Which compact camera?

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Chipper

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Linda
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Good morning! I have been deliberating over a compact camera over recent weeks as I have a shoulder injury and need something lightweight and having RAW as well. I have pondered the Fuji X10 [great price now a successor has been announced] and the Canon G15 or the GX1. Open to other suggestions and if you have images that I could see that would be great. THank you. Linda:thumbs:
 
Plenty of (excellent) X-10 images in the X-10 thread! The XF-1 is basically the same guts in a different body behind a different lens (and suffers very little from that difference and is smaller and lighter). Both will save raw but processing software is limited and JPEGs from both make raw moot anyway! (I have both Fujis and will probably keep both, although I'm tempted to sell the X-10 to help fund an X-20...)
 
We recently went through a fairly involved selection process to find a replacement for the X10 my mother has. The issue with it was that it is too big for a handbag - it is not a 'compact'. The G15 is also quite big for a compact.

If you actually want a compact that IS compact I would point you in the direction of the Sony DSC-RX100 which is bloody brilliant.

In a particularly unscientific test there are three shots here, taken in approximately the same ambient light, no flash, in the same room at ISO3200 on a £70 Sony Compact, the RX100 and the X10. They're all 100% crops:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_cowley/tags/iso3200/

Having spent a bit of time behind the X10 again last night it did strike me what delightful images it generates, although I don't find it terribly intuitive to use TBH.

We did have the Fuji XF-1 on the shortlist, but that was discounted because the lens mechanism felt cheap and like it wouldn't last. It's also not an easy camera to turn on!

G15 would probably get my vote over the X10, but the X10 is very good, as is the significantly more compact RX100.
 
Thank you - will check those suggestions out. Linda
 
I just got a Sony RX100 couple of days ago and it seems to be a little powerhouse of a compact. Quality of the pics are really good, it shoots RAW if you need it. Feels solid and fits the shirt pocket. A wee bit expensive, £453 on Amazon but worth it, some folk saly it's like having a pocket sized dslr. Can you hear the gasp's coming from the dslr folk :lol:

Click Here for a half decent review
 
I have to disagree about the XF being hard to turn on! It's a little different, yes but it takes all of a minute to master! TBH, I find it less of a faff than the X-10 in that respect, although I have a stay on cap for that on order which should help. All I can say to Linda (the OP) is to get to a decent retailer and have a fondle of a few of the contenders - maybe even take a card and take a few snaps to compare at home. All I ask is that having used that shop as a showroom you also use it as a supplier - you don't want it going the same way as Jessops!

Frank, I have downsized my travel kit from a D700 and a bagful of lenses to an HS30 bridge and the 2 compacts. It's a bit limiting but also extremely liberating - so light and does almost everything extremely well! High ISO isn't as well handled and long shutter speeds and small apertures aren't available but they're sacrifices I'm willing to make to save lugging the DSLR kit around in mid 30° heat!
 
Go to a shop that stocks them all and try them out (John Lewis seems to have a good range) and if I was buying now it would be the RX100 after killing some time playing with them a few weeks back
X10 - too big
XF1 - agree the lens mechanism just feels like it will break at some point
RX100 - very fast focusing and very small
 
The Canon G series is pretty good. I have a G11 and its my go to piece of kit for anything but a dedicated photo outing.

I would agree with Chris that its AF isn't so good on moving stuff, but have a feeling you aren't going to get anything significantly better without moving beyond a compact and into m43 or DSLR, which is fine if you are just after a "better camera", not so good if you main requirement is a pocketable camera!

My G11 isn't so good at high ISO either, but thats all down to sensor size. I believe some of the later G series variants are a little better, but if you really care about such things then a compact again isn't for you.
 
I have the Sony RX100 and its amazing, no shutter lag, video, bracketing, in camera functions like watercolour, illustrations etc etc
Dave
 
Hi guys - thanks for the advice - I will go and have a look in a shop near us - recommendations noted. I will check them out- thanks. Went to an RPS advisory today - I really must sort out this calibration stuff. Can anybody post me a link to something to get me started on this? I am almost there with my LRPS panel but need to sort a couple of the prints - I send my prints to get printed with mainly DSCL or, sometimes, Salt of the Earth [only when I am really sure]. Thanks. Linda
 
I was looking into getting a new slr, but looking at some of the write up's on here with regards to the RX100 I might be changing my mind slowly !
 
Chipper said:
Hi guys - thanks for the advice - I will go and have a look in a shop near us - recommendations noted. I will check them out- thanks. Went to an RPS advisory today - I really must sort out this calibration stuff. Can anybody post me a link to something to get me started on this? I am almost there with my LRPS panel but need to sort a couple of the prints - I send my prints to get printed with mainly DSCL or, sometimes, Salt of the Earth [only when I am really sure]. Thanks. Linda
Click to expand...

If I were you, I'd post up a separate thread with your question about calibration, you'll get a better response as the people who know that kind of stuff may not be reading this thread.

As for the camera, I can vouch for the X10, but raw files are a pain as no software seems to really like it, other than silkypix which is crap. The jpegs are great though:)
 
nikonuser said:
I have the Sony RX100 and its amazing, no shutter lag, video, bracketing, in camera functions like watercolour, illustrations etc etc
Dave
Click to expand...


:plusone:

But not on the gimmicks ... just as a straight forward advanced compact it is a great piece of gear. Bought one for my partner, she's not been using it near enough so I threatened to sell it [seen members on here looking for them in classified, would be easy to sell] - she was all "Nooooooo I promise I'll use it more, don't sell it!" :D never seen her care about any other camera she had in the past like that.
 
Go to a camera store, spend an hour and find which candidate suits you, take some test shots etc.

Then go buy it online.
 
st599 said:
Go to a camera store, spend an hour and find which candidate suits you, take some test shots etc.

Then go buy it online.
Click to expand...

No! If you go into a shop and play with kit there, at least do them the decency of buying the kit there. Yes, you'll pay a bit more but if it goes wrong, you can return it and get the problem sorted rather than post it back to the vendor, wait for them to deal with the return, send it off to repairer etc. You'll also help keep a valuable resource open on the High Street. You never know when you'll need an accessory NOW rather than wait for an online company to try to deliver it then go down to the collection office after the red card's dropped through the letterbox.

If you don't think things like that happen, look at Jessops, HMV, Comet etc...

I've no objection to buying online but to use a shop's resources (and that includes advice and fondles!) then buy elsewhere is immoral IMO. If you're going to buy online, do the shopping there too - ask the online store for advice...
 
That largely depends on the extra cost put on by the shop and whether the difference was worth it to be able to see a product or not.
If the price difference is 1 or 2 % then yes you should buy it in the shop, if the price difference is 100% then I don't see why you should. If the shop needs to add 100% to the price of the goods then the shop is either being run very inefficiently or they are overpricing their goods. Either way, the shop is on dodgy ground these days.
 
You should do the research on pricing first. Obviously a huge saving isn't to be sniffed at but one reason the online shops can offer such huge savings (ignoring the possibility of the buyer getting lumbered with import duties etc...) is that they don't have the overheads and don't have to buy display models or pay sales advisors. The people who use the High street as a showroom for the internet are a PITA, not only for the shop staff (who know who's going to waste their time and will usually ignore them in favour of either an unknown or a regular, good customer) but also for the people who are either needing advice or are actually going to part with money!
 
Well aware of the reasons behind the price difference and ultimately the shops will disappear because of it. Nothing anyone can do to stop that as price is the primary criteria.
If I was running a business I would be seriously looking at what I was selling and either changing to a less vulnerable stock with no internet competition or selling up before it's too late.
 
Hi there. Well the snow intervened and I didn't get back to the shop - it almost seems as if I am not meant to get this camera. I will get there at some point and ask to try these other models. Thanks everybody!
 
If what you're buying is commoditised then it comes down to price, I agree. If you find yourself in a shop to try it out, then it's not commoditised and you are using their service and if they're helpful it is bang out of order to leave and buy online. If you're buying from someone who cares about their job and has sold you the camera well you should not be worrying about the price to be honest - that's the advantage physical shops *should* have over online. The problem is that they've been paying minimum wage for people who don't care enough, or are trained emough to sell (based on my experience).

As people have suggested - do your pricing research online first, by all means. We bought the RX100 in LCE because they were so helpful and accommodating and the price was within a gnat's whisker of online prices as well.

Ironically for my next SLR I'll probably buy online unless some revolutionary feature-set comes out, because I don't need to feel how it handles - it's an SLR! For me the SLR is commoditised.
 
I agree, IF the shop offers good advice AND has great customer service. If they don't they have themselves to blame and are in the wrong business.
Yes people will not be able to try stuff out and there will be more returning of items bought online and tried out in your own home but that is the direction it is clearly going in.

The other alternative is to have a large online arm to the business and a few select shops that have same prices but staffed with people who know what they are doing and can spell customer. The shops would run at a loss but the intent is for the reputation to spread and shop may become more popular and so on. If that didn't work then it is clear than people no longer value good advice/customer service.
 
I suppose we're just very lucky here in Exeter to have an extremely good retailer (Devon Camera Centre) who do also have an online shop (which is usually quite competitive with other similar concerns). They always do their best to get as close as possible to UK web prices but obviously can't compete with the likes of DR and Panamoz. At the moment, they're waiting for the dust from Jessop's collapse to settle to see if Canon start supplying retailers direct rather than a wholesaler taking a cut (and pushing prices up).
All the staff in there are keen photographers themselves and have a decent working knowledge of most of the kit they sell. A couple are part time pros as well so bring that experience to the table too.
Another draw to the shop is their 2nd hand cabinet which usually has something of interest within, again at a reasonable price.

I realise that the above reads like an advertorial for the place but I can assure you that I am not employed by them, I'm just a happy and satisfied customer!
 
That is good to hear and singing the praises on a good shop is a good thing. Finding shops that are staffed by people who have a genuine interest in what they are selling is rare and pretty much never going to happen in large chain stores.
So may be left with specialist retailers who offer really good service and advice (just like it was before the chain boom!)
 
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