What compact camera should I buy?
Ask most professional photographer what is the most frequent questioned asked of them by their customers, friends and family and I can guarantee it is something along these lines:
“I am going on holiday next week and can you recommend a camera” From this I presume you are interested in progressing from a camera phone, so I need to ask a series of questions to be sure the advice I give you will be useful:
How much experience of photography do you have?
What do you enjoy photographing?
Do you own a film SLR or DSLR already, if so what is the brand and what lenses do you have?
If you are considering a new compact camera do you have a budget mind?
Are you happy with a fixed lens camera, or do you need to change lenses?
Do you have any experience taking photographs in RAW format?
Can you process digital photographs in Photoshop or Lightroom?
Will you be using the camera to record video too?
Once I have a few of these questions answered, I can recommend that your should buy a small compact camera with either a fixed focal length lens - maybe, 28mm or 35mm, or something with a built in zoom lens.
You may have used an SLR camera with a number of lenses in the past, but you are becoming tired of lugging around a camera bag full of kit. However, you realise that camera phones do have their limitations, hence your interest in a conventional camera..
I do spend far too much time watching video reviews of cameras and lenses on Youtube, so I guess I my buying advice is normally fairly up to date and here are my recommendations for compact camera based on your budget and I will try and update this list as specifications change. Prices shown are from WEX and are new retail, including VAT. As mentioned, buying second hand from a good quality camera store will save you money.
£100 - £250
Find a local camera store and see if they have any second hand digital cameras for sale within this price range. They will be quite old, but probably ideal as a starter camera.
£250 - £500
My advice would still to look at second hand, but you will now have a couple of really good cameras to consider.
Panasonic Lumix TZ99 Digital Camera - £468.00
Sony Vlog ZV-1F Digital Camera- £499
£500 - £1000
At this price point, you are now entering cameras that a professional would be happy to include in their bag and I own one of these:
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera - £849
Ricoh GR IIIx Digital Camera - £999 *
I have owned many versions of the GR and, in my opinion, the GR IIIX is the one of the greatest pocket cameras. It takes time to master all the menu settings, but it is camera that goes everywhere with me and the RAW digital files process beautifully. Read the reviews and try one - you won’t be disappointed!
£1000 - £1500
If you have the budget for a compact camera in this price bracket, then you are serious about your photography and probably know about these cameras too:
Leica D-Lux 8 Digital Camera - £1450
Fujifilm X100VI Digital Camera - £1599 (slightly over budget, but worth it)
There is a saying: ‘The best camera is the one that you have with you’ This is true, but many of us tend to just carry a camera phone. In my opinion, a good quality compact camera will provide you with a far more satisfying experience and better quality photographs. Many years ago, I was climbing a mountain in Chamonix. I turned to speak to my colleague and suddenly noticed a red paraglider flying past. I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out my Fuji X100, glanced to confirm the aperture and shutter speed and fired off this shot. It remains a firm favourite to this day.
© Charles Ward Photography: Photograph taken with a Fuji X100 in 2014
