Your favorite Point & Shoot with a Viewfinder and RAW capture

[Timmyjoe]

Will be heading south via airplane at the end of March, so don't want to bring any of my film gear. And want to travel extremely light so was looking for a point & shoot.

Been having a ball with the little Kodak Charmera, but the image quality is not up to what I need on this trip. And it seems like so many of the really nice point & shoots from days gone by are no longer available.

So I'm throwing this out there to see if anyone has any suggestions. I'd love it if the camera could capture RAW files, and it would be awesome it it had either a built in viewfinder or an attachable viewfinder.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Godfrey]

In situations like that, i grab my Leica X2. Great little camera, simple, with an excellent lens and great controls. Fits in my pocket.

G

 

[splitimageview]

X2 doesn't have a viewfinder tho, one has to buy the add-on.

What's the budget @Timmyjoe ?

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

How good of a viewfinder do you need?

I had a Canon G9 from about 2008. This series (I think they went from a G7 through a G16) were nice point-and-shoots in big, beefy bodies. It had a tiny little optical viewfinder that zoomed with the lens, but the viewfinder was not very accurate and so small as to be nearly useless, which I think is probably the case for most point-and-shoots with viewfinders from days gone by. If you're specifically asking about viewfinders, I would guess you want something substantially better than that.

I'm sort of waiting for the RewindPix camera to launch on Kickstarter, which could be interesting to me depending on the price. It's a small-sensor point-and-shoot, but looks to have a nice big viewfinder and a fixed 35mm equivalent lens, which I like. (Retractable lenses give me the heebie-jeebies in terms of long term durability.)

 

[Timmyjoe]

Thanks for the responses.

Trying to keep on a tight budget. Really kicking myself because I bought my kids a great little Canon P&S when they were in middle school (like ten years ago) and taking class trips to Washington DC. Between them and me, we've somehow lost it. Tore my whole camera closest apart looking for it over the last two days and no dice.

Max price would be the Sony RX100 VII, but would really rather not spend that much. Would like to keep it under $1000 if possible. Leaning away from buying used as I've had some bad experiences with point & shoots just up and dying. Bought a brand new Leica D-Lux 5 back in the day and it crapped out after one week, sent it back to Leica, they fixed it, crapped out again two weeks later, they fixed it again, crapped out again, they finally just gave me my money back. So would be concerned about a used model with no warranty.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Thanks for the responses.

Trying to keep on a tight budget. Really kicking myself because I bought my kids a great little Canon P&S when they were in middle school (like ten years ago) and taking class trips to Washington DC. Between them and me, we've somehow lost it. Tore my whole camera closest apart looking for it over the last two days and no dice.

Max price would be the Sony RX100 VII, but would really rather not spend that much. Would like to keep it under $1000 if possible. Leaning away from buying used as I've had some bad experiences with point & shoots just up and dying. Bought a brand new Leica D-Lux 5 back in the day and it crapped out after one week, sent it back to Leica, they fixed it, crapped out again two weeks later, they fixed it again, crapped out again, they finally just gave me my money back. So would be concerned about a used model with no warranty.

Best,
-Tim

If that was your experience buying new, I'm not sure you could do much worse buying used. At least you got your money back.

I share your concerns regarding the longevity of point-and-shoots. Also, I forgot to mention in my post above that the Canon G-series does shoot RAW.

Here's my take, which I suspect will be controversial on this forum: if you can't get something with at least a Micro 4/3 size sensor, you're probably better off just using your smartphone than mucking around with an old, small-sensor digicam. I know a lot of people don't like the ergonomics of shooting with a phone, but in my opinion the much larger screens of modern smartphones more than make up for the less-than-stellar ergonomics. I have only taken my iPhone 13 Pro on my last few trips and while I haven't enjoyed shooting with it as much as I would have with one of my film cameras, I did not miss having a digital camera with me. And I was quite pleased with the results. Here are few photos from my recent travels with my iPhone:

 

[JeffS7444]

I owned an earlier version of the OM System TG, and liked it lots: Small sensor, but I felt it had an appealing look, shoots raw, and has a few features your camera kit may otherwise lack, like extreme macro capability, a couple of handy ring illuminators, and GPS, so there's no more guessing about exactly where a photo was taken. If you actually want to dunk it underwater, make sure you keep the rubber seals clean.

Sony RX100 VII is great, if you can find one, and are okay with it's current price.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Just get one from E_PL series with lens you like.

Or skip RAW and get one of Panasonic made P&S with fast , standard kind Leica zoom. Those are really small.

Yesteday I took SD card from one we have and used it to test Canon 6D.
It was astonishing to see how good files were (including editing) even compared to FF.

If you can't live with RAW, Google RAW alternative firmware for Canon P&S.
I had it installed at Canon P&S for curiosity. It was not complicated.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'd be looking at a Fujifilm X100s if I weren't such a Sony fanboy of sorts.
Just looked at MPB and they have a couple under $800 that would do the job, with a warranty too.

 

[Godfrey]

X2 doesn't have a viewfinder tho, one has to buy the add-on.
What's the budget @Timmyjoe ?

A used 35mm FoV clip-on viewfinder is probably the most easily findable on the market.
I bought two of them a year or so back for $60-$70 apiece, for various of my cameras.

Over the years, I've collected a little box of various clip-on viewfinders, in FoVs ranging from 15mm to 75mm. They come in handy, even with cameras that have TTL viewing and built-in optical viewfinders.

G

 

[Timmyjoe]

If that was your experience buying new, I'm not sure you could do much worse buying used. At least you got your money back.

I share your concerns regarding the longevity of point-and-shoots. Also, I forgot to mention in my post above that the Canon G-series does shoot RAW.

Here's my take, which I suspect will be controversial on this forum: if you can't get something with at least a Micro 4/3 size sensor, you're probably better off just using your smartphone than mucking around with an old, small-sensor digicam. I know a lot of people don't like the ergonomics of shooting with a phone, but in my opinion the much larger screens of modern smartphones more than make up for the less-than-stellar ergonomics. I have only taken my iPhone 13 Pro on my last few trips and while I haven't enjoyed shooting with it as much as I would have with one of my film cameras, I did not miss having a digital camera with me. And I was quite pleased with the results. Here are few photos from my recent travels with my iPhone:


View attachment 4888472

View attachment 4888473

View attachment 4888474

View attachment 4888475

Those are some nice shots. I like a small pocketable smart phone so my iPhone SE doesn't have the big screen or the better camera. And I also like having a dedicated camera. Like the way it feels in my hands.

And I like a viewfinder with an adjustable diopter so I don't need to use my reading glasses when taking shots (age, it's hell). And I like RAW because I can really play with the image on my iPad afterwards, when I'm hanging out early in the morning and my wife is still sleeping.

I've got a couple of old Nikon 1 cameras, but I don't want to carry a bevy of lenses, and the 10-30 zoom is pretty crap.

That little Kodak Charmera has spoiled me as it's always in my pocket and so easy to whip out and make an image. Would love something just like it, but that made decent images.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Timmyjoe]

I owned an earlier version of the OM System TG, and liked it lots: Small sensor, but I felt it had an appealing look, shoots raw, and has a few features your camera kit may otherwise lack, like extreme macro capability, a couple of handy ring illuminators, and GPS, so there's no more guessing about exactly where a photo was taken. If you actually want to dunk it underwater, make sure you keep the rubber seals clean.

Sony RX100 VII is great, if you can find one, and are okay with it's current price.

Yeah, the Sony RX100 VII is stupidly expensive right now, probably made worse by our tariffs. I remember looking at one of those when I got the camera for the kids ten years ago and they were $500-$600 at the time. Those were the days.

Best,
-Tim

 

[JeffS7444]

I've got a couple of old Nikon 1 cameras, but I don't want to carry a bevy of lenses, and the 10-30 zoom is pretty crap.

Crap compared to what, Charmera? 😉 If you've got a compact Nikon 1 prime, might that be a viable one-camera, one-lens solution?

 

[GMOG]

I'll put a vote in for Fujifilm X100 series cameras. I've got an S variant that's been a workhorse for years.

It shoots RAW. It has an adjustable diopter for the viewfinder. I dig the hybrid viewfinder experience.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Timmyjoe,

The problem today is that clean used examples of many of the cameras that fit your requirements are approaching their original retail price.

I have a Canon G11 and even a Canon S90 that I could live with as one camera solutions, but they are older and increasing in price too.

No one has mentioned the Fuji X10 through X30 and it's likely because the value proposition of $ 500.00 and possibly more on a clean one only makes sense if you buy it from a seller that offers a warranty. But even that doesn't help if it breaks when you are vacationing.

My wife uses a Panasonic TS50. It's fine for her needs but the lens may be on the slow side for your needs. There are also later TS60's and TS70's but they are pricey used now too.

If you can tolerate the form factor of a bridge style camera the Panasonic FZ200 and FZ300 may be worthy candidates, but they are definitely not pocketable.

Good luck in your search.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[Archiver]

Will be heading south via airplane at the end of March, so don't want to bring any of my film gear. And want to travel extremely light so was looking for a point & shoot.

Been having a ball with the little Kodak Charmera, but the image quality is not up to what I need on this trip. And it seems like so many of the really nice point & shoots from days gone by are no longer available.

So I'm throwing this out there to see if anyone has any suggestions. I'd love it if the camera could capture RAW files, and it would be awesome it it had either a built in viewfinder or an attachable viewfinder.

When you say point and shoot, what size and features are you after, apart from raw capture and a viewfinder?

Sony RX100 3-5 have viewfinders and keep the budget low. 24-70mm equivalent zooms. 6-7 get pricey, with 24-200mm equivalent zooms but smaller apertures.

Panasonic LX7 / Leica D-Lux have detachable EVF's, but you had issues with buying a secondhand P&S. I loved my LX7 until the lens barrel stopped extending, so there's that.

Canon G5X II or G7X II or III. Canon know how to make point and shoot cameras.

A micro four thirds camera with an appropriate lens, like a Panasonic GX85/GX9, or an Olympus E-Msomething. Get an Olympus 17/1.8 or 25/1.8 and the package gives you a 35 or 50 equivalent. Not pocketable unless you have large pockets, but they have IBIS, raw capture, viewfinders and decent controls.

As much as I like the image quality of the Sigma DP series, I can't really recommend them in general because they are slow as heck, chew up batteries, and require specialized software to get the most from the files. I shoot my DP1 and DP2 like film cameras, if that makes sense. Slow and methodical.

Avoid cameras from pre-2010, they are slow as heck compared with what we have now, and won't give the image quality you want as their dynamic range is very limited. The exception is the Sigma DP series, but see above for their quirks.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Bucharest. Canon PowerShot G10 fits the bill.

 

[Archiver]

Bucharest. Canon PowerShot G10 fits the bill.

View attachment 4888492

View attachment 4888493

View attachment 4888494

I forgot the G10! I have a G10 and S90, and while they don't have modern speed or dynamic range, they are capable cameras.

 

[splitimageview]

I'll put a vote in for Fujifilm X100 series cameras. I've got an S variant that's been a workhorse for years.

It shoots RAW. It has an adjustable diopter for the viewfinder. I dig the hybrid viewfinder experience.

One of my favorite cameras of all time is the X100T.

These are available from MPB with 6 month warranty for under your budget. No, it's not new, but you're not going to find anything new that close to your budget with an APS-C sized sensor, with a viewfinder. And this one has two...EVF and optical.

 

[maddoc]

Not really pocketable but fits into a small sling-bag, OM Systems OM5 II with the 17mm f1.8 II or 25mm f1.8. Has a lot of features, excellent quality images, shoots raw and has a very good VF as also a fully articulating display. Both the camera body and either of the mentioned lenses are splash proof.