Are compact cameras still a thing??

Xiaomi does a camera kit for their flagship Android that looks a bit like that Samsung camera/phone hybrid thing.

Thing is. When you start putting high-end cameras on or attached to specific phones. You are then at the mercy of the phone. I have old phones that no longer get updates and is essentially useless (funnily enough I actually use it as a back light for film negatives) as a phone and then what... You carry it asa camera and have a separate phone? Bin the decent camera?

By contrast I have a Lumix gf1 (or fg I forget) that's at least 12years old. It's still perfectly functional. How many people have a 12yearold usable android or iPhone?

Any recommendations for a good compact camera with small zoom that I could use with gloves and one handed while paragliding? I see some spectacular views but would like to get some photos! Phone is in use as a flight instrument so not that.

Surely for zoom you just paraglide closer?

Action camera with a wrist mount?

@TomB - might depend on the thickness of the gloves. I've used my TZ40 single handed with thinner MTB gloves on. I used to carry it in a bath mounted feed bag so that I could whip it out while riding. The power button is slightly recessed so I reckon it would be hard to operate it with a thick glove. The shutter button would be fine though.

Top tip: I use Sugru to mould a little dome on top of my shutter button so I can feel it with thicker gloves on.

Chapeau @scotroutes. Many years ago a friend gave me a Victorian cast iron bath as a present. Two of us laboured hard to get it up the stairs to my first floor flat. I suspect you have a mighty ftp and an interesting granny gear on your well equipped steed.

Any recommendations for a good compact camera with small zoom that I could use with gloves and one handed while paragliding? I see some spectacular views but would like to get some photos! Phone is in use as a flight instrument so not that.

I'd suggest a 360 cam, unless the focus of your flying is photography. Switch it on, forget about it, and focus on your flying. You can use timelapse if you want to save on space and battery life, and plug in a battery pack if you're going xc and need it to run all day. It won't get particularly good quality shots, but it'll get shots - no matter whether you're looking in the wrong direction, eating a sandwich, busy on the rear risers keeping your wing open... you get the idea.
Some gratuitous shots from Sunday, using an insta360 X2:

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I was thinking

That the for

@joshvegas Wow! do you ever expose film in that Minolta16? I have one in a box somehere. 40+years ago as an enthusiastic teenager I built a raser blade film cutter jig to split 35mm FP4 out of a bulkloader into the two casettes I had for it. Processed in a dish in the dark as no tank to fit, and made some really low fi grainy pictures. So small a format that such limited enlargement was possible, it really was an almost completely useless photographic tool! but kind of a fun design!

I've a couple of Panasonic TZs sitting in a cupboard somewhere. I enquired about trading the older one in during a GoPro offer, they just gave me a discount code to nigh on the same amount without sending it in.

"just looked at my Lumix, it’s a TZ and I detest it. I haven’t used it in years. The lack of luminosity of the screen makes it unusable on bright snowy days. It’s impossible to navigate the menus without the screen so impossible to use unless you stick your head inside a rucksac or under a coat to set it up for a pic. As for using it with gloves, surgical gloves maybe. "

Got to agree with Edukator here. Got a Lumix for the wife based on popular recommendations, probably on here, and it was a piece of shit. Just loathsome.

I'd really love to get a decent compact if such things exist. Criteria:
Compact
Sticky
Easy to use with gloves on
Easy to use in bright sunlight

Perhaps a zoom
Probably decent resolution.

But all those ****awful unnecessary modes that the damn thing goes into, and then can't be got out of, whilst I'm holding it precariously at arms length half way up/ down a gully can just **** off.

I have a Fuji X30 I put back in its' box with the intension of selling it on as I haven't used it in 18 months. A really nice compact camera that takes great pics and seems to have developed a bit of a cult following, if online SH prices are anything to go by. I just cannot find the external charger having only ever used the USB cable so was hoping it would turn up and I could sell it on. If anyone has a use for it drop me a PM.

We like the Olympus TGx as they are rugged and waterproof and ours have survived years of battering  immersion in sea water and all kinds of other mistreatment.

It even taught me not to take pictures of lions mane jelly fish with my hand under the water.

Then I still have a functioning phone for emergencies.

I took my new iPhone 15 and 2011 Olympus XZ-1 compact to Italy last week but only managed to do one comparison shot.
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Compact set on P mode with -0.3 exposure compensation which is normally pretty good for street photography but you can see how the tower in the background is blown out compared to the iPhone. That said, the foreground IMHO looks more natural on the compact especially the water surface and the poles.

The iPhone wins hands down with hand held nightshots which I wouldn't even bother attempting with the compact.

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@cojacal yeah. Only been test rolls so far you can cut down q patterson tank reel to hold it (and still retain 35mm capacity).

I am in the process of trying to learn printing. I'll show a picture when i do a 16mm.

The idea is to cut 120 sown for some 127 cameras (127 is discontinued) i have and use the offcuts in the minolta or the agfamatic.

I've put my Sony RX100 IV in my car to try and force myself to use it.

Will post up if I get round to taking anything of note

shinton, has the iPhone used HDR to get the tower exposed correctly despite being much brighter than the majority of the scene? I guess a 2011 compact doesn't have HDR.

I'm sure some of the camera blogs will have done a current generation comparison.

@bikesandboots yes the default setting for iPhone is HDR so it always takes a few shots in rapid succession with different exposures and blends them together.

yes the default setting for iPhone is HDR so it always takes a few shots in rapid succession with different exposures and blends them together.

See, this is the crunch. Could you be bothered to take bracketed exposures with the camera and merge them in LR, you'd probably (possibly) get a better finished shot.

It's the fact that the phone has the software to do it's own editing to a greater degree than the camera that adds to the convenience.

Like for like, I doubt the phone could take a better single raw image than the camera. But lack of faff for mostly social media usage gives it the trump card

My Olympus Pen does bracketed exposure and focus too, so pretty easy to achieve the same effect. I use focus stacking quite a bit.

Remember these? APS film, found this one for 99p so using it this week. Had a part-exposed film in it too, so who knows what pics I'll find.

My olympus pen does heehaw other than perform almost perfectly. And squeeze 72 shots out of a 36exp roll.

Half frame? So is normal orientation portrait, you have to hold it vertical for landscape?

Do you know what the best *compact* camera (which is not really mega compact) is the Sony a7c.

Absolutely rammed with features and high end full frame spec.  It's a proper camera that is small for a full frame body.

When I had the rx100 I always ended up using the a7c. There is a nice compact 20-60mm compact kit lens too.

If not that then my Xiaomi 13 Ultra does the job.

The a7c is still fiddly to use but much better than the rx100.

But obviously very pricey.

I'm not a zoom shooter preferring primes anyway. But compacts tend to go down the zoom route.

Half frame? So is normal orientation portrait, you have to hold it vertical for landscape?

Correct. Forever walking round looking like am doing it wrong. You get used to it. The square formats are harder to adjust to you desperately want to rotate to get the framing you want and nothing happens (with the exception of the weird camera i posted earlier in the thread... Rotate that and the shutter speed changes!)

The pen is a great camera, same deal as the trip. It won't let you take a bad exposure, it doesn't take batteries, its fixed focus with a sharp lense. It limits any kind of artistic endeavour other than framing but for 72 exposures you get a lovely set of photos for a weekend away.

I find myself wanting a Fuji X-T5, but can't justify it until I start making use of the cameras I already own

Also want a decent camera phone as the (when I bought it) top end Samsung S22 Ultra is awful. Don't really want to switch to Apple though. Like the look of the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, but it gets a lot of negative comments on the FB page

Suspect that a few of the compacts mentioned eg Sony rx100 IV or a7c will have a setting somewhere to do autoHDR exposures....

But suspect Shinton's older Olympus doesn't.

I can only say that the shots my Canon GX9 mk11 take seem better than my iphone 13 mini...

Panasonic Lumix TZ100 ftw

Just realised I had another comparative picture between 2011 Olympus compact and iPhone 15. I took this sat outside a gallery while Mrs S was looking at some pictures so composition is not what I was interested in. The iPhone picture feels very 'flat' in the background, almost like a painted backdrop on a stage production, but the Olympus has lots of depth as well as warmth. Not sure how much flickr takes out of the original jpegs?

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Thread resurrection!

I'd like to buy a digital compact camera again, as I just can't seem to connect with taking photos on my iPhone 12.  I never have the most up-to-date phone, and I'd prefer a dedicated camera.

I used to have a Canon Powershot G10 and I loved that camera.  Lots of hands-on control, a good-enough optical viewfinder and it was compact enough to take everywhere.  However, I lost it at a friend of my wife's wedding when I was very drunk.  The friend has now died - which is probably what is driving the nostalgia.

After losing the G10, I bought an Olympus PEN E-PL2, which I still have.  I thought I wanted interchangeable lenses, but I ended up only using the kit lens, with a small zoom, or the prime lens with 35mm equivalent.  What I don't like on the camera is a lack of dials / hands-on controls, and the lack of a viewfinder.  I've since sold all the lenses I had for it, and the kit lens is broken (doesn't extend).

So, I'd like to buy a second hand compact camera.  I'd like dials for exposure-compensation, aperture, shutter speed and / or ISO (or some combination of these).  A view finder would be a plus.  I'm prepared to buy an older model, as the purpose is not to get the absolute best image quality, but to enjoy taking pictures.

Models I've looked at

• Leica X1/X2
• Leica D-Lux 7 / Pansonic LUMIX DMC-LX 100
• Fujifilm X100 series
• Canon G1X
• Canon G16 (the last version of the G10)

Any others I should look at?  Ta.

"Thread resurrection! I’d like to buy a digital compact camera again .."

Fixed lens compacts are all compromised... the best is the RX100 v7 which costs 1050 new

For less money you can get a mirrorless compact system camera with an APSC sensor and a couple of kit lenses, with the option to add prime lenses as you go

If budget is really tight and you're looking at second hand then micro 4/3rds are worth a look.

If budget isn't an issue and you're a photography nut then I'd say take a look at the Fujifilm X-T30ii, its a miniature DSLR (mirrorless) with a cult following, and there are plenty of small primes to go with.

After prevaricating for a few years, and wanting a 'premium compact' I've just got a Nikon Z50. With the 16-50 kit-lens it is pretty much compact premium size. Rumours are its due to be replaced this year.

A wealth of lenses from Viltrox, TT Artisans, 7 Artisans, Sigma etc means the photography enthusiast has a great choice of reasonably priced lenses. I cant see the point of a fixed lens compact when the iPhone pro and RX100 exist

For just enjoying taking photos I found the X100 by far the most enjoyable camera to use.  There was just something about the controls and handling of it.

Whereas something like the RX100 was horrible to use, too small and fiddly and not enjoyable at all.

I'd get an X100VI (silver obvs). Not cheap though.

A bit late, but for me I don't like the "finish" of iPhone photos, they look great on the phone but not so impressive off.

I've got a Ricoh GR II, which is a high-end compact, and the quality just blows away an iPhone imo.

Problem is, I can never be bothered carrying it (and the battery life is a joke).

I’ve got a Ricoh GR, a Fuji X100, a Panasonic LX100 and a Fuji X-H1. They’re all great cameras in their own ways and all shoot terrific pictures. I use my iPhone for casual images and video. Outside of the action cams, you can’t beat the iPhone for handheld stabilised video. The images and video don’t bear much scrutiny away from a small screen, but that’s where 99.9% of them are seen nowadays. If I want something better that still fits in my cycling top pocket I’d pick up the Panasonic LX100, the Fuji X-H1 gets used when I can’t be bothered to lug my big camera around. I’ve shot professional images on all of them.

A bit late, but for me I don’t like the “finish” of iPhone photos, they look great on the phone but not so impressive off.

That is the target though.  A tiny lens and a tiny sensor overly boosted by software starts to get a bit obvious when looking at larger images.

I have an RX100 iV which I'm happy with.

I see they are going for £100 more than I paid for mine on eBay these days...

Thanks everyone. Food for thought.

The RX100 is a bit small and lacks controls. I want dials, not touchscreens!

I suppose I could buy another prime lens for my Olympus and rediscover that but, again, it lacks the control dials.

What I’d really like is a Leica Q, but they are £££!

Olympus em5iii or OM5 for more cash. Small with dials and programmable also has viewfinder and LCD. Body is weather sealed but needs pro lenses for full seal.

The RX100 is a bit small and lacks controls. I want dials, not touchscreens!

Mine has two dials - one on the lens and one on the pad on the back. You can configure them to do what you want iirc.

Can't make it any bigger though 🙂

The controls in the rx100 aren’t big. But it is a 2 dial camera. I can note made it do what i fairly quickly. Iso on the big ring at the front, aperture in the back ring. Down press then the back ring dies exposure compensation. It’s got an every ready case which mages it much easier to hang onto

In my 8 by 10 photo book no one ever notices which photos were taken with the rx100, iphone or omd em5 ii. Zoom range is what seperates them