Camera to replace my phone (~£850 budget)

[GeX]

I used to have a DSLR and enjoy taking photos with it, I took it on all trips and was quite into urban exploration with it. As phone cameras got better, I began to use it less, sold all but the kit lens - and then bought a 'alright'(for the time) point and shoot (Canon S120) - and then used that, or my phone (Pixel / Pixel 2).

About 18 months ago I bought a Panasonic GM1 and a couple of lenses to try and get back into enjoying taking photos; but it didn't go well. It was too slow to focus, not great in low light or fast moving targets - and that remained unused for quite some time before I finally sold it as I was using my phone camera more.

I want to try again, and almost bought a friend's EOS M6 II but he was on the fence about selling and chose to keep it in the end.

I bought the GM1 as it was small, but despite it being tiny it was still *another* thing to take - so it didn't really matter about it being that small in the end.

I'd still prefer a smaller camera - but it doesn't need to be tiny. A lot of what I use the camera for is taking photos of my little daughter, and when we're out and about places - it's why low light and fast focus / tracking is appealing as with the GM1 I'd just miss shots.

So far I've looked at the EOS M6 II and the Sony A6400; but also now looking at the Sony RX100 too. I realise they stretch the budget a bit.. but that's not a limit set in stone.

 

[GMac11]

For my 2 cent’s worth I’d go for the Fujifilm X-T30 and XF18-55mm kit lens. You should be able to pick that up for around £800.
It’s a great small camera and for me fujifilm put the fun into photography (please excuse the cliché).

Fujifilm cameras are great for beginners as you can stick them in auto mode and set the output to jpeg and just shoot away. The in camera JPEG’s are so good that little to no editing is required.

 

[Street]

So far I've looked at the EOS M6 II and the Sony A6400; but also now looking at the Sony RX100 too. I realise they stretch the budget a bit.. but that's not a limit set in stone.

I use an A6400 and an RX100V. I find the focus and tracking on both of them to be fantastic and was the main reason I upgraded from my old RX100 mk3 as it was lacking compared to my A6400! If it's a smaller camera you're after the RX100 is great as although not massive, the A6400 is still fairly sizeable once you've got a lens attached although it's not quite as intrusive as a DSLR. They both have a different place for my uses though and for general use where I'm not bothered about it getting in the way the A6400 wins out. If you aren't bothered about second hand, you can get them for well under your budget. I paid £350 for my RX100V and £700 for my A6400 with kit lens, both boxed and in perfect condition.

 

[djcj]

I'm in a similar position. I used to have a full frame Canon 6D with L lenses etc, but found myself just not really using it more and more due to it's size and ended up not bothering to take it on days out and just using my phone instead.

Cue the arrival of a baby and I sold all my Canon gear and bought a Sony a6400 with 18-135 kit lens and a couple of fast 1.4 sigma lenses. The image quality is amazing and the auto-focus is second to non with auto eye focus etc. However, i find myself using it less and less again an just grabbing my phone for most baby/family snaps as it is always just there and more convenient.

For this reason, i think i am going to sell my a6400 and lenses and buy a decent point and shoot instead. After doing some research i've narrowed it down to either a Sony rx100 mark vii or a Canon G5x mark ii. The Sony has the same/similar amazing auto focus and tracking abilities of the a6400, but only has 2.8-4.5 available. Whereas the Canon has 1.8-2.8 available for low light indoors, but does not have the same/as good auto focus and tracking abilities. I am still undecided which of the two will be better between the two.

If you are considering an a6400, there will be a lightly used one appearing in the MM in the coming days

Edit: by the way, you can get an rx100vii or G5xii significantly cheaper from a grey market seller if you shop around a bit if that is the way you where thinking of going.

 

[GeX]

For my 2 cent’s worth I’d go for the Fujifilm X-T30 and XF18-55mm kit lens. You should be able to pick that up for around £800.
It’s a great small camera and for me fujifilm put the fun into photography (please excuse the cliché).

Fujifilm cameras are great for beginners as you can stick them in auto mode and set the output to jpeg and just shoot away. The in camera JPEG’s are so good that little to no editing is required.

oh now that's an interesting camera - it wasn't on my radar. It looks very nice. It's a shame that popping into shops to actually hold the cameras isn't a thing at moment. I like that it has a lot of dials, rather than hiding things in menus. That bugs me with the point and shoot I have and with the GM1 that I had.

I use an A6400 and an RX100V. I find the focus and tracking on both of them to be fantastic and was the main reason I upgraded from my old RX100 mk3 as it was lacking compared to my A6400! If it's a smaller camera you're after the RX100 is great as although not massive, the A6400 is still fairly sizeable once you've got a lens attached although it's not quite as intrusive as a DSLR. They both have a different place for my uses though and for general use where I'm not bothered about it getting in the way the A6400 wins out. If you aren't bothered about second hand, you can get them for well under your budget. I paid £350 for my RX100V and £700 for my A6400 with kit lens, both boxed and in perfect condition.

I hadn't considered an RX100V, as I wasn't really looking at second hand - but I've no issue with being used. Looks like the V has a shorter reach lens, but opens up to f/1.8 rather than f/2.8 which is nice. Which do you find you end up using more of the those cameras? I read something that said the RX100 has sharper optics when comparing it to the A6400's kit lens, what do you think to that?

I'm in a similar position. I used to have a full frame Canon 6D with L lenses etc, but found myself just not really using it more and more due to it's size and ended up not bothering to take it on days out and just using my phone instead.

Cue the arrival of a baby and I sold all my Canon gear and bought a Sony a6400 with 18-135 kit lens and a couple of fast 1.4 sigma lenses. The image quality is amazing and the auto-focus is second to non with auto eye focus etc. However, i find myself using it less and less again an just grabbing my phone for most baby/family snaps as it is always just there and more convenient.

For this reason, i think i am going to sell my a6400 and lenses and buy a decent point and shoot instead. After doing some research i've narrowed it down to either a Sony rx100 mark vii or a Canon G5x mark ii. The Sony has the same/similar amazing auto focus and tracking abilities of the a6400, but only has 2.8-4.5 available. Whereas the Canon has 1.8-2.8 available for low light indoors, but does not have the same/as good auto focus and tracking abilities. I am still undecided which of the two will be better between the two.

If you are considering an a6400, there will be a lightly used one appearing in the MM in the coming days

Edit: by the way, you can get an rx100vii or G5xii significantly cheaper from a grey market seller if you shop around a bit if that is the way you where thinking of going.

Interesting, this has made me wonder if I'll end up not using an A6400 / XT-30 as much as I'd hope and then selling it to buy an RX100 further down the line - we do have another baby on the way!

 

[Street]

I hadn't considered an RX100V, as I wasn't really looking at second hand - but I've no issue with being used. Looks like the V has a shorter reach lens, but opens up to f/1.8 rather than f/2.8 which is nice. Which do you find you end up using more of the those cameras? I read something that said the RX100 has sharper optics when comparing it to the A6400's kit lens, what do you think to that?

I went for the mk5 over the newer ones as for my uses I preferred the faster lens over the longer focal length, it also meant it was a lot cheaper to buy! I think the mk7 has slightly more AF points, but the mk5 is still very good. With my A6400, I've only got 24mm, 35mm and 16-50mm lenses so I have a very similar range over both cameras. To be honest, I'm a pleb so can't tell the difference between the sharpness of them but to my eyes they both look good.

I reckon that I probably get more use out of the RX100 as it's just so much more convenient. Most of my photography is climbing or outdoors based, and I'm often in a position where ease of use and size/weight are the important factors. I can clip the RX100 to my harness without it getting in the way and I can use it one handed or with gloves on while cold. If I'm already carrying a load of gear, I don't want to be adding unnecessary weight especially at altitude so the RX100 wins out on that as it's less than half the weight of the A6400 with lens and takes up much less space, it's also proved pretty bombproof! That said, for all other purposes if I'm not bothered about weight or size, the A6400 gets used.

I've had three RX100s now, from the mk1, mk3 and now mk5 and I think for the size they are fantastic. If it breaks, I'll get another one without hesitation, although it will probably be a mk5 again. The only downside to both the RX100 and the A6400 is the battery life, but spares are reasonably cheap and small enough to carry that it isn't really an issue.