Best Low Light Pocket Size Camera

[bglanzbe]

What are thoughts from the group on the Canon S110 in low light conditions? I had the S95 and found it to not be very good in those conditions.

Any thoughts on other compact cameras (that can fit comfortably in your pocket) that perform very well in low light?

 

[neuroanatomist]

IMO, anything larger than the S95/100/110 isn't really pocketable. IMO, cargo pants and coat pockets don't count. Best would be the Sony RX100 - biggest sensor in a truly pocketable camera, and the lens is f/1.8 on the wide end.

 

[bglanzbe]

What are your thoughts on low light capability for the S110?

 

[Ewinter]

+1 on the sony's having very good low light. Though the rx100 doesn't handle flare or chroma particularly well

 

[Dianoda]

RX100 is pretty much it. There isn't really anything else out there that can be called pocketable and has as large a sensor and a lens that collects as much light. I own one, IQ-wise, compared to an SLR it's just passable, but it circles its pocket-sized compact competition several times over.

 

[alexanderferdinand]

RX100. Best compromise from size, weight and most important: image quality. I simply love this little tool. And has also a certain stealthquality....

 

[rpt]

RX100. Best compromise from size, weight and most important: image quality. I simply love this little tool. And has also a certain stealthquality....

So many people like the RX100! sanj is going to be a happy person!

 

[bglanzbe]

Thanks everyone. Doesn't seem like any thoughts on the S110?

 

[neuroanatomist]

Thanks everyone. Doesn't seem like any thoughts on the S110?

The S110 seems very nice, easier on the wallet than the RX100 but when talking about low light, you need high ISO and the much bigger sensor of the RX100 is a substantial advantage.

Actually, if you're considering the S110, I'd say save money and get the S100. The S100 was a big jump from the S95 (CMOS vs. CCD, wider and longer lens), while the S110 isn't a big jump at all (same sensor and lens, ergonomically a step back, IMO - don't know why they dropped the little front grip, but I'd get the Franiac mod for the S110).

I have the S95 and S100, if I had to replace the S100 it'd be the RX100.

 

[HawkeyeOC]

I have an S100 and I have this camera out in low light situations a lot. For a pocket sized camera, its phenomenal. It was the first that series with Digic5. The S95 has Digic4 which I believe makes all the difference. There is far less noise in low light situations,
The S100 (GPS) and S110 (WiFi) should be the same with just a few differences in features. I was seeing the S100 available at Christmas in the $250 range which to me is a bargain for a P&S with some manual features.

With our prior SD990, Disneyland after dark with it was useless. This is much better!

 

[CarlTN]

I had a Nikon P7000 for a year, it worked pretty well. Didn't have much noise on a few night exposures I did at ISO 400 for 1 minute. The Panasonic LX-7, with it's f/1.4 lens at the wide end, also looks interesting. For the money though, one of their compact micro 4/3 would probably be a better camera overall...especially mated with a fast lens. But then I guess that's getting not very compact. The Pentax K-01 with it's 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens, also looks like a fantastic camera for the money (around $350 to $400 last I checked). It has been much maligned as a camera, though (and its kit zoom lenses do appear to be of very low quality)...but the 40mm pancake looks to be almost highend. It has the same Sony sensor as the D7000 and some of the Sony DSLR's and Nex's. The RAW samples and tests I have seen online have very low noise, great color, and slightly softer detail than the D7000, which leads me to think Pentax's in-camera RAW processing has NR that can't be bypassed (sort of like Nikon used to do). I can only guess. I would be happy to own it anyway, I think...but I've gone in other directions.

 

[neuroanatomist]

I have an S100... It was the first that series with Digic5. The S95 has Digic4 which I believe makes all the difference. There is far less noise in low light situations,

That's primarily the CMOS sensor in the S100, vs. the CCD sensor in the S95.

RE the LX7 or m4/3, those aren't pocketable, IMO. If I want good low light performance and I'm taking something that won't fit in my pocket, that something might as well be the 1D X with the 35/1.4L.

 

[albron00]

I've just got RX100 a day ago. Haven't had a chance to test it well, but it is pretty capable pocketable camera

 

[Eli]

The Sony rx100 is awesome! I've had mine for a week or so now and love it, truly pocketable, and the IQ is excellent! Low ISO IQ is so good it rivals my partners eos m.. And low light performance is great for a camera this size, 6400 is usable with NR and if you're posting low res images for the web, 3200 is usable with a bit of NR, and 1600 is good.
The only bad thing is the variable aperture lens, f4.9 @ 100mm :/

 

[CarlTN]

The LX7 is quite pocketable, and is a bit smaller than a m 4/3 with a "fast" lens on it. It mostly depends on how small your pockets are, I suppose. If you want to talk ISO, the Pentax with it's 1.5x crop sensor, can do ISO 25,600, with noise that can be very workable in post, with decent color. It can fit in a large coat pocket. If you're female or have really small or tight pockets, then I would just suggest a small smartphone or something (smaller than a Samsung Galaxy, etc.).

The P7000 was small enough to be pocketable, but I usually just hung it around my neck. It's about half the size and weight of the G1x, and about 75% of the size and weight of the G12. The P7100 was the "updated" version, but it could only go up to ISO 6400 (dimensions and weight about the same as the P7000). The P7000 could do ISO 12,800, but at a very reduced resolution, and only in jpeg mode. That said...considering the sensor's size, those images were certainly usable for web-sized format (the color wasn't great, though). The P7700, looks like it might be the same size as the G1x. Those two are niche cameras, in my opinion, meant to be worn around the neck.

I mean, the ultimate compact camera for low light street photography, would be a Leica with a noctilux lens. Hardly pocketable, but smaller and lighter than a DSLR. Of course, it would be cheaper to just hire several top class photographers and let them do the work for you.