Missus Twrch and I have decided to go low-tech and stop using smartphones. Easy enough to get off the apps but the iphone camera is the sticking point – she takes a lot of photos of the kids and the iphone 10 takes great photos. The portrait mode makes even our snotty toddler look like a toddler-model.

She’s looking at a Sony DSC-WX350 to replace it. Does anyone have this camera or recommend another? Only for photos of the kids, indoors and outdoors, and maybe a nice mountain view if we ever get out and about again.

Don’t have, but as a photographer I can assure you you’ll get much much much nicer pics from that camera than the phone, mostly because of the amount of glass on it. (Also the zoom will be v handy I’m sure)

Ive got this one, really nice small camera with a huge lens to shoot everything.
https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/cyber-shot-compact-cameras/dsc-hx99

For general snaps i wouldn’t say its better than the current iPhone but for holidays its really flexible with the lens.

Missus Twrch and I have decided to go low-tech and stop using smartphones.

Are you stopping carrying any phone then and replacing with a camera ?

Keep the phone but just don’t use it’s non-phone/camera features?

Why the desperation to get away from smartphones?

I’d like a wee handheld too, tempted by Sony HX60 at 200 quid

flannol

Don’t have, but as a photographer I can assure you you’ll get much much much nicer pics from that camera than the phone, mostly because of the amount of glass on it.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a massive advocate of a nice compact camera or something a bit more pro but I am not sure this is true, to a certain extent.

The phones might not have massive lenses and huge apertures but they make up for it with a heap of computing power that the cameras cannot match.
While the compact is taking a picture, the phone has taken 10 and has stitched them together to capture detail in the entire image.

It uses its vast knowledge/database of what it ‘sees’ and tweaks accordingly.

I used to carry my phone with me as well as my compact and sometimes my DSLR. But for family stuff, I hardly ever bother with the cameras now and just use my phone (Pixel 4a). I’ve had it since last September and it still take pictures that makes me think “how the bloody hell has it done that”.

Or have newer compact cameras been updated with all of the software tech from phones and a load of computing power to utilise it? It could be that my compact cameras are too old to be rightfully compared against modern phones….?

Go fixed lens for an authentic photography experience. Not cheap but you can play at being Henri Cartier -Bresson.

https://m.dpreview.com/reviews/buying-guide-best-fixed-prime-lens-cameras

Fixed lens Ricoh gr, one of the current generation of larger sensor one. Used they went cheap

Sony rx100. Loads of models but maybe the Mark 3. f1.8 and good means photos without flash are possible

I’m with @Stumpy01 on this.

I bought a Panasonic Lumix TZ-95 as I was off to Morocco and thought the scenery justified the purchase. Having played around with it before I went the pictures were nothing special compared to my Huawei. Perhaps If I wanted to play around with all the settings and pack a tripod it would be better… If you just want to “point n’ shoot” and have a respectable image then the added faff of a bulkier camera, additional charging, slower “time to be ready”, tiddly screen and getting the pics off so you can share them just doesn’t appeal.

I’ve just taken delivery of an S21 Ultra so I don’t even miss the zoom lens of a compact.

I’m also a what’s the point.

Unless you are planning having no phone you are just replacing one technology with another.

If I want to take special photos I take a 35mm and take time to actually try to take photos*

*as in treasured memories, I’m a shite photographer.

The phones might not have massive lenses and huge apertures but they make up for it with a heap of computing power…

+1 to this.

Modern phones make it very easy for the average person to take great looking photos. You could pay a lot of money for a camera and be quite disappointed in the results. Optical quality is not everything.

I’m completely out of the loop with modern camera tech and interested in the answers myself, because I’d like something which strikes a balance between the quality of a good camera and the convenience of a phone. My Canon 7d rarely gets used any more, and I can’t remember when the last time the Panasonic Lumix made it out of the house, because the post-processing is so much effort and the end results can be just as striking from a phone.

I can’t offer any suggestions but the first question is what she wants out of it’ as that’s going to influence the choice? Like bikes, they all have the same function but offer a variety of characteristics.

That should say good sensor

stumpy01 and butcher are correct – while “real” cameras have superior hardware, a lot of very smart people spend their lives working on the software processing on phone cameras. We have some pictures of our kids taken indoors that came out just incredible, using the iPhone, that I think would otherwise have needed some serious photography hardware.

And as for the questions about phone usage – yes, this is to replace the phone. Partially because the phone in question is a work phone, and also because we have both been on a mission to eliminate technology that we think has an overall detrimental effect on our lives. My wife does carry a non-smart phone most of the time. Yes, she could buy a smartphone with a nice camera and try to make it “dumb”, but the temptation to start browsing, etc, will always be there, and that’s what we don’t want.

I suppose the question really is – “Is there a compact camera with a (software-enhanced) portrait mode anywhere near good as the iPhone?”

Thanks for all the input so far!

We have a sony HX90. Zoom is good and the real advantage is the amazing pop up viewfinder. We have brilliant photos taken in good light, but be aware the Sony cheaper compact zoom cameras are lousy in poor light,for macro and for the type of portrait mode that makes your photos of kids look good. Check the max aperture. We do both use compact cameras a lot but I do usually do a bit of light photoshop enhancement.

The Sony rx100mk3 has a very limited zoom. Newest one is better but many ££

we have both been on a mission to eliminate technology that we think has an overall detrimental effect on our lives. My wife does carry a non-smart phone most of the time. Yes, she could buy a smartphone with a nice camera and try to make it “dumb”, but the temptation to start browsing, etc, will always be there, and that’s what we don’t want.

So you’re still letting technology dictate to you, instead of deciding for yourselves how you use the technology – it’s quite possible to remove most of the apps that are the most iniquitous, like social media.
This photo I took of my patio one night, hoping to catch one of the hedgehogs, but I was rather impressed by the low-light capabilities – this was 11.30 at night…
I challenge you to take photos like this with most compact cameras. Oh, it was taken with my iPhone 11 Pro Max

As above, I’d suggest uninstall the apps except for the photo editing ones.

Terminate the network/data contract.

Hey presto – a compact smart camera.

If that doesn’t satisfy lo-tech aspirations worth the extra bulk and weight then buy a minty used Fuji X100F (fun to use, nice pics) or a dinky compact zoom such as a Sony RX100 (not so fun to use) or Lumix LX100 (more fun to use)

https://www.sharkandpalm.com/camera-reviews/fuji-x100f-mirrorless-camera-review

A cheap camera won’t be any better than a Phone but it won’t really be any worse. Both will take adequate photos. To get photos to a higher level you would need to go to a much better camera and spend many £100s on camera/lens.
I have a decent Sony DSLR with a decent f1.8 lens and yes it takes better photos that my iPhone but in good light and for family, holiday photos the iPhone is almost as good and certainly good enough.

I would look for a used Fuji X10/X20 and they are nice to use.

As for getting rid of technology, nice idea if you can do it but I removing a smartphone just means;
Buying a camera
Buying a GPS device
Buying an MP3 player
etc, etc,

So basically ending up with a lot more technology rather than less.

One of the bog advantages of the camera being on your phone is that you always have it there, that for me means I take more pics. Separate devises mean I wouldn’t always have the camera.

Like many have suggested, I’d get a phone with a great camera and ditch the apps you don’t like/want and downgrade your contract to have little or no data allowance.

Hi All,

Mrs. Twrch here.

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions re: phones and technology usage and behaviour. Sounds like everyone has a lot of interesting ideas on the topic.

In regards to the camera vs phone question, from what I can see, you are mostly saying that compact cameras aren’t as good at taking point-and-shoot indoor photos as an iphone. Perhaps to add that a camera will take “better” photos which will need me to know how to use photo editing software or other photography skills to take similar looking photos.

If I got that wrong, or if anyone has any camera suggestions (thanks for suggestions P7eaven), please do let me know. Thanks again for your interesting input.

In regards to the camera vs phone question, from what I can see, you are mostly saying that compact cameras aren’t as good at taking point-and-shoot indoor photos as an iphone.

That’s somewhat of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question. I have an (older) iphone SE and also a ‘quality’ compact zoom (Pentax MX-1)

I’d say daylight or well-lit pics (no large prints) handheld shots of motionless/near-motionless subjects they’d appear to be somewhat comparable viewed on screen.

But bring low-light into the equation then the larger lens, the higher ISO performance, the better-quality programmable flash etc can put a quality compact camera some way ahead of the game.

Perhaps to add that a camera will take “better” photos which will need me to know how to use photo editing software or other photography skills to take similar looking photos.

Not necessarily – most modern compacts have intelligent auto settings, HDR, etc. But they won’t be as ‘smart’ as a modern smartphone which can almost remove the operator skill factor. My iphone is still my go to for simple snaps viewed online/on-screen, simply for timesaving and/or laziness and the quality is not bad at all for a snapshot. I use a quality compact for quality reference pics/to make art, low light landscape pics, friend’s weddings etc and/or small prints, and then import the pics into my tablet and use Snapseed app to tweak.

I’ll use Photoshop/Lightroom/PC etc only for pro work.

I wish the camera manufacturers could catch up with the phone manufactures software, if you could get something like GCAM processing capabilities but GR3 hardware, I would be all over it

For most people for point and shoot, a current flagship phone is great, especially for just viewing on the phone and online

Quick question.

On the Cairngorm plateau, with such a large foreground ie the plateau, and sky when the clouds are right, the likes of the Cairn Toul/Devils point/Angels peak just become a bit flat on a phone cam, and cropping means the image becomes a little grainy.

Would a decent wee camera not help with this? I’ve always thought it would, but never really tried it. Similarly that lovely ‘layering’ you get with evening light, when 6 or 7 lines of summits take on that lovely blue hue, mobile can never get that.

(software-enhanced) portrait mode anywhere near good as the iPhone?”

An iPhone with the sim removed?

I went for a secondhand Ricoh CX3 from Bez on here to have with me when riding, but actually use it far more for general photos/surveys….anything really short of needing a full slr. Much nicer to use than a phone and far more control.

Check Bez’s ads on here for clearouts – compacts, micro 4/3s etc.

dumb question but why not just get a gopro? I have one and its so small you can just throw it in your pocket and forget about it. when its not attached to my bike I just use it as a normal camera. works pretty well as just a point and shoot due to the massive field of view and you can get an even bigger one if you wish. My biggest worry with cameras is how fragile they are so you cant just chuck it in your bag unlike a gopro.

I’d just get an iPhone and use the parental controls to lock away any unwanted apps/temptations. That way you’ve got a basic phone with a great camera.
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201304

Quick question.

On the Cairngorm plateau, with such a large foreground ie the plateau, and sky when the clouds are right, the likes of the Cairn Toul/Devils point/Angels peak just become a bit flat on a phone cam, and cropping means the image becomes a little grainy.

Would a decent wee camera not help with this? I’ve always thought it would, but never really tried it. Similarly that lovely ‘layering’ you get with evening light, when 6 or 7 lines of summits take on that lovely blue hue, mobile can never get that.

Yes, simply. Modern phone cameras and their software are very very good – but you can’t get away from physics. 20mp crammed into a tiny phone camera sensor the size of your little fingernail, vs the same in even a micro 4/3rds sensor (about the size of a postage stamp) means there’s a huge difference in dynamic range and sharpness. And of course you’ll have a proper optical zoom, rather than a sperate 8pm sensor for a 3x zoom (at best), and proper aperture/shutter speed controls, and so on. Oh and proper Bokeh, not this fake crap.

I’ve picked up an 8 year Olympus M43 camera and 2 lenses and it’s immediately noticeable. MP count isn’t important either, esp for a full frame camera (see the original Canon 5D from 2005).

Highly recommend M43 for this, the plus side being very good quality, fast lenses are dirt cheap. MPB photographic is my normal place for used stuff that’s basically like new.

OMD-E-M1 for £289 (M5 or M10 are similar and can be cheaper)
45mm f1.8 lens for £154 (35mm eq 90mm)
14-42mm f3.5-5.6 lens for £129 (35mm eq 28-82mm)

As someone who uses ‘full frame’ cameras, and lenses costing even more than an iPhone (!); I personally wouldn’t bother with anything below something like the Sony RX100 models, if I did want something ‘compact’. Because as others have already said; many ‘phones these days are very capable indeed, as ‘snappy’ cameras. If you’re going to carry a ‘phone around with you anyway, why have another thing to carry as well? A ‘cheap’ compact won’t offer any significant advantages over a ‘phone; the next real step up is to something with a larger sensor, such as the Sony RX100 range. You already have the tool you need, so perhaps it would be better to address the issues you have with screens instead?

Buy a used sony rx100 version 111

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-mirrorless-cameras/used-sony-mirrorless-cameras/sony-cyber-shot-rx100-mark-iii/

Loads of reviews but here is one with pics of kids

https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/digital-cameras/compact-digital-cameras/1400721/sony-rx100-iii-review/page/0/1

Newer versions will cost more but focus better on moving kids

I’m firmly on the smartphones are now better camp.

I’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 11 Pro, and the camera is simply outstanding. My m43 Olympus om-d is now retired. I never really got on with it anyway as it was too inferior in image quality to my canon 40D with f4 L series zoom (ok no surprise). But the Olympus never gave me the contrast and colour that the big canon did. Big canon was too big so didn’t come out often. And took hard work to get good results.

Now the iPhone just does it. It pulls out colour and contrast on par with the big canon with L series glass. Portrait mode actually captures that bokeh look very well 9 times out of ten. It exposes correctly in bizarre bright/dark scenes that I never could with the dslr. And I always have it so I’ve caught fantastic pictures and videos of my daughter.

Something to consider is that phones are absolutely horrible to use. I go out every day to take photos for my “365 project” and I take an iphone and a Ricoh GRiii. I use the iPhone if I want to be discrete but otherwise I use the GRiii. It’s a better experience and the photos are noticeably better. The phone IS phenomenal at doing what it does, and I firmly believe in the future of computational photography, but it’s not there yet.

I’ve recently upgraded to an iPhone 11 Pro, and the camera is simply outstanding.

Agreed.

Lass atop Sgor Gaoith asked if I’d take a pic of her, it was incredible, wide angle was unreal, and do sharp, so good I asked what phone it was.

Interesting – it looks like the answer really is “just buy an iPhone (or other premium phone) and don’t use the phone”. Seems an expensive way to do things, as the camera systems on the lower-range iPhones (or other phones) really don’t perform as well. (As noted, the wife’s current iPhone is actually her work phone – she doesn’t want to carry it around all the time, nor can she disable everything else for obvious reasons, and is also aware they may decide one day to stop issuing nice iPhones).

I wonder if there is a gap in the market for such a device anyway – you really would have to be someone deliberately avoiding a smartphone to want such a thing.

As for avoiding a smartphone – it’s a personal choice, but I personally went through all the stages including “hide everything on your home screen and remove all apps”, and still found I couldn’t stop myself from wasting too much time on it. I much prefer life without it, so far, but then again, that’s just me. I also already own a dedicated camera, the RX100, which I love. I also recently decided to get rid of my bike GPS, but again, that’s a personal choice.

Do Apple phones do work and home persona?

Many Android phones do this as a profile. So the home profile can be set to show the apps you use personally and hide notifications and apps that are work only.

The Google Pixel 4a is currently on sale for £250. The camera is supposed to be very good.

The modern way to go seems to be to dump as many of the apps as possible but keep a few.  Sometimes it is useful to be able to pay for something with your phone or download that parking app when you are out of change.  Just get rid of all the time wasters and keep the good stuff.

On cameras I carry a Canon G7X for just that reason whenever I’m out riding but most of the time iPhones are just as good.  It tends to win in woods or the such like where there is complicated light or with things moving more quickly but in good light unless I’ve taken time to really set stuff up and I’m looking at something that I will look at rather than just glance at then they aren’t much better any more