Help me choose a compact camera

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, GeoffH said:

The one inch sensor is sort of a 'sweet spot' for size vs performance in my opinion.  I was a bit sad when Nikon stopped making the Nikon One series.

Yes, basically by reading reviews, mostly on Amazon, I realized I will need a 1 inch sensor if I want good low light performance.  All the 1/2.3 sensors of all brands, seem to have low light performance that leaves something to be desired.

Geoff, does your Sony have 4k video and are you able to grab photos from the video, either in camera or on your computer?

The Panasonic Lumix have in camera software that allows you to review a 4k video frame by frame, and save a jpeg from any frame.  I assume the jpeg quality would be very good?

This intrigues me because I take a lot of video and photos of my kids, and they are not always easy to capture when they are running around.  Today there were a couple of examples of where this 4k video to jpeg might have worked great.  We were at a strawberry farm and the kids were chasing butterflies.  A video of them and the butterflies might have produced some great action shots of them with the butterflies.

Another example might be this.  Here is a photo of a seagull I took with my phone.  Although I didn't try a lot of shots, it was difficult to frame a flying bird, especially when you really can't see the screen in bright sunlight.

Now here is a video of the birds using using the same phone.  If I could grab still shots from a 4k video like this, there would be a lot of shots of the birds framed properly.  This is not a 4k video.

 

[stevewool]

The worlds your oyster in cameras , it all depends on the price, I love my Nikon D7000 but it’s to heavy now days , my other camera is a Fuji xt-10 and I am so pleased with this camera , it’s what I used nearly all the time now.

Just make sure you get what you are wanting most cameras will do so much more then you will ever use so don’t pay over the top if all you want is to put it in auto and click away.

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

Geoff, does your Sony have 4k video and are you able to grab photos from the video, either in camera or on your computer?

The Sony RX100 III does not do 4K video only Full HD, I'm not sure about the IV.

To be honest I don't shoot much video and photographing birds is one of the few things I still use my DSLR for, the tracking is quicker.'

When I said that the RX100 is the 'best' compact camera I was talking about photos not video sorry.

A more experienced video shooter should probably address the video question...

[OnMyWay]

30 minutes ago, stevewool said:

so don’t pay over the top if all you want is to put it in auto and click away.

Yes.  On these high end compacts, one of the complaints I see in the reviews is that they are not really "point and shoot".  I know enough to keep it interesting when I want to use manual modes.  However, it is nice to find one that responds well to different lighting conditions while in auto mode.  Most cameras will take good shots in good light.  It is low light where they struggle.

[stevewool]

There are some great point and shot cameras and the price can be so expensive, like I have said my Fuji with different lens is so good , but not perfect , now my Nikon with a 35 mm f1.8 will take a great picture in very low light but it’s not a compact , I would not part with my gear now, but if I had the choice to start again I would really have to think hard about what to spend , good luck.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, GeoffH said:

The Sony RX100 III does not do 4K video only Full HD, I'm not sure about the IV.

To be honest I don't shoot much video and photographing birds is one of the few things I still use my DSLR for, the tracking is quicker.'

When I said that the RX100 is the 'best' compact camera I was talking about photos not video sorry.

A more experienced video shooter should probably address the video question...

Yes, I understood that you don't do much video.  The reason I asked was because after reading about that camera, I was not sure if it does 4k.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, stevewool said:

There are some great point and shot cameras and the price can be so expensive, like I have said my Fuji with different lens is so good , but not perfect , now my Nikon with a 35 mm f1.8 will take a great picture in very low light but it’s not a compact , I would not part with my gear now, but if I had the choice to start again I would really have to think hard about what to spend , good luck.

Yes, I was very surprised at the pricing in this category.  With all the improvements, the prices have gone up a lot.

I have a Pentax K10 D DSLR and my favorite lens is a 50 mm 1.8.  Also I have a 40 mm 2.8 pancake lens that is really fun.  I have not been using the Pentax lately as it is big and I think it needs a good cleaning.  

[Viking]

12 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Best price I'm seeing for the RX 100 III is 799 NZD (~527 usd) but that includes a free extra battery.  799 is the suggested retail on the Sony web site.

Panasonic LX100 is a 4/3rds camera and is around 1000 nzd.  Nice camera but the 4/3rds are a larger than I want.

I do like Lumix.  I bought the first 10X optical zoon lumix in around 2007 in Germany, and still have it.  It still takes fairly good pics.  The battery door finally broke off.

Here is an interesting Lumix with 1 inch sensor:

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/photography/digital-cameras/digital-still-cameras/panasonic-dmc-tz110gns-digital-camera/prod145994.html

 

LX 100 II is bigger than a RX100, but it´s not a big camera. Bigger sensor size is Always a positive thing when you want low light performance. I recommend you to go to a good camerastore, where you can see and handle the models you are interested in. I was surprised how small the LX 100 II was the first time I see it. Personally I don´t want my camera to be too small, but it´s a fine balance between too small and too big. Only you can decide what will be best for you but I really recommend that you take a look on the LX 100 II, in real Life, Before you decide it is not for you, since it have a lot (maybe all) of the things you want.

Most of the high end compacts are really good today, so it is more personal preferences what we choose, considering what´s important for us. Size, easy to use, easy to use for people wearing glasses, 4k, focus stacking, ability to get pics from the 4k and so on.

[OnMyWay]

7 hours ago, Viking said:

LX 100 II is bigger than a RX100, but it´s not a big camera. Bigger sensor size is Always a positive thing when you want low light performance. I recommend you to go to a good camerastore, where you can see and handle the models you are interested in. I was surprised how small the LX 100 II was the first time I see it. Personally I don´t want my camera to be too small, but it´s a fine balance between too small and too big. Only you can decide what will be best for you but I really recommend that you take a look on the LX 100 II, in real Life, Before you decide it is not for you, since it have a lot (maybe all) of the things you want.

Most of the high end compacts are really good today, so it is more personal preferences what we choose, considering what´s important for us. Size, easy to use, easy to use for people wearing glasses, 4k, focus stacking, ability to get pics from the 4k and so on.

LX 100 looks great but out of my price range here in NZ.  LX 100 is about 1000 NZD and the II is around 1500 NZD.

[Viking]

12 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

LX 100 looks great but out of my price range here in NZ.  LX 100 is about 1000 NZD and the II is around 1500 NZD.

I use to have the same problem, I want a better camera than I can afford, hahaha.

My last advice still stand, try to see the cameras for real Before you decide. As far as quality of the Pictures goes, I Think you will be happy with any of your candidates in that pricerange.

Good luck