Beginner Premium Compacts

D

davidflett

Messages
5
Edit My Images
No
Hey Folks,

I have a family trip to China this year and have been looking around for a decent compact camera. This will be a 2.5 week organised tour, so I can imagine a large range of different pictures, and never particularly long in any one place.

Now, I already have an Olympus EPL-5, plus a 14-42, 45-150, 25 1.7 and 45 1.8. However I'm not keen on carrying around a lot of kit, nor swapping lenses. If I was taking this camera, I'd likely take only the 25 1.7, but I can see that being quite limiting given my (lack of) skill.

I am looking for a second camera anyway, to hand off to another family member as they won't be taking a camera with them.

I quite like the look of the Sony HX90V. A very small, small sensor, high zoom camera. About £300. However, around the same price I could get an RX100. Obviously a lot less zoom, but better quality.

Another thought I've had is just to splash out on both an HX90V and an RX100, and leave the m4/3 at home.

I've also looked at the Lumix TZ90 and LX15, however they are both slightly larger than their Sony equivalents.

I guess my main thoughts then are:
- Would a small sensor / high zoom camera be a noticeable downturn in quality from my m4/3 and kit lenses?
- Would a 1" sensor / limited zoom camera be a noticeable downturn in quality from my 25 1.7 or 45 1.8?
 
I'm not a fan of the Sony HX series (I've owned two, the HX9V and the HX20V) - whilst they're really great for video, and get decent enough results for a point and shot, the over aggressive noise reduction and sharpening can be frustrating.
 
When I go on holiday or sometimes just when going out for the day to somewhere special I like to take a quality camera (in my case my Sony A7 or one of my Panasonic MFT cameras) with a compact wide aperture prime on it and a compact camera for the times when I want a wider or longer shot and for when I think that my better camera would be a bit too intrusive and attention grabbing.

I've owned a Panasonic LX2 and LX5 but I was never impressed with their image quality plus they don't have a VF and I don't like back screen shooting so I moved on to a Panasonic LF1 which has the same sensor as the LX7 (I think) and an EVF but sadly the same disappointing image quality I got from my LX5 so I recently got a Panasonic TZ100 which is a 1 inch compact and I'm much happier with it.

This is the first 1" sensor camera I've owned and I think it's definitely a big step up from the higher end small sensor compacts I've had in the past. It's only real downsides are that it's a little larger than a small sensor compact and the aperture range is nothing special and just... ordinary... but the zoom range is very good, 24-250mm.

The image quality isn't a match for a MFT camera with a nice lens but definitely a step up from a small sensor compact or a camera phone and I think this is the first compact I've had that I'm not disappointed with and it's useable at all ISO's even its highest at least for full image screen viewing or small prints.

Just on the subject of camera phones. My GF has quite a new one but sorry as I'm not at all into phones so I can't say what model or even what make it is and my sister and brother in law have just bought new ones from a Chinese maker I'd never heard of... anyway... the image quality from these for viewing on the phone, a tablet or even reasonable sized prints is shockingly good and I would think a match for the Panasonic Lxx cameras I've had and to be honest the quality of these newer phone cameras would make me think twice now about buying something less than a 1" camera for image quality but a compact could still make sense for its EVF and zoom range.
 
Last edited:
Oliver Pohlmann said:
Panasonic LX100?

M4/3 and a 24-70mm 1.7.
Click to expand...

I disregarded this one as it's actually larger than my EPL-5, though admittedly the lens is probably better than something I can get in the same size for that camera.

woof woof said:
Just on the subject of camera phones. My GF has quite a new one but sorry as I'm not at all into phones so I can't say what model or even what make it is and my sister and brother in law have just bought new ones from a Chinese maker I'd never heard of... anyway... the image quality from these for viewing on the phone, a tablet or even reasonable sized prints is shockingly good and I would think a match for the Panasonic Lxx cameras I've had and to be honest the quality of these newer phone cameras would make me think twice now about buying something less than a 1" camera for image quality but a compact could still make sense for its EVF and zoom range.
Click to expand...

I have an iPhone 7 too, and I probably take most of my pictures on that currently. I am still leaning towards something with a bit of zoom range.
 
I really like my Fuji XQ1. Probably not in the league of an RX100 but quite a bit cheaper.

Also seems Fuji don't offer anything in that range any more with no compacts under £1000. They do have the XQ2 on their refurb site which is where I got my XQ1 from and it was like new.
 
I would have thought that your Olympus with the 14-42 would be ideal for this. Travelling light is what I loved about m4/3. Small, light, good IQ. A Sony RX100 would be smaller but it has a far smaller sensor so you would expect IQ to be slightly worse. Seems a lot to spend to get something a little more pocketable when you already have a decent option already on the face of it.
 
gad-westy said:
I would have thought that your Olympus with the 14-42 would be ideal for this. Travelling light is what I loved about m4/3. Small, light, good IQ. A Sony RX100 would be smaller but it has a far smaller sensor so you would expect IQ to be slightly worse. Seems a lot to spend to get something a little more pocketable when you already have a decent option already on the face of it.
Click to expand...

You might be right. I still feel the Olympus is "bulky", but maybe I'm being picky/lazy.

I did a size comparison: http://j.mp/2sjZikK

I even included my old D40 on there for comparison, all of the cameras are small in comparison to that, and I used to drag that everywhere.

I still need a secondary camera for family to use, so I'm leaning toward the HX90V given how small it is and the zoom range, one thing I won't have from the Olympus. I'd probably take the 14-42 for daytime and 25 1.7 for nighttime.
 
Ricoh GRII or the first one. Zooms are more handy for holidays, but the 28mm f2.8 is great for packed tight Chinese streets and for landscapes etc. The previous model is the same but is without wifi.

It would be an alternative to a zoom, and the image quality is nicer than the Sony's.
 
kennysarmy said:
Over the years I've down-sized by dSLR kit and now shoot only with a Panasonic TZ100 - more than capable for what I need - mostly sharing on the Internet....and I'm sure would be fine for larger prints too.

Recent pics on my Flickr with the TZ100 : https://www.flickr.com/photos/kennysarmy/

I've got an RX100iii for sale now :D
Click to expand...

How do you feel the image quality compares with the RX100iii, I'm thinking at the shorter focal lengths, not zoomed right in to the longer lengths where it will obviously suffer.

As for prints, I have printed onto A3 canvas from my TZ60 no problem, a smooth print though would show the falloff of quality from the small sensor. The TZ100 should fare better there.
 
Steve B said:
How do you feel the image quality compares with the RX100iii, I'm thinking at the shorter focal lengths, not zoomed right in to the longer lengths where it will obviously suffer.

As for prints, I have printed onto A3 canvas from my TZ60 no problem, a smooth print though would show the falloff of quality from the small sensor. The TZ100 should fare better there.
Click to expand...

I did some comparative testing and whilst the RX100iii maybe slightly sharper if you pixel peep I'm not convinced you could tell once printed. The Sony does have a faster lens of course, but for me doing mainly landscapes it suits me fine...
 
kennysarmy said:
I did some comparative testing and whilst the RX100iii maybe slightly sharper if you pixel peep I'm not convinced you could tell once printed. The Sony does have a faster lens of course, but for me doing mainly landscapes it suits me fine...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response Jeff, much appreciated. Just the sort of opinion I was hoping for, Though decent image quality is of course important, there is much more to a camera than that. My experience with the TZ60 has been very positive, so good to know when replacement time comes around, there is a new improved version to move onto. Thanks very much.
 
Can't see the point in owning the olympus kit and not taking it with you it's pretty tiny anyway! I'd pack the lot along with your iphone and then you've got it all covered you don't have to take all the carera gear out with you all the time just what you think you'll need.
 
I'm another TZ-100 owner and user. Files are plenty good enough for A3+ prints and the camera's small enough to slip into a shirt pocket. Performance does fall off at EFLs over 250mm but at "normal" focal lengths it does very well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top