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Gear / Technical Help => Photo / Video Recording => Topic started by: TaperBryan on September 08, 2014, 10:57:37 AM
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My wife is in need of another small point and shoot camera. For those that use these at shows, I'm open to suggestions on what's out there these days.
I know Jimina and Gina [Gray's wife] would likely have some good input here.
TIA,
Bryan
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Allow me to offer my 2 cents since I've done tons of research on this topic.
Sony RX-100 (I, II, or III...they're all good) is the benchmark to which all compact P&S cameras are held. No other compact P&S comes close to the quality. Of course this is the most expensive in it's class as well, but the Mark I and II can be had for decent prices either used or new old stock. It's not the smallest and doesn't have the telephoto range of others in it's class but it is fast across it's entire range (f1.8 - 2.8 ) which means it performs better in low light. If I had enough money for this camera, I'd definitely have one.
I personally am using a Canon S100 (the current version is S120), which is about the size of a deck of cards. It is the smallest in its class and one of the cheapest. Very good image quality out of this compared to everything other than the Sony.
All of the cameras in this class have their pros & cons. It's basically a matter of first setting your budget and then determining which features are important to you. The link below is a good starting point for your research. You might say you're not looking for "high end pocketable camera" -- If that's the case and your budget is small, then consider the Canon S100 or S110. I actually am considering changing things up so if a lightly used S100 is what you're looking for, PM me.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9935181366/high-end-pocketable-compacts-2013-roundup
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Allow me to offer my 2 cents since I've done tons of research on this topic.
Sony RX-100 (I, II, or III...they're all good) is the benchmark to which all compact P&S cameras are held. No other compact P&S comes close to the quality. Of course this is the most expensive in it's class as well, but the Mark I and II can be had for decent prices either used or new old stock. It's not the smallest and doesn't have the telephoto range of others in it's class but it is fast across it's entire range (f1.8 - 2.8 ) which means it performs better in low light. If I had enough money for this camera, I'd definitely have one.
I personally am using a Canon S100 (the current version is S120), which is about the size of a deck of cards. It is the smallest in its class and one of the cheapest. Very good image quality out of this compared to everything other than the Sony.
All of the cameras in this class have their pros & cons. It's basically a matter of first setting your budget and then determining which features are important to you. The link below is a good starting point for your research. You might say you're not looking for "high end pocketable camera" -- If that's the case and your budget is small, then consider the Canon S100 or S110. I actually am considering changing things up so if a lightly used S100 is what you're looking for, PM me.
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9935181366/high-end-pocketable-compacts-2013-roundup
Thanks for the input. I'll do some research.
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This is the one I have; I love it. Couldn't be easier nor nicer. At least, in my opinion. Although, I am Sony gear-whore, so...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/838520-REG/Sony_DSCW650_B_Cyber_Shot_DSC_W650_Digital_Camera.html
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iPhone 5/5S
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Budget and size?
I've heard good things about the Sony A6000 and am thinking of picking one up soon. It's $750 with lens. Probably a little larger than the average P+S, but not huge.
One of the reasons I like the A6000 is that it's small enough that I think I should be able to bring it into most shows without it looking "professional", but will also let me take really nice photos. Also you can change lenses so you can use it for a variety of venue sizes.
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This is the one I have; I love it. Couldn't be easier nor nicer. At least, in my opinion. Although, I am Sony gear-whore, so...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/838520-REG/Sony_DSCW650_B_Cyber_Shot_DSC_W650_Digital_Camera.html
I agree, I went from Canon>Panasonic>Sony and am really pleased. Got ms Ild one, too, she also likes it a lot, good low light pics and macros
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Canon sx280hs I love mine it's incredible
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Really depends if you need large zoom or not.I have tried many and nothing comes close to my dslr at all.The Sony rx100 was very good but short zoom.
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RX100. I have an M2 and there's not much of a difference between the M2 and M3 but the M2 was a step up from the original model.
Excellent for concert photos (in 5 megapixel mode) and simply awesome with natural light. Has many of the manual settings DSLR's have but without the size. Even though the zoom is short on the camera, it has a "Clear Image Zoom" mode which is an enhanced zoom and I've been very happy with my pictures. The Digital Zoom (as with all cameras) is crap, though.
Only problem with the RX100 is the price-tag.
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The thing about concerts is they are notoriously dark, although the musicians are frequently well lit. Don't get hung up on who has the most megapixels, in fact that is almost the opposite of what works well in the dark. To gather the most light in the dark you want BIG pixels. For the same size sensor, the one with higher megapixels will have smaller pixels. Bigger sensors are better.
You can't really trust the manufacturers when they try to brag "my camera goes to ISO 12800 or 25600". It can go that high, but it's just a setting on the camera. It might look like crap above 1600.
One resource I pay attention to is dxomark.com. Here is a page where I selected 3 cameras from a list. I don't know anything about these particular cameras, I just grabbed one each Sony, Canon, and Nikon for demo purposes.
http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Sony-Cyber-shot-DSC-RX100-III-versus-Canon-PowerShot-G1-X-Mark-II-versus-Nikon-Coolpix-P340___957_941_939
Below the cameras are 4 blue bar graphs for each camera. The bottom bar graph shows "Low Light ISO" with 495, 581, and 273. They run some standard test on all these cameras, and decide that each camera can obtain a certain high level of clarity with low noise up to this ISO. The number doesn't mean much except it gives you an idea of how well each one does in the dark relative to each other. The difference between 495 and 581 is 20% and probably not visible, but the difference between 581 and 273 is more than double, and that is significant. By comparison my Nikon D700 has a rating of 2303, and the current state of the art body is the Nikon D4S at 3074, for something like $6000. Anyway, if you are comparing different cameras, I think it's worth a few minutes to look up on DXOmark.
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www.getolympus.com sometimes has a 15% off sale on their e pm2 micro 4/3 camera with a 14-42 kit lens refurb for about $200. The nice thing about this camera is you can pick up a better low light lens later if you want and still use it on this camera body.
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Thanks all! We def. have some research to do.
Sorry for posting in the incorrect forum, Brian.
Bryan
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You want a super-zoom P&S, Bryan. Something that you can shoot from the TS during packed shows. All around P&S if you will.
I suggest any of the following Canon PowerShot models. All are part of the same food chain.
Canon SX230 (2011), SX260 (2012), SX280 (2013), SX600 (2014), SX700 (2014)
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I bought point and shoots for Mrs. Rocks for years because they were convenient for her to keep in her purse. If I were buying a camera for her today, I'd have to ask her what she really wants at this point. I'm not sure if she would want another point and shoot or would be interested in a camera that would let her use my mu 4/3 lenses.
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You want a super-zoom P&S, Bryan. Something that you can shoot from the TS during packed shows. All around P&S if you will.
I suggest any of the following Canon PowerShot models. All are part of the same food chain.
Canon SX230 (2011), SX260 (2012), SX280 (2013), SX600 (2014), SX700 (2014)
I grabbed the SX700 recently since my camera is dieing and I really like it so far.
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Has anyone used the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS ?
I am looking for a P&S strictly for HD1080 video. Images quality is secondary.
I know it's a little big but I have seen these types in venues and wonder if the HD
is better then my current Sony HX20V ??
Thanks for any info.
Datfly
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Has anyone used the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS ?
I am looking for a P&S strictly for HD1080 video. Images quality is secondary.
I know it's a little big but I have seen these types in venues and wonder if the HD
is better then my current Sony HX20V ??
Thanks for any info.
Datfly
I would not expect the sx50 to be much of a step up from the hx20v
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Has anyone used the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS ?
I am looking for a P&S strictly for HD1080 video. Images quality is secondary.
I know it's a little big but I have seen these types in venues and wonder if the HD
is better then my current Sony HX20V ??
Thanks for any info.
Datfly
I would not expect the sx50 to be much of a step up from the hx20v
Once I started researching I found that it had the same sensor size as the HX20V.
I then found this beauty that has a 1" sensor and shoots 4K.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1057135-REG/panasonic_dmc_fz1000k_lumix_dmc_fz1000_digital_camera.html/prm/alsVwDtl
So I bought it.
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That looks nice but a bit big for most shows i go to,another promising one is the Panasonic dmc LX 100 smaller ,bigger sensor,has 4k and supposedly has 60min recording vs. 29Min limit on other one.
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That looks nice but a bit big for most shows i go to,another promising one is the Panasonic dmc LX 100 smaller ,bigger sensor,has 4k and supposedly has 60min recording vs. 29Min limit on other one.
I would kill for this one or even a few of the new Sony's but they have no real zoom.
You would have to be stage front to get anything decent. I think a 400mm zoom or more is a must
unless you are just documenting.
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Panasonic x7.