Which Digital Compact Camera?

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

G'day all.

SWMBO has decided that a replacement digi camera is required for Xmas. Doing the on-line search bit offers several with (at the moment) the Sony Cybershot HX90/90V and the Panasonic Lumix TZ70 as the likely best bets. Do any members have experience of either or both and any recomendations in this area, please?

rgds

Bill

PS – MUST be Compact, NOT Bridge!!

B

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

I have a Lumix TZ70, and it is by far the best all round camera I have ever owned, it does everything that my Canon SLR does and the optical zoom range is amazing. The build quality seems pretty good as well.

Best of all is the battery lasts far longer than any other camera I have owned.

You will not regret getting one.

Phil

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

Bill,

​My son has a Lumix and swears by it; it does take superb pictures.

Brian

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

I bought my wife a Lumix several years ago ,and despite my having a Nikon DSLR ,i seem to use the lumix most of the time,simply for the ease of use.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I bought my wife a Nikon one and it's really nice.

Their bridge cameras are outstanding too.

Neil

[NJHParticipant @njh]

Bill

I do have a Sony RX100 which is a similar size to the one you mention. It takes a great image and is easy to carry around BUT it is not the easiest camera to use ! Much of the adjustment is accessed via multiple screens and , for me as a longtime photographer used to looking through a viewfinder, I find composition on a screen at arms length difficult! I think she should see and handle the camera before you shell out your " hard earned"

If you want to give her a pressy on Christmas morning why not give har a card containing an " Invitation" to accompany you to the local camera store after Christmas……….( Who knows they may even have a New Year sale 😉 ! )

Norman

[Phil PParticipant @philp]

Just another point to add.

The TZ70 has a viewfinder, that was one of the main things that made me choose that camera, it is a digital viewfinder but it works extremely well. That also helps battery life by not having the main screen on all the time.

The TZ70's might indeed be on special offer soon as its replacement, the TZ80 has been out for a while now.

Phil

Edited By Phil P on 19/11/2016 13:36:00

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

I've had several compact Panasonic jobs, but the last one was the worst camera I've ever had. I was delighted when it fell on to a concrete road and broke! So I bought a Nikon S7000. Superb camera, very pleased with it. Optical zoom is amazing, too. Current price £130 – £150 according to the Web. I'd wait until after the festivities have subsided – price may drop afterwards!

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

Wife and I both bought Lumix compacts a few months back, she chose a TZ60. With me it was a toss up between TZ80 and TZ100. The TZ80 won with its super zoom. Both cameras a pleasure to use with that rarity on compacts – a "proper" view finder. Super quality photos as well and mine has 4k movie facility. Well pleased!

Rik

PS I have to admit that the Canon EOS 650D gathers a bit more dust of late.

Rik

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Perhaps its the same one-eye thing that makes me struggle with eyepieces but nothing improved my photography more than the combination of autofocus and a live view screen.

Even 'DSLRs' are now being made without viewfinders now (although they aren't really 'reflex' cameras without one).

I will agree with Rik on one thing; I thought I would probably use my 450D for some 'proper' photography but for anything other than astro work the Nikon 520D leaves it streets behind.

Neil

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

My Panasonic Lumix FS-35 is great! It takes all my own photos which are used in my Club News column, which are about 6MB when I send them to Diane. It's small but not tiny, the battery is good for 500 shots, and I have never yet filled up the memory card on a mission. Basic adjustments only, I paid about £130 5/6 years ago. Again, usual disclaimer)

Geoff

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Many thanks, gentlemen. Sounds like the Panasonic is much favoured.

Norman – nice thought but it doesn't work like that!! SWMBO reckons that since I have a workshop, I must be an expert on all things mechanical, electrical, etc. and, therefore I will make an appropriate choice.

I did, in fact, lean towards the TZ70 except for the pixel count – 12mp as against the 18.2 for the Sony. I do understand that the pixel count isn't the be-all and end-all of it. (I have one of the original Minolta EX 1500s and the output from that 1.5 mps is still outstanding!) A major requirement is low light photography – as in 'moon-on-sea'. Her present Canon compact is, similarly, 12 Mps and can't 'produce the goods'. Could very well end up 'coin -tossing' !

Thank again

rgds

Bill

[Raymond AndersonParticipant @raymondanderson34407]

Seeing as my camera gave up the ghost a few weeks back, this thread will be of use to me.

I notice the Lumix TZ70 has got a Leica lens very good plus point.. The whole package has very good reviews.

[Brian Baker 2Participant @brianbaker2]

Greetings, I have used several panasonic Lumix cameras, and they have all been super. I have had several ME covers from the cheapest, a FS 16, now sadly no longer available. I also use a FS 35, and have recently purchased a TZ 60.

I have taken thousands of photograps with these cameras, but prefer the FS 16, because it just slips into my top shirt pocket, ready for instant use.

I tend to purchase a model when it is being cleared for a new one.

regards

Brian Baker

Edited By Brian Baker 1 on 19/11/2016 17:24:40

Edited By Brian Baker 1 on 19/11/2016 17:24:54

Edited By Brian Baker 1 on 19/11/2016 17:25:13

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Rather than pixel count sensor size tends to matter more. Less noise the bigger they are to some extent but they keep stuffing more and more pixels in. So when you compare Sony with Panasonic do check the sensor size.

I rate cameras on how well they work in none optimal conditions. I don't need a compact any more, I have an Olympus Pen m 4/3 I bought to try that format out so use that if I want something small and light. If I put their compact standard zoom lens on it many bridge and compact cameras would be larger.

I can only mention what I found on compacts. The more expensive Canon's can be very good. A Panasonic I bought is now used by my wife. It's fine under decent conditions. She get's good photo's out of it. I have used a number of tiny sony cameras with a slide over lens cover. In fact I put one of my older ones on ebay recently. A dsc – t 5 or something like that. It went very quickly. They are decent cameras but often leave dark areas under mixed conditions, very bright sunshine and some light shadow. The usual camera problem. What's surprising though is they can be recovered with a bit of post processing. I'd tend to favour Sony over Panasonic who also make their own sensors. Sony seem to be leading the race on sensors even forcing Canon to revise some of theirs on their DSLR's. All the sensor makers seem to be playing catch up with them.

If your tempted to go mirrorless interchangeable lens or M 4/3 in other words they do come with a decent sized sensor but there is a tendency to get what you pay for. My first one was the cheapest Olympus Pen available. I later upgraded it to a more expensive one and despite sensor being the same spec etc it was like an entirely different camera. A lot better in a number of respects. A lot of people loved their very cheap Pen's and went on from their. Some just bought the Panasonic ones. Discussing these makes is an emotional subject for some people so I am not going to try.

Sorry Neil. I've never looked at a Nikon compact since pointing one into a slightly shady corner in a camera shop and finding it wouldn't focus. They can be right cowboys at the cheaper end of the camera range but then they all can be at times.

John

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[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

It might be worth mentioning that Amazon have started their Black Friday sale. Last year there was some really serious reductions on some camera gear. The other nice thing about Amazon is that returns are simple, It's not that easy to actually handle a camera these days or be entirely sure about what is being bought.

Ebay can also be very good for models that are or have reached the end of their run. I've bought a number like that and have never had a single problem with them. The updates are often meaningless anyway. More pixels is usually favourite on compacts. Sony however sometimes update to a new range of sensors.

John

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[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

I have an Olympus VR-350 digi; its chunky, but I like chunky cameras & the plethora of apps it has on it covers just about everything you would need. My wife has a Nikon Coolpix S2550 that is slim enough to slide into a shirt pocket or small handbag & that also has enough apps on it to cover everyday photography. I also have a Sony DSLR but that has been relegated to the wardrobe for some time now as either of the above more than suits my needs these days.

George.

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

Don't be too impressed with the Leica name on Panasonic cameras. A top of the range Leica M8 was about 8,000 quid last time I looked. In a camera costing 50 times less, not much transfers over. In a photo competition I entered with a picture taken at full zoom with my FS-35, I was marked down for lack of clarity. That's a very demanding test, though.

Geoff

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

I have a Sony Cybershot W-5 bought 10 years ago, the things that attracted me to it were the large screen, 2 1/2", and the two AA Metal Hydride batteries. The size of the body is 95 mm x 60 mm x 30 mm, so it's a bit fatter than some cameras, but it's been ok for me.

Ian S C

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I doubt current Nikons have any low light problems, they are particularly low noise even at iso 3200 and use an orange LED for focusing. The latest iteration of my wife's camera even has bluetooth.

 

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 20/11/2016 09:46:06

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

I mentioned this review site in the bridge camera thread. This is a review of the updated FS35.

**LINK**

I mentioned what I have used in the past for point and shoot. This is one of that range.

**LINK**

I've had 3 of them in total and have used them on walks and for social photography. I've never owned an extreme zoom bridge camera with effective focal lengths going up to 1000mm etc so pass on those.

The review site will mention all of the problems that compacts and bridge cameras have but some are better than others and a careful read will give some indication. Sad that it's started using more extreme advertising but it's possible to down load shots taken with the cameras even raw files for those that are interested in that area.

I'm a pixel peeper and feel that cameras should be able to show the images they take at full resolution which means that the image size is considerably bigger than the few mega pixels on a PC screen or even on a small print. I became fed up of carrying a dslr and several lenses about so tried micro 4/3. Much lighter but Olympus keep introducing faster heavier and more expensive lenses for their cameras. However there is nothing really wrong with any of their kit lenses which are all pretty light and easy to carry round in a shoulder bag. I use one from Troop as they are waterproof.

The other thing I found was that ageing eyes was causing problems with cameras that are set up with the rear screen. Some use bigger icons than others which helps but there is still the bright sunlight problem. Some cameras have electronic viewfinders and display all of the information in that. The amount of info varies but take my EM-5 it shows all of it and the camera can be set up as needed via the viewfinder. It also shows directly which area of the image is over or under exposed. Many of the M 4/3 cameras will do all of this. Nikon bought out the 1 range using an even smaller sensor. Good example of them being cowboys at times. They could do all of these things via the viewfinder but don't which has a pretty dramatic effect on the usability of the camera. I find that many shots need exposure compensation and it has to be guessed. I suspect these would have been fairly popular cameras if they had included the right facilities but the dynamic range and noise levels on the sensor aren't that good either. Some compacts might do better.

So I finish up with an E-P3, an EM-5 and an EM-1. I keep the E-M5 as a spare 'cause I wouldn't get much for it if I sold it. The original model is an excellent camera. The new bulkier E-M1 wont ever tempt me so can't see myself ever buying another model. If it breaks I might be forced to buy Panasonic.

John

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[NJHParticipant @njh]

Strange how things happen – I posted on this thread yesterday and, later, our D- i -L came up with a need for a compact camera for a trip she is soon making to Africa The problem is that the location is pretty remote – likely with little access to mains power. The question is.therefore – does anyone know of a compact camera that is powered by standard dry cells? She is an artist, not a photographer, but would like to make some record of her visit.

Norman

 

Edited By NJH on 20/11/2016 12:56:21

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by NJH on 20/11/2016 12:55:26:

Strange how things happen – I posted on this thread yesterday and, later, our D- i -L came up with a need for a compact camera for a trip she is soon making to Africa The problem is that the location is pretty remote – likely with little access to mains power. The question is.therefore – does anyone know of a compact camera that is powered by standard dry cells? She is an artist, not a photographer, but would like to make some record of her visit.

.

A decent list here, Norman : **LINK**

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/top-10-best-aa-battery-powered-digital-cameras-2016-20942

I remember my brother mentioning that 'AA' is near-globally available.

MichaelG.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

If you have one that charges via USB you will probably find plenty of solar phone charging points in Africa.

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