger and heavier than the XA series but still quite small, great lens and pretty much auto. Quite a few members of this group have turned in great work with a Trip.
 
kendo1 said:
A Zorki is cooler, but you need deep pockets.
And a meter.
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Pockets not only deep but strong. Quite a heavy little item.

Are we looking at digital or fillum?

I use a Panasonic LX3 as digi p&s and in film though I keep an Oly Trip I generally find an OM1 or 2 with a 28mm lens fits hand or pocket.
 
Plus one for the Oly Trip! Fits well in my pocket and looks very cool. Quite easy to use once you get the hang of the zonal focusing. Can always buy a flash if needed. Loads out there I've paid £20 for agood condition one on eBay and also paid £5 for one I excellent condition from a car boot ( got original leather case and genuine Olympus lens cap too!)
 
Trip's are cool and pocketable, a thumbs up from me. Another to throw in the mix, Minolta Hi-Matic AF2, a bit bigger than a Trip but a very capable little auto camera.

Andy
 
The Trip is noticeably larger than the XA and mju series, FYI. I know this is a very subjective thing, but I wouldn't personally call the Trip pocketable.
 
Well, no, they won't fit in a jeans pocket but a jacket/coat pocket yes.
 
freecom2 said:
The Trip is noticeably larger than the XA and mju series, FYI. I know this is a very subjective thing, but I wouldn't personally call the Trip pocketable.
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I'd agree. Good cameras though.
Here's the mju and the XA next to a D200:


DSC_0002 by kendo1111, on Flickr
 
Andysnap said:
Well, no, they won't fit in a jeans pocket but a jacket/coat pocket yes.
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Yeah - I think the clamshell designs of the mju and XA make them much more suited for pocket dwelling though. The mju 1 is dirt cheap at the moment, and comes with a sharp 35mm - its slow, at f/3.5, but the f/2.8 mju II is barely any faster and has too much hype around it.
 
The XA is nice but has an extremely faint rangefinder patch (at least in the cases I've seen), plus an annoying focus lever under the lens rather than a focus ring (again AFAIR). XA2 etc are more autofocus, I think.

The mju2 really fits the bill for your original brief. I've had a mju2 and a mju1; the 2 is better (f/2.8 rather than f/3.5, but a different internal lens construction as well I think), but it seems to me that for most purposes of such a camera the mju1 would do fine. I've certainly had some really nice photos from the mju1.

I believe the zooms are not so good, but I've not tried one.
 
Nikon 35Ti

That GR1 is cute but it is the tiniest thing ever and I found 28 to be a bit wide.

One of the Contax or Yashica T's
 
ChrisR said:
I believe the zooms are not so good, but I've not tried one.
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My Olympus zoom film compact is carp :thumbsdown: I'd read up about the best zoom model if anyone wanted to buy one.
 
...and then there's the Minox 35GT.

We're showing our age, now, remembering these.
 
kendo1 said:
...and then there's the Minox 35GT.

We're showing our age, now, remembering these.
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The Rollei 35 is tiny but I wouldn't trust one as I've read they can have problems.
 
The Mju zooms are invariably hopeless. They're probably sharp enough but the zoom is slow and noisy and they take for ever to start up when you open the front and retract if you accidentally clip the door shut.
 
There's an Olympus XA3 with A11 flash for sale in the Classifieds section, film and conventional for £25.
 
I have had an XA2 with AII since new in 1981. fitted in my junior-school shorts pocket OK.... ish.
Certainly not as compact as a 110, but it took MUCH better pictures.
A lot more compact & a heck of a lot more pocketable than other 35mm range finders of the era. And the flash was positive bonus over Konica C35 that's bigger, and chunkier and has a hot shoe, but was family favourite before the XA's came along.
I still have a C35, and its actually loaded with film! Lives in the car for those, "Oh I wish I had a camera' moments
But my XA2 is probably most used camera I have ever owned.
I rather like the idea of an f2.8 XA range-finder though.

If I didn't have err... actually 3 XA2's.... and resisted the urge for an AX range-finder; as pocket point & press, I would probably be tempted by an XA3 or 4.

Vairiouse sources specs are a tad confusing, but the XA2 ran out of ASA at 800, I believe that the 3 and/or 4 goes up to 1600? and has exposure compensation, and one, other or both has macro focus position and 28mm wide angle lens rather than 35mm.

Mju's? - Bought on the strength that I never destroyed my XA2, my Dad bought my Gran, my Uncle and my step-brother Mju's.... every single one of them broke. My Gran had two under warranty! They were compact, and they did pack a lot into them with the integral flash and motorwind, but DX coded, they were decidedly program only point and shoot.
Mjui zoom, my ex bought was just plain HORRIBLE. The zoom really wasn't worth having I don't think! Died very quickly ISTR with jammed zoom and focus mechanism.

Father bought a Rollie one year; that was a cute little camera. He spent all summer, raving about its optics and how precise it was, and fiddling with it, until the novelty wore off. Did it have a pop-out lens? Wonderful IQ ISTR but price out of all proportion to the results, I thought! (It was about 1995, and I think he paid something like £350 for it, possibly tax-free)

Paying out of my own pocket; for a pocket camera... one of the XA's would definitely get my pocket money.

SORRY! It wasn't a Rollie, he bought, it was the Minox.
Minox_35ML.jpg

It was about as big as the XA2 without the flash, and the lens did pop out when you folded down the cover. Oooh! Just checked e-bay; looks like you can pick one up for about £50! Hmmmm... twice what an XA2 might command, but perhaps half what an XA might. Possible candidate?
 
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