Best Point & Shoot that will fit in a pocket?

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jpimntl

Impossible is Nothing. Just Do It
Hello,

I'm looking for a great small camera.

I've been looking at:
Canon PowerShot S110
Panasonic DMC-LX7
Sony Cyber-shot RX100, which is a little steep on price.

I basically want a point and shoot to have with me every day. Something to shoot street, meetings, and whatever else that steps in my way. Which one would You choose? or any new recommendation?

Best,
Jin
 
Jul 14, 2012
910
7
The Sony - tiny (exactly the same size as the Canon S95, which should in turn be the same size as the S110), but with a sensor that provides near-APS-C quality, including low light performance. By far the best point-and-shoot I've ever used and as far as I know it's still without a serious rival. (I've not used one, but I assume the Sony RX-1, with its full-frame sensor, is much better still, but to me $2800 seems a bit much for a camera with a non-interchangeable prime lens.)
 
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jpimntl

Impossible is Nothing. Just Do It
sdsr said:
The Sony - tiny (exactly the same size as the Canon S95, which should in turn be the same size as the S110), but with a sensor that provides near-APS-C quality, including low light performance. By far the best point-and-shoot I've ever used and as far as I know it's still without a serious rival. (I've not used one, but I assume the Sony RX-1, with its full-frame sensor, is much better still, but to me $2800 seems a bit much for a camera with a non-interchangeable prime lens.)

That RX-1 is quite impressive. Pocket monster.
 
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Aug 28, 2012
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I have the RX100 and recommend it as the take everywhere option you are seeking. Probably a bit unkind to call it a point and shoot, more of a compact with enough configurability for the needs of most enthusiasts. Worth the rather hefty price imo. If you're like me and shoot with a decent dslr most of the time you probably won't be prepared to compromise too much on image quality just for the convenience of having a pocketable camera.
 
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Nov 17, 2011
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jpimntl said:
sdsr said:
The Sony - tiny (exactly the same size as the Canon S95, which should in turn be the same size as the S110), but with a sensor that provides near-APS-C quality, including low light performance. By far the best point-and-shoot I've ever used and as far as I know it's still without a serious rival. (I've not used one, but I assume the Sony RX-1, with its full-frame sensor, is much better still, but to me $2800 seems a bit much for a camera with a non-interchangeable prime lens.)

That RX-1 is quite impressive. Pocket monster.

It's very nice to shoot with and I enjoy it very much(see pic below).

@ Op - You want want to try Fuji X100s. IQ is very good.
 

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tapanit

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CR Pro
Jul 17, 2012
141
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I'm going to get a Ricoh GR as soon as it hits the shops:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/Ricoh/compacts/ricoh_gr

Now I'm using Ricoh GRD 3, and the only complaint I have with it is poor high ISO performance of the small sensor. The new GR promises to fix that. An obvious alternative is Nikon Coolpix A, with very similar specs (a bit thicker, very different user interface - I love Ricoh's UI).
 
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Dylan777 said:
It's very nice to shoot with and I enjoy it very much(see pic below).

@ Op - You want want to try Fuji X100s. IQ is very good.

Dylan777 - does that mean your wife eventually gave you your RX 1 back, or did you have to go out and buy a second? ;D

I agree with the other posters who recommend the Sony. If I were buying one today I would buy the RX 100. I would love the RX 1, but I have other, more important things on the shopping list.
 
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pwp

Oct 25, 2010
2,530
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This question is one of the old chestnuts. But there are always new answers as it's a rapidly evolving area.

Not quite pocket sized, but I had a Canon G15 bought after reading a number of glowing reviews. My style of photography is very much about the moment, and the G15, while competent delivered a moment just after the moment I chose. It's called lag. This will apply to most of the pocket compacts, so it's something to be aware of so as not to be disappointed with results.

My other gripe with the G15 which I believe shares its sensor with the S100 & S110 was the dynamic range. When you're used to FF DR, the easily blown highlights and blocked up shadows sucked a bit of the joy out of the experience. This is no fault of the camera, it is all to do with my unreasonable expectations. I no longer own the G15.

So I concur with others and would look to the Sony RX100. There are reviews all over the web, mostly extremely positive. A useful, independent mirrorless/compact destination is the refreshingly entertaining and informative Steve Huff. Take a look. http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/

-PW
 
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MARKOE PHOTOE

Photography is a love affair with life.
RX100 of the three selected is by far superior in IQ to at least the S110 in my experience. Have not used the LX7 but from I've heard from another user its not that good in low light.

The S110 is not bad at all but not as good in low light and color rendition than the RX100. I do however like the smaller size of the S110. While the body of both the RX100 and the S110 are very similar the lens of the RX100 even while closed sticks out about 1/4".
 
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Nov 17, 2011
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expatinasia said:
Dylan777 said:
It's very nice to shoot with and I enjoy it very much(see pic below).

@ Op - You want want to try Fuji X100s. IQ is very good.

Dylan777 - does that mean your wife eventually gave you your RX 1 back, or did you have to go out and buy a second? ;D

I agree with the other posters who recommend the Sony. If I were buying one today I would buy the RX 100. I would love the RX 1, but I have other, more important things on the shopping list.

@ expatinasia - I went out and bought 2 more RX1, one for home and one for work :p.........I'm just kidding ;D ;D ;D

My next trip to Hong Kong & China is end of this May. I might get X100s as my travel camera.
 
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pwp said:
My style of photography is very much about the moment, and the G15, while competent delivered a moment just after the moment I chose. It's called lag. This will apply to most of the pocket compacts, so it's something to be aware of so as not to be disappointed with results.

Wonderfully well said!! I've learned to push the button a half-second before "the moment" with my S95.

Don't leave home without it.
 
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jpimntl said:
Hello,

I'm looking for a great small camera.

I've been looking at:
Canon PowerShot S110
Panasonic DMC-LX7
Sony Cyber-shot RX100, which is a little steep on price.

I basically want a point and shoot to have with me every day. Something to shoot street, meetings, and whatever else that steps in my way. Which one would You choose? or any new recommendation?

Best,
Jin

I was searching for the same thing, and bought/returned/sold few cameras and these are my experiences:

G15 - as one of the posters said, too slow. Returned
LX7 - very good lens, fast autofocus, worse sensor than any other here, hence bad,bad,bad high ISO. Sold it in the first week of ownership, would be great if you take pics mostly outside in good light, doesn't work well inside.
Nikon J1 with 10mm and 10-30 - Not too bad, but sorta straddling two worlds, compacts and mirrorless. Compact with 10mm pancake (27 mm eq) and pics are good, but with kit lens, ISO is not great. Better than other compacts, comparable to RX100, at equivalent ISO, but lens is slower, so you're higher up the ISO most of the time. Sold it, but in retrospect, not remotely as bad as G15 and LX7.
RX100 - returned it, I didn't think colors/IQ were as good. Now, looking back at the pictures, not quite sure if I was right. At worse, it's the same IQ like other compacts, i.e. lesser dynamic range, washed out colors at higher ISO. But, there are number of pictures that are great, sort of stuff that I would get at APS-C, rich colors, clean and smooth. Perhaps I judged little Sony harsher than anything else because of the price ($700 +13% tax in Canada), I am price sensitive.

What I ended up is Sony NEX 3N with little power zoom 16-50. A touch slow focus, but at beast it compares with my SLR (6D). At worst, well, you throw a lot of pics because they're not in focus. Surprisingly compact, but it's not true compact, more of a jacket pocket, or small belt bag type of camera.

Just couple of days ago I also got Fuji X10 used for $300 including leather case. Now, I actually had new and returned it, it wasn't worth to me $600+tax. But, it kept gnawing at me, as some of the pictures have just a magical colors, and EXR mode and some of the advanced modes make IQ very, very good, like Sony rx100 at its best. Now this is in 6MP mode most of the time. Focus is quite fast, and build is superb, it's very satisfying camera to operate. High ISO is the best in the compact world, short of Sony RX100, and it may be equal or better than Sony in 6MP EXR mode (but you have only 6MP vs 20MP in that mode!). I have no justification for this camera, but I couldn't resist, it's that interesting. Not really pocket camera either.

Hope this helps.
 
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