Full frame mirrorless as compact camera ? 29 January 2023

Canon EOS R5 with RF 50mm f1.8   A very capable compact kit 

 I have been using cameras of one sort or another for 70 years. Many of them have been compacts. This genre has always appealed to me as it promises or at least suggests it can deliver big camera capability in small camera form.

One of the most frequently cited advantages of the compact is its pocketable quality.

But here is the thing: I live in Sydney Australia where it never really gets cold. So I do not own a single garment with a pocket large enough to comfortably accommodate anything but the very smallest compact camera with few controls and no viewfinder.

Even if I did have such a garment I would not carry a camera in one of its pockets because most pockets are not camera friendly places at all. They accumulate all kinds of dirt and other things which can find their way into a camera’s inner workings.

So I end up carrying my compact cameras in a small bag slung over the shoulder or occasionally attached to a belt.

Once we have decided to use a small carry bag of some kind it is but a small step to using a slightly larger bag. In practice it makes no difference.

And guess what: A slightly larger bag can take a full frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) as long as it is fitted with a compact lens.

My favourite compact was, until I sold it, the Canon Powershot G1X.3. This fitted into a Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 5 bag with space for spare batteries, cleaning cloth and cards.

A small full frame MILC such as the Canon EOS RP when fitted with a compact RF mount lens like the 50mm f1.8 fits into the similar but slightly larger Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 10 bag again with space for spare batteries, cards and cleaning cloth.

Actually the slightly larger Canon EOS R5 also fits in that MM10 bag if either the RF50mm f1.8 or RF 16mm f2.8 are mounted.

So now I do not use compact cameras at all and no longer own one.

One might reasonably ask…Why not just use the camera in a smartphone instead of a compact camera ?  ……     And that is exactly what most people do.  

However  I might be a bit old fashioned, or maybe as Arnie once said “old but not obsolete”.

Anyway I prefer the process of making pictures with a camera and I prefer shooting Raw and processing images in Camera Raw and Photoshop.

Photos courtesy of camerasize.com

If you line up each camera back you can see there is not much difference in overall size between the "real" compact and the three full frame MILCs each with a suitable small prime lens. The MILCs handle better and have greater versatility. And you could buy all three MILC kits for the price of the Leica.

So we come to investigating whether a full frame MILC can replace a compact for general photography, street and documentary.

As it happens Digital Photography  Review recently interviewed Mr Yosuke Yamane Director of imaging business at Panasonic who made the following interesting observations:

He emphasized that the size and portability of Micro Four Thirds lets it deliver things that full-frame systems can't. 'Micro Four Thirds is a compact and lightweight system that enables hand-held photography in combination with a telephoto lens, which is not possible with full-frame,' he said. 'And we believe it is an indispensable system for achieving a compact body that can be easily carried.'

'I think the need for small, lightweight cameras that can be carried around all the time like smartphones will increase, especially among the younger generation.'

That combination not only underpins its appeal to groups such as wildlife photographers, but could also give it a role as a gateway for younger users more used to smartphones, he suggested. 'One of our goals is to tell the story of the benefits of a dedicated camera to teens and people in their 20s. We need to tell them that there is a world that can’t be achieved with a smartphone.' But to achieve this, 'you need the portability the smartphone has,' he said. 'I think the need for small, lightweight cameras that can be carried around all the time like smartphones will increase, especially among the younger generation.'

He wouldn't be drawn on whether this might result in a return of the GM series, but said we weren't the only people expressing an interest in a small, capable camera. 'The press in Japan ask the same thing,' he said, 'but for full-frame.'

The emphasis on the last sentence is mine.

One of the reasons I gave up M43 and APSC is that the camera bodies are not necessarily significantly smaller than some full frame mirrorless models and if crop sensor lenses are to be truly aperture equivalent they also end up being almost as large, heavy and expensive as full frame versions.

Whatever the merits of the argument the fact is that camera makers have virtually ceased development of compact and bridge camera models to concentrate their R&D resources onto mirrorless interchangeable lens systems. (MILC)

Photo courtesy of camerasize.com

Same bodies, with kit zooms. If Canon had a 2x compact kit zoom it would be about the same size as the Sony and nikon lenses.

So, let us see whether we can put together a convincingly compact kit using a full frame MILC and one lens, zoom or prime. My examples are taken from products available new in Australia in January 2023.

The three main contenders appear to be Canon Nikon and Sony.

Canon’s smallest RF mount model with a built in EVF is the RP.

The smallest zoom is the RF 24-105mm f4.5-7.1. This is not an especially small lens as the zoom range is a substantial 4.4x. However it is decently light and compact for the zoom range.

The smallest primes are the RF 16mm f2.8 and RF 50mm f1.8.

Nikon’s smallest full frame MILC with built in EVF is the Z5.

The smallest zoom is the 24-50mm f4-6.3.

The smallest primes are the Z 40mm f2 and the Z 28mm f2.8 which is one of the smallest and lightest lenses for FF MILCs on the market today.

Sony has been in the full frame MILC business longer than the others and it shows in their more extensive and varied product catalogue.

The smallest FF MILC body with built in EVF is the A7C which is the smallest body of the three listed in this post.

Sony’s smallest FE zoom is the 28-60mm f4-5.6 which appears to be the smallest full frame MILC zoom lens on the market.

Sony also has several very small primes. I have singled out the FE 24mm f2.8, FE 40mm f2.5 and the 50mm f2.5 for mention.

On paper Sony would appear to have a clear advantage in this “little” (pun intended) comparison.

The selected body is very small and light as are the primes and the zoom. In addition Sony’s image quality and autofocus are known to be very good.

Unfortunately the A7C body has the same shape and basic control layout as the crop sensor A6xxx models with all the ergonomic and user experience compromises which that entails.

Of the three bodies featured in this post I prefer the handling, ergonomics and user experience of the Canon RP. If the RP had a thumb stick it would be even more appealing. The RP is still pleasingly compact but in my hands feels nicer to hold and operate than the other two bodies.

Summary

The answer to the question I put earlier is  definitely yes. The switch from DSLR to mirrorless has made it possible for designers to deliver genuinely compact full frame MILCs. Sony and Nikon each offer really compact primes and a zoom to complement the compact bodies.

Canon has two really compact primes but I would like to see a few more. I think a 28/35/50mm  f2.8 set would be welcomed by many Canon users who value the compact genre.

I also think Canon needs a really compact zoom similar to the Sony 28-60 or Nikon 24-50 each of which has a 2.1x zoom range. The Canon RF 24-105mm is certainly compact for its 4.4x zoom range but if Canon offered a smaller zoom I think that would be well received by users.

Update 2 February 2023:

I see today that Canon Rumors is reporting that Canon will soon announce an RF 24-50mm f4.5-6.3 STM collapsing full frame kit zoom. I suspect that there will be a replacement entry level RF mount full frame camera announcement at some stage also and that the body/lens combination thus created will make a very appealing compact kit for Canon RF full frame users.