Hello all, the Mrs is after a compact camera that she can take to kiddies shows and stuff. Any one with recent purchases have something to reccomend?

Ta.

<cough> 🙂

Someones got to have a one, or are we all now go-pro’ing at the schools version of Joseph and sheep?

I just bought a Sony RX100 mk1 from a STWer. It’s great unless for candid action portraits . Also recommend Fuji X10 or Pentax MX-1 for near as good IQ, classy retro looks and arguably easier operation.

Lumix TZ range also good if you want superzooooom but only need IQ enough for small prints or web.

Problem with compacts is always shutter lag, candid portraits are so often missed shots/expressions.

Replies are probably thin on the ground as this very same question was asked yesterday…

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/up-to-200-to-spend-on-a-compact-camera

FWIW, I’ve got a Nikon P300 (which has since been updated). It’s a nice camera, well built and takes decent pics, but I am not sure I can recommed it based on a few niggles.

There is what I think is a software fault, in that if you choose manual focus point selection, it uses that point to spot meter the scene, even if the metering is set to use the whole scene. Bloody annoying if your focus point is particularly light or dark, but can be got around with exposure compensation.
Focussing in darker conditions can be hit and miss, as well as it sometimes failing to accurately focus, even though on the screen you can see it pass the correct focus position on it’s way to either saying it can’t focus or thinking it has focussed, when it’s actually miles out. Sometimes finding a hard edge for it to focus on fixes it before reframing, but not always.

So, if you look at Nikons, then check the focussing and metering before buying.
I personally would be looking at a Panasonic Lumix of some description.

For £200, you could probably get into the bottom end of the compact system cameras which might give you more options for lens upgrades in the future?

200 squid will get you a pretty awesome compact.

I just got a samsung wb30f. Nowhere near top of the range but compared to the Olympus i paid 150 quid for a few years back it’s almost comical how much more fully-featured it is, and comes with a fairly solid optical zoom. As a non-serious photographer it’s probably better than i’d need!

cheers 🙂

😳
😳

to the back of the class i go… thanks Stumpy,

If you can find one, the Canon S110. The newer version though is even better but out of the price range I think.