DSLR or Compact?

Xein · 11 Aug 2014 at 11:48

I'm planning on doing some travelling next year and I currently own a DSLR (Nikon D3000, I've had this now for a good four years) but I feel as though its too bulky to take.

I'm looking into getting a compact camera (not sure on budget yet as I have no idea what to look for) Ideally I wouldn't want to spend more than around £150 but can give or take a few pounds. I'm just looking for recommendations really on what's good, what's not etc and what I should be looking for in general.

Unless I should just stick with my DSLR and find a smaller lens?

William-Mathew · 11 Aug 2014 at 11:53

The canon S series is good, I have the Canon S110 and its an amazing little camera. Only downside is that its like £250. Just used it around canada along side my canon 500d which is a few years old and it was picking up the colour better than the SLR

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/PowerShot/PowerShot_S110/

Xein · 11 Aug 2014 at 12:21

William-Mathew said:
The canon S series is good, I have the Canon S110 and its an amazing little camera. Only downside is that its like £250. Just used it around canada along side my canon 500d which is a few years old and it was picking up the colour better than the SLR

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/PowerShot/PowerShot_S110/

The one you linked looks like a great little camera, nice and compact but still retains all the qualities you need.

Thanks for the recommendation

D.P. · 11 Aug 2014 at 13:39

There are a few options:

High-end compacts with 1/1.7"sensor like the canon S110, but also Panspinc LX7 and others.

Large 1" sensor compact with fixed lens. Sony RX100 is the main contender here but I think Panasonic have a similar offering.

Fixed lens APS-C cameras. These have the same sensors as crop DSLRs but have a fixed focal length prime lens. Ricoh have a good one, the Nikon A is another

Compact systems camera. Nikon 1 series and the Olympus/Panasonic m43 cameras are all small with small lenses.

K.C. Leblanc · 11 Aug 2014 at 17:26

For £150 have a look at the Fuji XF1.

Xein · 11 Aug 2014 at 19:12

D.P. said:
There are a few options:

High-end compacts with 1/1.7"sensor like the canon S110, but also Panspinc LX7 and others.

Large 1" sensor compact with fixed lens. Sony RX100 is the main contender here but I think Panasonic have a similar offering.

Fixed lens APS-C cameras. These have the same sensors as crop DSLRs but have a fixed focal length prime lens. Ricoh have a good one, the Nikon A is another

Compact systems camera. Nikon 1 series and the Olympus/Panasonic m43 cameras are all small with small lenses.

K.C. Leblanc said:
For £150 have a look at the Fuji XF1.

Thank you both for the recommendations, I'll definitely check out all of the options.

vodkacokebloke · 11 Aug 2014 at 23:44

RX100 is indeed a lovely bit of kit, but only has a 5x zoom which may or not be an issue when travelling - depends on your own thoughts and needs really. Personally I went with the cheaper Sony HX50 - just about pocket size, with a smaller sensor than RX100 but top reviews and a whopping 30x zoom to enjoy. Suits me lovely so far, especially for the price of under £200.

D.P. · 12 Aug 2014 at 00:21

vodkacokebloke said:
RX100 is indeed a lovely bit of kit, but only has a 5x zoom which may or not be an issue when travelling - depends on your own thoughts and needs really. Personally I went with the cheaper Sony HX50 - just about pocket size, with a smaller sensor than RX100 but top reviews and a whopping 30x zoom to enjoy. Suits me lovely so far, especially for the price of under £200.

But the sensor is so much smaller on the HX50 you can crop the Rx100 some where around 5x and end up with the same sensor size, so the Rx100 would be like a 25x zoom, with a better lens, and much better quality if you don't crop so much.