Please recommend a small digital camera

[mkvrnn]

There's a similar thread elsewhere but my requirements are more specific, so please offer your suggestions. Just 3 basic requirements.

(1) I want a small digital which I can carry in my pocket or my car's glovebox

(2) It must have a viewfinder. Squinting at an almost invisible screen in bright sunlight is not my idea of fun, nor is struggling to read complicated on-screen menus.

(3) I need a reasonable zoom range, more importantly at the wide angle end. 24mm equivalent or wider would be perfect. 150mm at the other end would be more than enough.

I don't need lots of megapixels, satnav or any other gimmicks, but good build quality would be appreciated. I don't want a lens which wobbles around when fully extended.

A Fuji X10 almost fitted the bill despite the lack of zoom range, because the viewfinder made it feel like a real camera. But when it suddenly froze up and showed "focus error" at around 6 months old, and Fuji refused to repair it because I had no proof of purchase, I lost interest in the Fuji brand.

After the Fuji experience I'll probably buy something secondhand rather than risk wasting a lot of money on a new one.

Panasonic LF1 looks like a possibility despite its toy like appearance.

Any other suggestions please?

 

[Pete B]

Ricoh GXR with a zoom module and EVF.
I use mine with the Leica M module and M lenses. With a suitable adaptor you can put just about any lens on it. I'm not keen on digital cameras, but this one I'll keep.
Pete

 

[burancap]

Well, the X10/20/30 is a nice bit of kit. If you are done with Fuji, how about the Sony RX100 Mk.III? EVF and 24 on the wide end, but 70 on the long. All of the RX series are held in pretty high regard. I love my Mk.I, battered and bruised as it is.

 

[Pete B]

I'll typically use my GXR+Leica-M mount with the 25/4 color skopar, but when size isn't an issue, I'll use the Leica 24/2.8 Elmarit. It's a very compact capable camera.
One of the nice things about it is you don't need to expose the inner camera to the elements when lens changing because you can change the whole lens/sensor unit if you wish. Superb design, and very solid. I hope the design gets revisited by Ricoh-Pentax.
Good sized sensor too.
See the thread http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110755&page=16
Pete

 

[GaryLH]

Panasonic lx100

- just slightly under 13 mp (uses m43 sensor from Panasonic gx7)
- 24-75 f1.7-2.8 (hits f2.8) by 50 fov
- evf
- retro (back to basics design) w/ aperture, shutter speed dial and exposure comp
- no built in flash , comes w/ small external
- 4k video
- optical image stabilization
- both mechanical and electronic shutter
-- leaf up to 1/4000th
-- electronic up to 1/16000
- no touch screen
- no flip lcd
- very little noticeable noise up to 800
-- 1600 and 3200 effects of noise reduction starts to affect edge sharpness

I decided to pick one up lately to use as a vacation camera.. It will not replace my Fuji x series or my sigma foveon cameras for detail or sharpness, but I do like the results I c from this camera. Though I have an Sony a7, I really mainly use e mount cameras as my universal digital back for legacy lenses. There is something to be said about a zoom lens match to the sensor (a trademark of any lx family camera). To my eye, my sample is acceptably sharp wide open.. Really looks good by f4-5.6, defraction starts to be noticed by f8. Coat pocket size camera.

I would also suggest u look into Sony rx100mk3. W/ 24mp sensor, even if optical zoom is not long enough, u should be able to do a 50% crop and still have enough usable mp to print up to 11x14. I did not go for the Sony mainly because I don't like the idea of a pop up evf.. I do still have my old Sony rx100mk1, but like u I decided I wanted something that started at 24fov.

The gxr has an a16 24-85ish zoom module. It was the last ever module ever released, kind of hard to find. Optics are not bad, but IMHO not as good as other designs these days. Only slightly better than the Sony kit zoom for the a6000.

Gary

 

[GaryLH]

Forgot to mention some other things about the lx100

- it has both zoom to preselected focal lengths and resume..

The preselected fov are 24-28-35-50-70-75.. I usually try to remember to leave the zoom at 50 fov prior to turning the camera off.

So when I turn on the camera I know that I essentially have a 50f2.8 lens preselected (of course at what ever f stop u have set the aperture).

I picked up a JJC pop open lens cap. Removes need for normal lens cap.. Don't get the Panasonic, it will not accept a lens filter.

It has capability for multi-burst at different EV. I have currently setup for 7 shot burst of 7 shots (-/0/+) which gives me + or - 2 stops. In weird lighting I can use this later in post to do HDR..

Gary

 

[mkvrnn]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm researching all the options suggested but at first glance none of them seems ideal.

My ideal camera would be a Fuji X100 but with a fixed zoom lens of 24-135 equivalent range, and ideally made by somebody other than Fuji. That lovely viewfinder is the main attraction.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

I love my Fuji X30.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

You might give Fuji another chance. You're as likely to have had that experience with any camera company, or really any manufacturer of anything in the world.

That said, why not a superzoom? Panasonic makes a very good one; so do Fuji and Sony. They might not be up your alley in terms of appearance and style, but they are fairly compact and highly versatile.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_dscrx10

 

[Ko.Fe.]

...

Any other suggestions please?

Never leave camera in the car.

 

[Bill Clark]

Smart phone.

Pretty good capabilities and lots of choices to share them.

 

[nongfuspring]

Gary's suggestion of the LX100 would be mine too. Seems to tick all your boxes except for the zoom range. The Olympus Stylus 1 has a zoom range of 28 - 300mm but that has a much smaller sensor, unless that extra range is useful for you then the LX100 is the best in class, RX100 mkiii great also.

 

[jsrockit]

Sony RX100 MK3 ticks every box you require.

 

[xyz3450]

Hello,

The Sony A6000 seems to get good reviews (I do not own one, but have tried it in a store). It was mentioned by Gary above.

It seems to fit some (most?) of your criteria. It is relatively small, has a viewfinder and a reasonable zoom range. The kit lens falls short of your desired long end, but unlike the LX100 / RX100III suggestions the lens is interchangeable so in principle you can add longer if you need. The size of the A6000 is comparable to the LX100 -- not 'pocketable' like the RX100 series, but relatively compact for sure:

http://tinyurl.com/qct7p6l

The kit lens has some detractors, so it might be worth doing some research to see if the lens is sufficient for your needs.

Finally, rumors abound that a new clutch of Sony cameras are imminent (but when aren't they), so this might be worth factoring into any buying decision.

 

[back alley]

why is fuji responsible for your not having proof of purchase?

 

[mkvrnn]

why is fuji responsible for your not having proof of purchase?

You're right of course, Fuji can't be blamed for my not having proof of purchase, but I did expect a little sympathy from them because the camera had the latest modifications and was from the latest UK batch number which showed that it was only 6 months old. Instead they quoted me a repair price which was higher than the price for which I could have bought a new x10 online. So I wasn't impressed!

In contrast, shortly after my x10 died I phoned Leica in Germany to enquire about the availability of a tiny part for a 40 year old Leica lens. The very helpful lady took my address and two days later the part arrived through my letter box, free of charge! I was absolutely delighted of course.

 

[jesse1dog]

Lumix LF1 isn't bad at all - the Gallery has a couple of my shots.
However the evf is small by today's standards, and is just OK for framing shots.
I found it needed a grip fitting -'flip-bac'.
I picked up a 'sale' LF1 for a very good price but still go for my LX7 every time. I solved the lack of evf on the LX7 by using a 'ClearViewer' which suits me very well - it's an interesting option and can be made to fit any 'point and shoot' that has a tripod bush.
I suggest you might want to do a bit of homework on this possibility.
Hope this helps.
j

 

[nongfuspring]

You're right of course, Fuji can't be blamed for my not having proof of purchase, but I did expect a little sympathy from them because the camera had the latest modifications and was from the latest UK batch number which showed that it was only 6 months old. Instead they quoted me a repair price which was higher than the price for which I could have bought a new x10 online. So I wasn't impressed!

I realise the ship might have sailed already, but I needed a fuji repair about a year ago and got in touch with the service center. They asked for proof of purchase, and since I bought my camera on ebay I just sent my credit card bill detailing an exchange with a (most likely grey market) ebay camera dealer out of HK; they accepted it without question and were generally really nice to deal with. I even managed to defer my repair since I was travelling at the time and they gave me documentation that would allow me to make the repair at my convenience even after the warranty period had expired. Of course I was pretty frustrated that something went wrong, but all in all I can't fault the service center staff at all, they were great. Anyway, back to my point, I could have been lucky with the staff I dealt with but you may not need a physical receipt as a proof of purchase; some sort of transaction statement will probably do just fine.

 

[mkvrnn]

Thank you everybody for all of your suggestions.

Having spent 5 days reading reviews and searching adverts, my head hurts and I've decided that what I'm looking for doesn't exist.

Various cameras come reasonably close but fall down on lack of zoom range or physical size. The LX100 and Sony A6000 look lovely but are too big for my pocket, as is the Canon GiX. And if it won't fit in my pocket I may as well carry my Nikon D3200 which is admittedly a little bulky, but it is light enough, relatively cheap, and probably does everything as well as or better than all of the advanced compacts. In fact my previous D3100 was equally good.

Yet I still yearn for that elusive small camera with a nice optical viewfinder or evf. Something that feels as solid and precise as an Olympus Pen half frame did back in the 1960s, reasonably priced yet capable of producing results to rival the best cameras out there. The Sony RX100 mk3 looks closest, but somehow can't justify the expense. The Panasonic LF1 still looks attractive, particularly because I could buy a used one for £150, but I suspect that the small viewfinder won't provide the user experience I'm looking for. I could compromise with a Canon G15 or Fuji x30 or a few others, but I know that whatever I buy will be either too big or lacking in some technical aspect

So maybe I'll stick to my Nikon D3200 for regular use, my £50 Fuji something with massive zoom range and a viewfinder but an unfashionably small sensor to keep in my pocket, and my Nikon D90 with its impressive 18-200 lens for the times I want to look like a serious photographer .

Or maybe I'll sell one of the M3s or Rolleiflexes which sit on my shelf, and go out and buy that RX100 mk3.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Nobody mentioned the Nikon P7000 or its successor, the P7100.

Granted, the viewfinder (optical) sucks, but it's not an EVF, but the zoom is a 28-200 (equivalent) at a constant f2.8.

Take a peek at it HERE

It used to be my digital choice until I got my Fuji X100.