Travel camera recommendations
Discussion
Hi all.
Looking for new camera that I can take away with me on holiday and city brakes. I don’t want a dslr or have the faff of having to carry multiple lenses so looking for a ‘compact’ if thats the correct term.
I’m a relative novice and the gf is a total novice.
Priorities are ease of use, picture quality without having to spend time with iso settings and shutter speeds Ect. Just a good quality point and click camera
Budget is up to £1000. I’m away in New York new year and could pick something up there if it would be cheaper?
Regards
Sam
Looking for new camera that I can take away with me on holiday and city brakes. I don’t want a dslr or have the faff of having to carry multiple lenses so looking for a ‘compact’ if thats the correct term.
I’m a relative novice and the gf is a total novice.
Priorities are ease of use, picture quality without having to spend time with iso settings and shutter speeds Ect. Just a good quality point and click camera
Budget is up to £1000. I’m away in New York new year and could pick something up there if it would be cheaper?
Regards
Sam
Panasonic TZ range are the usual 'travel' recommendations. The other most often recommended compact camera is the Sony RX100 range but I find them small and fiddly, although I still use a Canon S95 for hill walking etc. I would therefore look at something like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100. It's been around for a while now but it's still one of the best compact(ish) cameras around and it has a brilliant lens.
01samuelr said:
Being the tart that I am plus they have a shop near me. Whats the oppinion of a leica d-lux 109
Regards
Sam
It's the Aston Martin Cygnet of the camera world Regards
Sam
A little harsh but it is basically a Panasonic LX100 for more £'s. Not a lot wrong with either camera though.
Take a look at the new Canon G1x iii as well if you're feeling flush. Not cheap but nice big APSC sensor and decent zoom range. It's not as small as others but arguably the most capable all round camera that can still call itself a compact. At least without going to interchangeable lens systems.
Edited by Gad-Westy on Monday 11th December 11:59
Right, been to look at the two most recommended, the lx100 and a rx100iv. Like the pocketability of the sony but liked the feel and adjustability of the panasonic.
I can get the panasonic for £399 and the sony for £550. Im concerned that the panasonic is just a little bit too big but a £150 saving is not to be ignored.
Help haha
I can get the panasonic for £399 and the sony for £550. Im concerned that the panasonic is just a little bit too big but a £150 saving is not to be ignored.
Help haha
I’m a big fan of my RX100; the main draw for me is the portability of it. Don’t forget the old maxim ‘the best camera is the one you have on you’ and I replaced an Olympus DSLR with the Sony as I very rarely took the big camera out. Now, I take the RX out to business networking events I organise and manage to capture pics not far off the professional we pay for the ‘proper pics’. If the RX wasn’t so small, I doubt it would get used as much.
It does of course have limitations - the lens reach could be longer; the depth of field could be shallower, but as a step up from a phone (& not much bigger to carry) its a winner.
Hope this helps?
It does of course have limitations - the lens reach could be longer; the depth of field could be shallower, but as a step up from a phone (& not much bigger to carry) its a winner.
Hope this helps?
I purchases a LX100. Went for a quick walk around and took these. Quite pleased with the low light capability of the camera. The images have had no editing, they are JPEG's straight off the SD card.
Any hints or tips to photography greatly welcomed.
P1000053 by Sam Rogers, on Flickr
P1000038 by Sam Rogers, on Flickr
Any hints or tips to photography greatly welcomed.
P1000053 by Sam Rogers, on FlickrP1000038 by Sam Rogers, on Flickr
I had a Panasonic TZ30 for several years and it did all I asked and was nice and small but had a 20x zoom.
I replaced it with an "on offer" Canon SX700HS which takes good photos and though slightly bigger, still slips in the pocket easily but lacks the Panasonic's wider options menu but has a 30x zoom.
I'm talking zoom because I wanted a 1" sensor pocket camera and was considering various cameras, including the Canon G7X Mk II and Panasonic LX100, not least because they have foldy-outy screens, better for selfies, if that's your bag and holidaying alone, it can need to be your bag.
Ultimately, all cameras are a compromise. I finally bought a TZ100 which has the 1" sensor but no foldy-outy screen because I wanted the 10x zoom which is, for me, a necessity. The others have much shorter zooms.
Of course, that said, I still take the Canon with me because the zoom is way, way better when I need distance shots, such as birds before they fly away.
I also thought the 4k function (which takes lots of stills that you can pick from) would be useful but, so far, it tends to be a bit of a chore deleting all those you don't want, as is the variable focus where you can alter what part is in focus. This largely destroys the point of a "point and shoot" when you're having to faff round. These also feature on the cheaper TZ90 and 80.
So while the TZ100 takes vastly better low light shots, the TZ90 with its 30x zoom is probably the better, lighter and slightly smaller travel camera.
What persuaded me to go for the TZ100 rather than a TZ80 or 90 was that it wasn't that much more expensive, especially when bought through T-Dimension (grey TZ110 identical in every detail) at £100 less.
I ruled out the Sony as its simply too expensive for what it does and for the limited margin of superiority it has in some though not all areas.
So now I miss not having a folding screen but have the bigger zoom. If the TZ100 had the screen, it would be happy days for me. In truth, I still need the Canon for the zoom. I also still take the now gnarly TZ30 if there is a risk of damage. Nothing is ever perfect.
I replaced it with an "on offer" Canon SX700HS which takes good photos and though slightly bigger, still slips in the pocket easily but lacks the Panasonic's wider options menu but has a 30x zoom.
I'm talking zoom because I wanted a 1" sensor pocket camera and was considering various cameras, including the Canon G7X Mk II and Panasonic LX100, not least because they have foldy-outy screens, better for selfies, if that's your bag and holidaying alone, it can need to be your bag.
Ultimately, all cameras are a compromise. I finally bought a TZ100 which has the 1" sensor but no foldy-outy screen because I wanted the 10x zoom which is, for me, a necessity. The others have much shorter zooms.
Of course, that said, I still take the Canon with me because the zoom is way, way better when I need distance shots, such as birds before they fly away.
I also thought the 4k function (which takes lots of stills that you can pick from) would be useful but, so far, it tends to be a bit of a chore deleting all those you don't want, as is the variable focus where you can alter what part is in focus. This largely destroys the point of a "point and shoot" when you're having to faff round. These also feature on the cheaper TZ90 and 80.
So while the TZ100 takes vastly better low light shots, the TZ90 with its 30x zoom is probably the better, lighter and slightly smaller travel camera.
What persuaded me to go for the TZ100 rather than a TZ80 or 90 was that it wasn't that much more expensive, especially when bought through T-Dimension (grey TZ110 identical in every detail) at £100 less.
I ruled out the Sony as its simply too expensive for what it does and for the limited margin of superiority it has in some though not all areas.
So now I miss not having a folding screen but have the bigger zoom. If the TZ100 had the screen, it would be happy days for me. In truth, I still need the Canon for the zoom. I also still take the now gnarly TZ30 if there is a risk of damage. Nothing is ever perfect.
Panasonic or Canon for travel cameras.
TZ100 is probably the most outstanding but has a shorter zoom than the Canon G7X mk2.
Sony is very good but just too fiddly.
Travel camera without a zoom is a waste of time. Leica are great but the low end tend to be fixed lens, then they get expensive. Panasonic use Leica lens I believe.
Everyone has an opinion, mine is a choice of TZ100 or G7X [soon to be updated]. The bigger the sensor the better, but just check that the camera uses the whole sensor rather than part of it
TZ100 is probably the most outstanding but has a shorter zoom than the Canon G7X mk2.
Sony is very good but just too fiddly.
Travel camera without a zoom is a waste of time. Leica are great but the low end tend to be fixed lens, then they get expensive. Panasonic use Leica lens I believe.
Everyone has an opinion, mine is a choice of TZ100 or G7X [soon to be updated]. The bigger the sensor the better, but just check that the camera uses the whole sensor rather than part of it
I'd look seriously at a Fuji X-T1 with a walk around lens. Excellent image quality, very small, beautiful build quality. Might be doable within budget.
Edit: Wex have an ex-demo with 18-35mm lens for £950. I'd rip their arms off.
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/fuji-x-t1-digital-ca...
Edit: Wex have an ex-demo with 18-35mm lens for £950. I'd rip their arms off.
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/fuji-x-t1-digital-ca...
Edited by Tony1963 on Saturday 30th December 11:17
Camera phones are much better these days, but they don’t come close to the quality of a decent high spec compact. The sensor is tiny compared to something like an RX et al.
Also, by default phones don’t take in RAW, which is just a no no. (Though I think you can get third party apps to do so).
But as mentioned, you do have to take it with you.
Not a problem for me as I’ll often forget the phone, but never the camera!
Also, by default phones don’t take in RAW, which is just a no no. (Though I think you can get third party apps to do so).
But as mentioned, you do have to take it with you.
Not a problem for me as I’ll often forget the phone, but never the camera!
Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 30th December 15:50
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