New compact camera or phone - which one?

Hey didge.

I bought a Panasonic lumix LF1. It is MILES ahead of my samsung galaxy S5 in terms of picture quality. Not only is the picture quality better, but the colour rendition is better.

From memory the LF1 has a 1/1.7 inch sensor and a f2.0 lens with 7x zoom

The sony RX100 is another league above. The full inch sensor and fast lens (f1.8?) Make it great for low light shots. Plus it'll fit in your tights pocket :p oh and it also shoots .RAW.

If you want to make calls get a phone - if you want to shoot pictures i would definitely get a dedicated camera.

In the sub $1000 bracket there are also great cameras like the olympus OMD10 its a bit bulkier but has an even larger sensor and produces some great photos.

Have fun shopping :)

Cheers

Dan

Thanks Dan, yours and the other guys answers have pretty much confirmed my initial feelings towards the Sony. The Lumix LX100 has a 4/3" sensor which is apparently 1.9 x larger but the way it is used means its only effectively 1.5 x larger than a 1" sensor. The zoom on the Sony is only 24 - 70mm (as is the LX100 or very close to it) but editing on the computer will help. Yes RAW is the way to go, my graphics designer sister tells me (and she also has an OMD10 that I can borrow at any time), so it looks like I'll be heading off to the "Digital camera warehouse" in Sydney tomorrow morning to spend a few bob. Now to decide between the RX100 IV or III - mmmmhhh!

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Originally Posted by Didge

Thanks Steve and rar110. What's a bridge camera?? a backup to a DSLR?

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I think bridge camera is technically a camera between a DSLR and compact digital camera. I liked the old canon G series as the lens fully retracted making it very compact for such a full feature digital camera with a large light sensor.

Have fun choosing. :p

If you're like me tho, i rarely use RAW, though it is nice to have for when you get a good shot. I don't have time to fiddle with every photo I take.

One of the features i love about mine is wifi - i can transfer pics straight to my phone. Dont know if thats something you care about but i find it awesome. I can also control the camera remotely with it.

Enjoy it :)

Cheers


Dan

I bought a Sony RX100M2 two years ago for an overseas trip. The results from the 1? sensor are excellent. The flip-out viewfinder screen is useful for taking waist-level shots where you can rest the camera on a rail or ledge or even against your body for stability. I used it in the Paris Catacombs with available light and very few shots were ruined by motion blur. The only complaints I have are that the viewfinder screen is difficult to see in sunlight so framing shots can be a bit hit-and-miss, and the lens is not quite wide enough for interior shots (although the later models have fixed this).

It was amusing to see the range of photographic equipment used by tourists. There were those who probably spent a lot of money on their trip but were too cheap to buy even a compact camera and used their phones for everything, and those with big DSLRs and big lenses and big bags who were weighed down with equipment but whose pix were probably only marginally better than those from the little Sony in my belt pouch.

Hi Didge,
I'm making the exact same decision as you. Let us know how you go with the purchase.

Well, a big thanks to all of you for your valuable input. I bit the bullet and went with the Sony DSC RX 100 IV - from Digital camera warehouse in Sydney. Cost was $1188 + $24 screen protector +$70 2 year extended warranty + $116 superfast 64Gb sd card - (cant recall exact details but need it to shoot 4K video) so total was a smidge under $1400 which seems like a lot for such a small unit. Right next to it in the display case was a Sony SLR of some description that was the size of half a brick. $10 dearer and had the same size sensor. Showed the camera to a photography nut (he has a special rucksack designed just to carry his big Nikon and lenses) at work who was super impressed with my purchase and thought it was a very wise decision. Thanks again all -I'm now trying to learn how to use it properly - not much point having the electrickery and features if you set it on auto :)

Didge, I'm a bit late to the party, but you will not regret buying the RX100.

I bought my son a version 3 just before he left for backpacking around Europe and the images he is producing are amazing.

Great camera...:thumbsup:

I downloaded the 44 page instruction manual - wow, got a bit to learn now :) Mark the young ones have no idea how hard it was when we had to get our pics processed and then found out they were mediocre or poor (that's just me being an old fart and thinking they've got it so easy) :)

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Originally Posted by Didge

Hi guys, I've been looking extensively at the various compact cameras for around $1200 and under and had pretty well settled on the Sony DSC RX100 mark 3 or maybe mark 4. A couple of reviews and the camera shop guy said the m4 wasn't really worth the extra $400. I'd looked at the Panasonic Lumix LX100 and TZ110 but neither were as pocket friendly as the smaller Sony.
THEN, I saw a couple of youtube reviews comparing the Sony RX100 M4 to a couple of good phones - the Samsung Galaxy S7 & S7 edge vs LG G5 vs iphone 6s plus vs HTC something, etc, etc and the reviews seem to show the phones up as being as good as, or better than the dedicated camera.
So now I'm a bit confused.
Does anyone have any thoughts or experiences on what would be better for general photography - family happy snaps, some scenery, some travel/ 4wd video and shots, etc - the lenses and sensors seem to be that good that you don't really need super long zoom capabilities any more because you can post edit photos on your computer.
Thanks in advance for any advice
cheers Gerald

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We had the same discussion a year ago. We ended up buying the compact camera (Sony rx 100 mk?) the phone still gets used but when we are away etc the quality of the Sony images outshines all the phones I have ever seen.

With that it mind it depends on what quality shots you have as your baseline.. If you don't care about quality (unlikely given this question) a phone will do.

The other point about a compact is that you can generally buy more storage in country towns. Which you can't with an iPhone. You also can't sync on sh$& internet. We have had to buy more storage on several trips because we took more photos than we expected