Compact camera, Sony rx100 iii alternatives?

Mr Joshua

Mr Joshua

Mr Joshua

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
4,280
Hi all,

I've not bought a new camera for many years now and at present I rely on my phone for family snaps.

In the past I've had a Canon 20D and I just found I wasn't taking it with me as it became a bit of a faff. So with that in mind I'm looking at compact cameras that are more capable than my pixel 7 pro.

My search has brought up the Sony DSC RX100 iii but the price tag is putting me off a little, are there any good alternatives around the £350 mark?

Thanks.
 
The compact camera market is now effectively dead, killed by mobile phones. The Sony RX ranges have always had premium prices and the older models drop in price as newer models are released. The RX100 III was released in 2014 and there are very few still available new. The current VA and VII are also out-of-stock just about everywhere but another batch may turn up before production ceases at the end of the year.
 
Great thanks for the responses.

I've seen people mention that the best camera to have is the one you always have with you so it's no wonder with the advancements that mobile phones are taking over compacts place.
 
Rannoch said:
I wonder how an iPhone 15 Pro compares to the RX100.
Click to expand...

the little RX100`s were really advanced for their size, especially the MK 5 onwards.

they are much better photography tools than a phone in my opinion although in good light and close subjects you probably could not tell much difference in raw image quality.
 
The test is to look at the images on a decent size/resolution screen - most results from phones collapse into a mushy mess but I've no idea how current iPhones fare.
 
Snapshot said:
The compact camera market is now effectively dead, killed by mobile phones. The Sony RX ranges have always had premium prices and the older models drop in price as newer models are released. The RX100 III was released in 2014 and there are very few still available new. The current VA and VII are also out-of-stock just about everywhere but another batch may turn up before production ceases at the end of the year.
Click to expand...

I have to say that's a pleasing username to subject knowledge ratio right there
 
Last edited:
I did exactly the same progression, coming from an old Canon S90 I think. I mainly use it when I'm out climbing, so something small, that I can clip to my harness, with physical buttons that I can use with gloves and cold hands is perfect. I've got a bigger camera as well, but it's just more faff with lenses and isn't as convenient a lot of the time.
 
I still have a Mk1 but it's been well outperformed by even mid-range phones these days. Went on some cool trips though so can't bring myself to get rid of it :p

Struggle to see how a compact makes sense given phone performance now. If I care about IQ, I take my A7, for everything else, phone is good enough. Although tbh my pixel 7 is better than my A7 Mk1 in many respects.
 
RX100 prices now are just still.

If you don't need the EVF and dials the ZV1 is pretty much the same hardware as the RX100 IV, V, VA, for less than you can get those used.

Again with no EVF there's the Panasonic Lumix LX10 / LX15
 
I went through the same thing, bought an RX100 VA to use over my phone. Didn't end up taking it out much, and sold it. A year or so later, bought a Canon EOS M6 Mark II as something to use over my phone. Don't use it much.

I kept thinking that if I had decent kit, I'd get back more into photography like I used to and it just hasn't happened yet. Part of the benefit of phones is the automatic image processing, they can take a poor image and really do wonders with it - and if these are just being shared on other phones, it's easier to share like that and any blemishes with the image get masked more than if you'd printed it.

I used to shoot in RAW on my Nikon DSLR, and then process everything in Lightroom - I just don't have the time to do that anymore, and it feels like when I have a go - my phone in full auto mode is doing a better job.

That aside, I'm about to buy a 55-200mm lens for the M6 :D
 
I was going to suggest the Ricoh GRlll which is what I use as it doesn't get any more pocket friendly than that and is an amazing camera. However, unfortunately it's a bit more than your budget and doesn't have a viewfinder which might be a deal breaker. I bought mine used from Park Cameras in London for about £500 and it was very low mileage, something like a 400 shutter count.
 
I have also had similar thoughts, especially on the RX100 vs iPhone.

I was using an old bulky Canon DSLR, and the RX100 for photography. The Canon was staying more and more at home and unfortunately I've now got a few issues with the RX100 (Mk3), viewfinder stuck and the camera lens cover is getting partially stuck too (this is the worse bit as sometimes I don't notice and it ruins the photos).

I have since upgraded the DSLR to a full frame R8, with some smaller lenses for a compact travel kit. Amazing, full frame performance, small package, incredible AF. Covers most bases.
iPhone 14 pro covers the 'camera everywhere' use case.
The question is now whether the RX100 has a purpose for taking somewhere I wouldn't take the R8 (festivals, somewhere with higher theft risk, etc).

I did a direct comparison, side to side in lightroom of the iPhone 14 RAW captures vs the DSLR. In most scenarios with good lighting the pictures were as good, and a couple were actually sharper. But you can't ignore optics in non ideal scenarios, and you can't ignore how powerful computational photography can be on a phone for when you want to capture the moment.

So RX100 had a good use case for being on a tripod for some night shots, but you can get similar results with computational photography on a phone, 1 inch sensor vs phone sensor isn't quite an ideal comparison though.

I don't think I have the need to replace the RX100 though, R8 and iPhone cover all the bases.

(I still like the little camera though... served me really well in the past with some amazing snaps, and I think it still has better dynamic range than the iPhone RAW images but I haven't tested that yet).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom