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Thursday, 2 November 2023

Can a small Mirrorless Interchangeable lens camera work as a compact ?

 

Container loading facility Port Botany

Over the last few years the availability of fixed lens compact cameras with a built in viewfinder has declined dramatically. The point-and-shoot market has been taken over by smartphones.

A quick roundup today (1 November 2023) of product available new in Australia revealed the following, looking just at compact fixed lens cameras with built in EVF and excluding bridge camera models with their superzoom lenses.

Canon, Nil.

Fujifilm, X100V

Leica, Q2

Nikon, Nil

Panasonic, TZ220D, TZ110, TZ80

Sony, RX100.7 (pop-up EVF)

My own experience with several of these models is that the little Sony while technically interesting is not enjoyable to use with rather compromised ergonomics.

The Panasonics are not very appealing either. The TX110 and 220 are not very nice to hold or operate and the TZ80 is an old model with barely acceptable image quality.

So I think the survivors will be the Fujifilm X100V and the Leica Q2/3.

The Fuji is in short supply everywhere, resulting in very high prices for both new and used examples.

The Q 2/3 are apparently Leica’s best selling models also on back order in many locations.

These two models appear to appeal to enthusiast photographers who are prepared to spend considerable money to acquire a desirable product.

I have never owned or used one of the Leica Q models which are very expensive for what they offer which is really just a basic compact with fixed 28mm prime lens.

I did buy and use a Fujifilm X100V and spent several months trying unsuccessfully to like it. I concluded that the X100V is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of device which I found frustrating every time I used it.

Some of us are still drawn to the idea of a compact proper camera but are for various reasons not in the market for a Q2/3 or an X100V.

Can a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (MILC) serve as replacement for an enthusiast compact ?

Let us see what might be possible.  I will use Canon EOS RF mount cameras as examples  as I own and use this system. However Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus (OM  System)  and Panasonic offer compact MILCs and compact prime and zoom lenses which could be used to configure a workable alternative to a dedicated compact camera. 

I notice when trawling through available offerings that several of the very smallest MILCs appear to have dropped off the producer’s catalogues. For instance the tiny Panasonic Lumix GM5 of 2014 did not last long on the market and the slightly larger GX85 of 2016 and GX90 of 2018  are no longer listed. Similarly the Fujifilm X-E4 of 2021 appears to have dropped out. Presumably this trend is driven by sales, or lack thereof, suggesting that buyers prefer larger but better handling models with a more prominent handle and integral thumb support.

High end

In Australia the Leica Q3 retails for AU$9,990 to which we need to add the accessory handle and thumb support for comfortable handling.

Canon offers the EOS R5 which with the excellent RF 28mm f2.8 lens fitted costs about AU$5,375, with the handle and thumb support already built in.

You can see in the side-by-side photo there is very little difference between them in size.


 

Mid range

The Fujifilm X100V which uses an APSC crop sensor is in short supply so prices have risen substantially. Retailers are asking and getting AU$2400 for the bare camera. Add $200 for the accessory handgrip, thumb support and filter/hood adapter. This for a camera lacking an optical image stabiliser.

We can assemble an appealing compact kit based on an APSC MILC or even an entry level full frame MILC for about the same money. Most of these are larger than the X100V but also nicer to hold and operate. And we can mount a stabilised lens.

For the same price as the X100V we can have a new full frame EOS R8 with the excellent RF 28mm f2.8 without stabiliser or the very good RF 24-50mm zoom with stabiliser making a larger but still handy sized package with better image quality, performance and ergonomics than the X100V.

Moving down in size and price we can pair the EOS R10 with the RF 28mm (giving an equivalent 45mm focal length) without stabiliser or the RF-S 18-45mm zoom with stabiliser.

In the side-by-side photo we can see the X100V is smaller but not dramatically so and the size difference is less if we fit an accessory grip to the Fuji.

I’ll take the Canon every time for handling and ergonomics.


 

 

 Budget

Budget cameras are an endangered species these days but Canon in particular has been reaching out to cost conscious buyers with attractively priced APSC crop sensor models using the RF mount and RF-S lenses. The EOS R100 with RF-S 18-45mm lens retails for AU$890 which is not much more expensive than the few remaining budget compacts on the market and considerably less expensive than the premium price Sony is asking for the  ergonomically challenged RX100.7.


Conclusion

To answer my own question, yes we can mix and match MILC bodies and lenses to construct a viable alternative to a dedicated compact camera. In most cases this approach results in a larger overall package which does however offer improved handling and ergonomics.

My current favourite compact kit is the full frame Canon EOS R8 with RF 24-50mm kit zoom. This is not much larger than the APSC crop sensor alternative using the R10 with RF-S 18-45mm kit lens but has better image quality especially in low light or in conditions with high subject brightness range which is frequently encountered in Sydney where I live.




There is no way we might think of these kits as “pocketable” but I think that ship sailed years ago. If we want a pocketable device which makes photos the ubiquitous smartphone does the job.

When I look back at the many pocketable compact cameras I have used over the years I cannot recall a single one which I actually enjoyed using. Most have been too small for comfortable handling and burdened with cramped, fiddly controls

The R8 with RF 24-50mm fits perfectly in a Think Tank Mirrorless Mover 10 bag with space for spare batteries and memory cards, lens clean tissues and microfiber cloth in the front pocket. It delivers excellent image quality and performance in a versatile kit providing an enjoyable user experience.

The kit is not so large that it attracts a lot of attention



 

 

 



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