Which compact camera?

justintime2001

justintime2001

justintime2001

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Hi All,

I am visiting Australia later in the year and want to capture a pictorial reminder of my trip.
Can any of you kind folks point me in the right direction of what camera to buy?
Budget £100-£300(ish) and I am looking for: decent zoom, fast focus, image stabilizer, lightweight and easy to carry plus any other recommendations.
Thank you.:)
 
Panasonic Lumix are really well thought of, and there's a lot of gradation in the range, so you can get one in whatever price bracket you decide on.

We have the TZ30 and it's excellent.
 
You need to decide where your zoom length vs size preference is. If you want loads of reach for wildlife shots and such then a superzoom in a mini-DSLR form factor is probably called for - SX50, X-S1, HS50 or similar.

If you want something pocketable with a moderate zoom then look at something like an RX100, XF1, LX7 or X20 depending on what sort of size/price you feel like.

There's also some amazing prices on micro 4/3 interchangeable lens cameras at the moment - Olympus E-PL5 or E-PM2 with two lenses for £325 and £269 respectively.
 
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King4aDay said:
You need to decide where your zoom vs size preference is. If you want loads of reach for wildlife shots and such then a superzoom in a mini-DSLR form factor is probably called for - SX50, X-S1, HS50 or similar.

If you want something pocketable with a moderate zoom then look at something like an RX100, XF1, or X20 depending on what sort of size/price you feel like.
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I want to be able to get a decent distance so a good zoom (20x ish) would be useful but a reasonable quality is also a big plus for me. The Lumix TZ40 seems to meet my needs but I am not an experienced photographer, just a point and shoot really, so a camera that will help with my lack of expertise would be very useful.
 
Well it's hard to create a camera with a massive zoom range that isn't correspondingly bulky. You'll need to check out a few and see where you're willing to compromise.
 
If you can forego huge zoom then the RX100 is an absolutely cracking camera. Rivals cameras 2-3 times its size and has some great creative modes as well which can help make standard holiday photos have a bit more life/interest.

Personally I've also found that the more zoom range a camera offers the lower the image quality so be wary of anything that gets into the 15-20x range.
 
ricky1981 said:
If you can forego huge zoom then the RX100 is an absolutely cracking camera. Rivals cameras 2-3 times its size and has some great creative modes as well which can help make standard holiday photos have a bit more life/interest.

Personally I've also found that the more zoom range a camera offers the lower the image quality so be wary of anything that gets into the 15-20x range.
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Do you mean the SONY DSC-RX100M2 DIGITAL CAMERA with a x 14 zoom?
 
justintime2001 said:
Do you mean the SONY DSC-RX100M2 DIGITAL CAMERA with a x 14 zoom?
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Either RX100 model has a 3.6x zoom, you can probably pickup the original for a good price second hand (that's the one I used a lot). I haven't used the mark II version but imagine it's a touch better (and more expensive).
 
ricky1981 said:
Either RX100 model has a 3.6x zoom, you can probably pickup the original for a good price second hand (that's the one I used a lot). I haven't used the mark II version but imagine it's a touch better (and more expensive).
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Cheers ricky. Some are claiming to have x14 zoom on the bay, I don't know why?
 
No idea, the limited zoom is one of the few downsides of the RX100. Aside from that it crams an insane amount into a camera that'll fit in a pocket.
 
ricky1981 said:
No idea, the limited zoom is one of the few downsides of the RX100. Aside from that it crams an insane amount into a camera that'll fit in a pocket.
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This is what the Sony website states so I assume some sellers are claiming the 14x zoom in a cheeky fashion? (and I nearly fell for it so thanks for the heads up ricky)

Optical Zoom3.6x (Optical Zoom during movie recording)
Clear Image Zoom7.2x
Digital Zoom
20M Approx.14x
10M Approx.20x
5M Approx.28x
VGA Approx.54x
 
Yeah, digital zoom is a total fabrication. It is a very good camera though, ideal for travelling unless you expect to be shooting a lot of wildlife. If you pick up the original model second hand then you could sell it when you get back and hardly lose anything which could be a good idea if you don't plan to use it seriously other than on your trip.

If you think you might get into photography a bit more then possibly look at one of the micro four thirds cameras. You'd be able to get one of the slightly older models with a reasonable lens for your budget. The quality wouldn't likely be as good as the RX100 but you would be able to buy more lenses in the future and build up a complete system.
 
ricky1981 said:
Yeah, digital zoom is a total fabrication. It is a very good camera though, ideal for travelling unless you expect to be shooting a lot of wildlife. If you pick up the original model second hand then you could sell it when you get back and hardly lose anything which could be a good idea if you don't plan to use it seriously other than on your trip.

If you think you might get into photography a bit more then possibly look at one of the micro four thirds cameras. You'd be able to get one of the slightly older models with a reasonable lens for your budget. The quality wouldn't likely be as good as the RX100 but you would be able to buy more lenses in the future and build up a complete system.
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Thanks ricky, I can probably pick up the original RX100 for quite a good price so I'll have a search on the bay.
 
Think i'm going to order an rx100 tonight. Sold my D90 as i am going backpacking again within the next 6 months. Looking at £350 as i'd rather get a shiney one then waste time with scammers on fleabay.

Anything else i should seriously consider at the £350 price point?
 
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