Which of these second hand cameras?

timmothy · 20 Apr 2017 at 12:03

Unfortunately our Fuji xf1 has broken and we are in need of a new camera for our travels around Australia. I loved the xf1 and thought the picture quality was great. Would get another but can't find one here.

Would love to get the Sony rx100, don't care which version but they are all out of my price range. The mk1 is about $450 second hand and $600 new which is just crazy. So that seems to be out.

I have found the following cameras which I would like some help deciding between.

I am after portability, reliability and best image quality I can afford. Good video quality would also be a plus.

Panasonic lx3, $150 .Old but seems to get good reviews.

Panasonic TZ60, $250, Not sure about the small sensor size but like the zoom and size.

Sony a5100, $450. Looks too large to put in a pocket but looks to have good image quality and video?

Nikon j5, $380. Again looks big but good image quality and video.

Lumix ft-4, $60. Very cheap and good that it's waterproof. Not sure how the image quality would compare to the xf1?

All the above are second hand. Can't find anything decent new.

Thanks for your help and of you have any suggestions I welcome them.

D.P. · 20 Apr 2017 at 16:07

There are different types of camera here so you need to decide what you want. the Sony A5100 and Nikon J5 are interchangeable lens cameras so you will need to make sure you are buying them with a lens, and that you will liekly want to have several lenses for photogrphing different scenes. Witht eh standrad kit lenses these camera will fit in a jacket pocket. Either of these would be my pick. The sony has slightly better image quality, the Nikon is faster and better autofocus.

Holst1981 · 20 Apr 2017 at 21:18

I loved my lx3 but the sensor is poor in low light.
Not ideal for holidays, my phone isn't much worse...

timmothy · 21 Apr 2017 at 00:14

Thanks for the replies. Guess that rules out the lx3 then. With regards to the Sony and Nikon, they come with the standard lens. Don't plan on getting another lens if I bought one of them. Portability is quite important which is what initially put me off them

timmothy · 21 Apr 2017 at 07:24

Ended up finding a rx100 second hand at the last minute. Still getting used to it but I find the Fuji xf1 was better on auto mode and also macro was better. Surely this can't be right?

uv · 21 Apr 2017 at 14:15

not only does the XF1 have a smaller minimum focusing distance than the RX100, the XF1 has a smaller sensor - which means a larger depth of field. This is why you can take macros quite easily with a phone, whereas high magnification macros with a DSLR often require stacking and the use of rails. Assuming you mean the XF1 had more in focus and was more easily able to focus on objects at the minimum focusing distance, it's down to the smaller sensor.

How do you quantify better with regards to auto mode? And which auto mode - Auto or Auto+? Auto+ stacks multiple exposures - it's meant for noise reduction at night - but this means that movement (either of the camera or in the scene) may cause blur or artifacting.

timmothy · 25 Apr 2017 at 13:14

Hi uv. I have had a chance to play with it more so can explain in a little more detail what I mean. With regards to macro, that's exactly what I mean, it could focus very close up and focused on the object a lot easier. Was super easy to get shots of insects and flowers but hard now. I mean the plain auto not the plus . Doesn't seem to always focus on the exact object I want, also it focuses on more than one object sometimes which makes the image look strange. Another thing is the af has the same weird issue I had with the fuji. In a lot of outdoor scenes you have to half press to focus on a part with more or less light and then move to the area you actually want the picture of so that it's lighter or darker.

D.P. · 25 Apr 2017 at 15:45

Sounds like you are getting confused w=between auto-focus and exposure. Now many cameras by default will tie the exposure to the focus point using the shutter button, so half-pressing the shutter will lock both AF and exposure. This in general is a bad idea but you should be able to turn that off. Hopefully somewhere you have an exposure lock button or a general programmable button. What you want to do is separate exposure and focus entirely, so then you can adjust the camera view until you get a good exposure, press and hold a button that locks that exposure, then move the viewfinder to re-frame the photo and then move the focus point to the desired focus location and then trigger the shutter. Often easier and more exact is to use the exposure compensation controls so you can lighten or darken without having to hold an exposure lock button down.