A new compact to carry, always

[Emdiesse]

I am trying to find a new compact that I can just carry everywhere I go. I have a Canon 550d DSLR but I don't fancy taking that on bushcraft outings. I just want a small compact that would have a decent battery life, decent zoom, decent macro, good low light performance that I can use to take photos of camp, my doings whilst bushcrafting, flora, fauna and fungi I see, want to identify, etc and generally any breathtaking views I see when packing and lugging around a DSLR is not the most feasible thing to do.

Since it's just a carry everywhere camera I expect it could get beat up a little so I am not looking to spend a fortune I think my maximum budget is going to be set at £150

I was looking at the Canon Ixus 115 HS but it doesn't really satisfy the 'decent zoom' requirement very well.
Then I started noticing the Panasonic Lumix FS35 (which has 8x zoom, much better than the 4x of the ixus 115) but apparently CMOS is a better sensor and uses less power so you end up with a better battery life?
Then there is the Nikon Coolpix S9100 which has an awesome zoom at 18x and seems to have pretty cracking reviews saying it is as good as much more expensive cameras, but lacks the manual control and the maximum exposure is only 1s
Then I started thinking manual control would be nice so looked at the Canon Powershot SX220 HS and that also has a much longer exposure but it's starting to get way out of what I intended to pay for a compact camera

Then I started thinking, hang on! All I want is a semi decent, lightweight, small camera that I can take out on every little excursion I do where I would prefer not to take the DSLR!

So I am back to square one again!

So <£150, small, lightweight, decent zoom, macro and low light performance. (Manual controls would be nice but definitely not a criteria); A good all rounder from bushcraft to just having on me at all times so I never miss anything.

The reason I post is because these compact cameras seem to change every 6 months so my searches where a little outdated now, I think!

Thanks,
Matt

 

[markphelan]

My brother has a Panasonic Lumix TZ10, I was really impressed with it. Takes great pictures for a compact and has good zoom. His model has a GPS in it too so it tags all the locations you took photos which is pretty neat.

 

[sandbender]

I have a no longer in production Olympus 770sw, one of their tough waterproof compacts, it does what it says, its tough, its waterproof, I canoe with it, I sleep rough with it, it is never off my belt. I think the current range start at around £150.

Well worth a look.

 

[solaris0121]

I have a nice Olympus G10 which I darent take out with because of the knocks and scrapes it might get into.... so....

I purchased an Olympus u-Tough 3000 - waterproof to 5m if it goes in the sink, works down to -10 c and alleged to handle a 1.5m straight drop onto a rock. I got it for wild camping/trekking so I dont have to panic when it starts to rain - just stays in it's little knitted iPhone case with a carabiner clip. Does video too and it's bright red so i dont kneel or stand on it. £85 off Ebay.

 

[Emdiesse]

Cheers for the suggestions

I guess I am after more general camera rather than any special features like GPS, toughness or waterproofness.

Although, you mentioned the TZ10 mark, I notice there is a TZ18 on amazon at £160 which maybe is worth the extra £50 to get 4x more zoom (16x), a wider angle lens (24mm) better macro (4cm) and faster shutter speed.

These Lumix's do look pretty good cameras! It's just the CMOS/CCD thing (CMOS apparently using less power and better in low light? apparently?) I read that has made me think... Although, maybe this is something not worth worrying about. I suppose the low light thing is all relative to the rest of the components... aperture, exposure, etc. and the battery life thing, can always carry an extra battery

 

[spandit]

I'd quite like a compact with wifi so I can upload my photos more easily (there are quite a few out there but I'd welcome recommendations) - sorry for thread hijack!

 

[Emdiesse]

I'd quite like a compact with wifi so I can upload my photos more easily (there are quite a few out there but I'd welcome recommendations) - sorry for thread hijack!

Out of interest, have you seen eyefi cards? Say, if you have a camera already and you are not after a full replacement but just want to add wifi capability?

 

[Hammock Hamster]

I have an Olympus compact, not sure which model as its currently in my back up in the loft but it's one of the waterproof, shock proof variety and I can honestly say it takes stunning photos, is compact enough for a pocket and has managed to handle every abuse I have thrown at it over the last few years!
Very good in low light and has a range of other modes including all the usual, to be honest I tend to leave it on anti shake mode almost permanently.
Macro mode is reasonable for compact and a bit of cropping on the computer can get a bit closer if needed without and loss in quality.
All in all its certainly the best I have used for bushcraft uses and it tends to pick up colours well, defines sharpness on potentially blurry scenes (leaf strewn woodland) and works well in low light as well as taking amazing fire pics.

Hoping to get out tomorrow for a few hours and try out a few new bits of kit and review later on, will take a bunch of pics with to upload so you can see the results first hand.

The other "camera" I use regularly is an old blackberry curve ( the one with a built in flash) which is actually pretty good apart from low light.

Cheers, Hamster

 

[Emdiesse]

I have an Olympus compact, not sure which model as its currently in my back up in the loft but it's one of the waterproof, shock proof variety and I can honestly say it takes stunning photos, is compact enough for a pocket and has managed to handle every abuse I have thrown at it over the last few years!
Very good in low light and has a range of other modes including all the usual, to be honest I tend to leave it on anti shake mode almost permanently.
Macro mode is reasonable for compact and a bit of cropping on the computer can get a bit closer if needed without and loss in quality.
All in all its certainly the best I have used for bushcraft uses and it tends to pick up colours well, defines sharpness on potentially blurry scenes (leaf strewn woodland) and works well in low light as well as taking amazing fire pics.

Hoping to get out tomorrow for a few hours and try out a few new bits of kit and review later on, will take a bunch of pics with to upload so you can see the results first hand.

The other "camera" I use regularly is an old blackberry curve ( the one with a built in flash) which is actually pretty good apart from low light.

Cheers, Hamster

So I am starting to notice the sheer number of people on here who use the olympus tough cameras and I guess I an appreciate the reasons why. I notice that the zoom of these cameras is not typically above 5x. Do you find this enough? I guess I was hoping to have a little more zoom for the times when I see something afar I want to photograph. Then again, I do have the SLR for that, so I guess the back up camera does not need such a zoom since I am typically going to want it for close up stuff. Maybe 5x is enough!?

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Hi Emdiesse,

I must admit I have never really tried out distance shots with he zoom but I have always had a bit of a "thing" against digital zooms and don't really rate them.
If I want to do anything distance I would break out the DSLR but that tends only to be for animals where my fieldcraft, or lack of, won't let me get up close enough.

I would say the Olympus tough cameras are great as a general all rounders and I definitely wouldn't be without mine now and although they out perform a lot of compacts I have seen they won't substitute for an SLR.

Hamster

 

[Emdiesse]

Hi Emdiesse,

I must admit I have never really tried out distance shots with he zoom but I have always had a bit of a "thing" against digital zooms and don't really rate them.
If I want to do anything distance I would break out the DSLR but that tends only to be for animals where my fieldcraft, or lack of, won't let me get up close enough.

I would say the Olympus tough cameras are great as a general all rounders and I definitely wouldn't be without mine now and although they out perform a lot of compacts I have seen they won't substitute for an SLR.

Hamster

Oh, I despise digital zoom.... I'm talking about optical zoom. I turn the digital zoom feature off as soon as I get a camera because if I want to zoom in further onto an image I think PC software handles it far better than a camera. The tough cameras I have seen have up to 5x optical zoom (some models)

I think for what I want the camera for I am going to skip the wish for more zoom and just stick to the DSLR for that. I notice the Ixus 115 hs is on amazon at £88 (because it's colour is grey??? hahaha) so I am going to go for that. It only has 4x optical zoom but since it has good reviews, seems to handle low light well and it has some extra fancy features such as 240fps video (my DSLR can't do that!) so if I am going out deliberately with photography in mind I can take the ixus too.

[edit]Well, that's that sorted then. I skipped on the idea of zoom since I can guarantee whatever amount of zoom I choose you'll always want that little bit more! So for the bargain price of £88.10 I bought a Canon Ixus 115 HS off of amazon. Looking forward to being able to carry a camera on all my bushcrafty excursions![/edit]