Does the compact camera have a future ? 7 December 2019

This white browed woodswallow looks rather saturnine. Taronga zoo, Lumix G9,
Pana-Leica 100-400mm.

The rise and rise  of smartphones has seen a dramatic fall in compact camera sales. Many internet sages have predicted that compacts will disappear altogether.

Many camera industry commentators make no mention of compacts at all, suggesting that for these people the extinction event has already occurred.

But wait:  Leica’s best selling model is the Q, Fujifilm’s X100 series sell well to a niche cohort and the Ricoh GR series compacts have a loyal following of supporters.

Each of these models offers the enthusiast photographer something more than your average Canon Powershot, Sony Cybershot or similar.

They look different, they feel different and they operate differently.

Canon may be selling more Powershots and Sony more Cybershots right now (I don’t have the numbers) but I bet that in the medium term Leica, Fujifilm and Ricoh’s offerings will continue while Powershot and Cybershot sales will decline.

Why ?

I take the view that the people who use cameras in the current era are enthusiasts not snapshooters.

An enthusiast is likely to want a camera the use of which feels special.

A camera which engenders pride of ownership. This might be because of its appearance or handling qualities or brand name or capabilities or quality of construction and results or something else.

But it must have something which sets it above the general run-of-the-mill compact even if that makes good pictures.

The awful truth about cameras and smartphones these days is that almost all of them make good pictures. So that is no longer a helpful factor when deciding between one model and the next.

I think there are two compacts on the market right now which with a substantial rethink and upgrade could evolve into objects of desire for enthusiasts.

One is the Canon G1X.3. As it stands Canon appears not to have clearly understood what it is trying to achieve with this camera. But if it were a bit larger, had a more substantial handle, the new APS-C sensor and a wider aperture lens without that nasty color fringing we could be looking at something with real enthusiast appeal.

Another is the Panasonic LX100, including Mk2 and Leica versions. This needs a substantial makeover with a better lens having more consistent sharpness and more reliable AF, a much better EVF, a more grippy handle  and a fully articulated monitor (like the G1X.3). If I were in charge of the design team I would probably drop the multi aspect ratio feature in favour of using the full MFT sensor.

The tantalising thing about the G1X.3 and LX100 is that they are interesting cameras which the designers got almost right.  All the shortcomings of both could readily be fixed with existing technology.

Sure they would cost a bit more but I think that is a much less important issue than their appeal to enthusiast users.

A camera worth making is one which is capable of generating a cohort of enthusiast users who will do most of the marketing themselves by reporting enthusiastically about their experience using the camera.

My vision for an enthusiast compact

This is illustrated in the photos of Mockup15 shown here. The beauty of wooden mockups is they can be dismantled, re-shaped and re-built. Control points can be removed, added or re-designed at will.

I have reworked Mockup15 several times.

The present version is ideally sized for small or large adult hands with an anatomically evolved handle and thumb support. The location and intended operation of the controls has been carefully considered over several generations of adjustments. There are enough engagement points for full control while maintaining a streamlined user experience.

The monitor is fully articulating.

Various sensors could be used while keeping the camera and controls exactly the same.  The sensor could have a diagonal of 15.9mm (the so-called one inch) or 21.6mm (four thirds)or  27-28mm (APSC) or 43mm (so-called full frame).

Larger sensors would require a smaller zoom range and/or larger f number range.

Mockup 15 is the same size as the Fuji X100 series but has a much more versatile and coherent design.

Any production version would need attention from a skilled stylist but the fundamentals are there.

Conclusion

I think the compact camera will only die if camera makers are so oblivious to the potential of the genre for enthusiast photographers that they allow this happen by neglect while pouring fortunes into the development of full frame monster cameras and lenses which few people  actually need.