Compact Camera/CSC

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897
Name
Scott
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Hi all,

I've been asked to find a "better than a compact" camera for my other half's father.

Now I will be having a look later for something that meets his criteria, but thought it pertinent to ask here at the same time. It's been a while since I selected my CSC and I know how things move on quickly in the camera world (plus he has a bigger budget :( ).

Criteria:
Fixed Lens
Compact
Budget - £400-450
In built filter options
Good Auto but ability to go manual shooting.

I'm no expert on Fuji cameras but I know there's a large following on here, is there something within the range that ticks the boxes, or is the Canon/Nikon/Sony route better?

Cheers for all help provided,

Scott
 
do you mean prime lens or you can't take it off type?
rx100 is a nice small camera
ricoh gr is great
 
No CSC will have a fixed lens, your going to be looking at a compact or a bridge camera. The Sony RX100 would be a good choice, its a great camera and still compact.
 
No CSC will have a fixed lens, your going to be looking at a compact or a bridge camera. The Sony RX100 would be a good choice, its a great camera and still compact.

Agreed, CSC = Compact System Camera
 
Criteria:
Fixed Lens
Compact
Budget - £400-450
In built filter options
Good Auto but ability to go manual shooting.

I'm no expert on Fuji cameras but I know there's a large following on here, is there something within the range that ticks the boxes, or is the Canon/Nikon/Sony route better?

Scott, in the Fuji range, an X30 should fit the bill, depending on how compact he wants it to be. The X30 is coat pocket compact rather than jeans pocket compact, if you see what I mean! On the larger size (and perhaps over budget), the Panasonic LX100 sounds pretty nice, but I haven't seen one (it has a larger sensor, but some reviewers don't like its EVF). The Sony RX100 III is apparently excellent, but for me it was fiddly small.

And of course, though a CSC is inherently a system camera, there's nothing to stop you leaving a single lens on it. You'd get plenty of choice in slightly older Olympus, Panasonic and Fuji models in that price range. Not sure if you could get a Fuji XE-2 with the 18-55 lens, it's much better than the usual kit lens, but a lot less compact than the options in the para above.
 
the sony 16-50 lens is pretty small
with the sigma dps you can have a system based on 3 cameras....
 
No CSC will have a fixed lens, your going to be looking at a compact or a bridge camera. The Sony RX100 would be a good choice, its a great camera and still compact.

Agreed, CSC = Compact System Camera

Thanks guys, I should have been clearer in my explanation. I'm not entirely sure what he is after. I'll just get the best options for each camera type and see which he prefers.

Scott, in the Fuji range, an X30 should fit the bill, depending on how compact he wants it to be. The X30 is coat pocket compact rather than jeans pocket compact, if you see what I mean! On the larger size (and perhaps over budget), the Panasonic LX100 sounds pretty nice, but I haven't seen one (it has a larger sensor, but some reviewers don't like its EVF). The Sony RX100 III is apparently excellent, but for me it was fiddly small.

And of course, though a CSC is inherently a system camera, there's nothing to stop you leaving a single lens on it. You'd get plenty of choice in slightly older Olympus, Panasonic and Fuji models in that price range. Not sure if you could get a Fuji XE-2 with the 18-55 lens, it's much better than the usual kit lens, but a lot less compact than the options in the para above.

Chris, excellent post thanks, both the Fuji and Sony look like good versatile options. The Panasonic and XE-2 are probably out of budget. I'll certainly have a look at them though.

He has sent me through a couple of links for entry level DSLR's - Nikon D3300/Canon 100D.

I think he'll want to buy new, so cannot be second hand.

Thanks all for the help!
 
I should have said, I absolutely love my Fuji X10, but find its manual options rather clunky (compared to the manual film cameras I normally use). Can't be doing with diving into menus between shots! I believe the X30 has an additional control ring and other changes that should make using in more manual modes much easier. And Fuji are just brilliant at upgrading the cameras through firmware upgrades for a long time.
 
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