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Monday, 10 June 2024

The best new compact camera in 2024 might be a mirrorless interchangeable lens model. June 2024

 

Banksia trees aftre fire  Canon EOS R50 with RF-S 18-45mm lens


Fixed lens compact and bridge type cameras were pushed almost to the point of extinction when smartphones captured the point-and-shoot market in the period 2010 to 2022.

But in 2024 there appears to have been a mini revival in fixed lens compacts. Some models such as the Fujifilm X100.6 and Ricoh GR3, GR3x and Leica Q3 are backordered everywhere and hard to obtain even at their currently inflated retail prices.

Leica has announced the D-Lux 8 which is a refreshed version of the D-Lux 7, which is a Lumix LX100 variant, to begin selling on 2 July 2024.

I see that the Sony RX100.6 is still in the catalogue. This is a marvel of technology, cramming a high level of capability and an 8.3x zoom into a tiny little package.

In the last few years I have bought, owned, used, reviewed and sold a Fujifilm X100.5, Ricoh GR2 and GR3, Sony RX100.4 and three variants of the Pana/Leica/Lumix LX100, these being the original LX100, LX100.2 and Leica D-Lux 7. So I am quite familiar with the user experience offered by each of these models. And I have no desire to revisit any of them.

I never came to enjoy using the X100.5 (X100V). It has always seemed to me that the X100 series has an existential problem. Successive models have not really  figured out what they are trying to be. Neither the X100.5 or the current X100.6 can be regarded as classic manual control devices in the tradition of a 1970’s film camera. They have too many dials, too many buttons and the functions of the dials and buttons are not altogether straightforward. There are two viewfinders in the same housing and two ways to change aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity. There is a mini handle and a slightly raised section on the rear where I want to feel a proper thumb support.  We can choose to go buy an accessory grip and an accessory thumb support.  Why ?  Choice is not a virtue in the world of ergonomics.  I think if Fujifilm put out a really pared-back model with better handling and just the essential controls it might be more appealing to people who enjoy the process of using a camera.

The Ricoh GR 2 and 3 are conceptually more coherent. There is much to like about the little Ricoh models but they are severely hampered by the absence of an EVF and a fixed and not very bright rear screen. I found them almost unusable outdoors in Sydney  on a typical bright sunny day.

I found the Lumix LX100/Leica D-Lux 7 models promised much but were ultimately disappointing with inconsistent autofocus especially when presented with specular highlights, inconsistent lens sharpness and dust on the sensor.

Unfortunately the D-Lux 8 appears to have the same old D-Lux 7 sensor, lens and contrast detect AF system and the rear screen is still fixed. An articulated rear screen would have improved the user experience appreciably.

The original Sony RX100 was quite a sensation when it was introduced in 2012. It really did offer big camera image quality and capability in a tiny little package. I had the RX100.4 which continued the theme of small camera/big capability. But I never enjoyed using that thing. It was so small there was no way to hold it comfortably, the pop-up EVF was a nuisance and the controls were all crowded into a tiny little space, making them difficult to operate by feel.

Original photo courtesy of camerasize.com

Retail prices in Australian dollars, including GST as listed by one Sydney retailer are:

* Fujifilm X100.6  AU$2799 plus about $200 for an accessory handle, thumb rest and filter adapter if required.

* Ricoh GR3  AU$1947      

* Ricoh GR3x  AU$2087

* Leica D-Lux 8    AU$2790  plus about AU$200 for the accessory grip.

* Leica Q3  AU$10290 plus AU$1601 for lens hood, hotshoe cover, soft release button, thumb support, handgrip and uv filter.

* Sony RX100.6  AU$1500

I now want to discuss what I have found to be desirable features of cameras, including small ones, in practice. This is a list of my own preferences. Others will have a different list of desirable features. That’s fine, but I have been using cameras for 70 years and I keep coming back to models which do have all these features and I keep getting frustrated by those which do not.

In no particular order, these are:

* A  zoom lens. I used prime lenses for 40 years as for most of that time good quality, compact low cost zooms were not to be had. Some photographers extol the virtues of working with a single focal length and I am not immune to the charms of this arrangement. But given the option of a compact zoom I will take it thank you very much.

* A built-in EVF (not an optical viewfinder) which is always ready for use. Not an add-on one in the hotshoe and not one of those irritating pop-up-pull-back-push-forward-push-down ones which are a nuisance and to which a proper eyecup cannot be affixed.  My experience is that over the optical axis, DSLR/MILC style is the most user friendly location for the EVF and associated optics and eyecup. It is also the best location when taking out and returning the camera to a carry bag. The eyecup of an EVF located top left, rangefinder style, gets snagged on the edge of the opening in the bag. Most camera reviewers do not mention this but in practice the little things like this have their influence on the overall user experience.

* A fully articulated touch screen. This can be either the straightforward pull-out-and-twist Canon type or the more complex and presumably more expensive multi-articulated type as found in the Nikon Z8 and Lumix GH6. Some contributors to user forums get quite heated about this issue, insisting that a simple tilt-up-tilt-down screen is preferable. But this screen type does not allow for over or under hand operation in portrait orientation and does not allow the user to stand in front of the camera.

* An integrated ergonomically shaped handle and an integrated ergonomically shaped and positioned thumb support.  I am no fan of cameras which are presented to the buyer without these features together with an invitation to go buy accessory bits to correct the deficiency.

* A carefully designed set of controls sufficient to enable a practiced user to exercise full control over the capture process. Not an insufficient number and type of controls and not an over abundance either.

* Not pocketable. If I want to go out and about with a device in my pocket capable of taking photos, that will be a smartphone. It seems to me that there is little point in persisting with the idea of a pocketable camera. If I am going to set forth with a camera I want it to be a proper camera  not a teensy little half-baked one with cramped controls and missing features.

As best I can tell from trawling through current new camera offerings the number of fixed lens compact cameras with all these features is nil.

The Canon Powershot G1X.3 came close, but that appears to have been discontinued.

Looking for whales  Canon EOS R50 with RF-S 18-45mm

So we must turn to small mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras (MILC) with a compact zoom.  In this section of the market several crop sensor models which do meet my criteria for a proper camera could be small enough to substitute for a fixed lens compact.

With retail prices listed by one vendor on the day of writing this post,  these include:

Canon EOS R50 with RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 lens  AU$1129

Canon EOS R10 with RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 lens  AU$1479

Fujifilm X-S20 with XC 15-45mm f3.5-5.6 OIS PZ  AU$2299  

OM System OM-5 with M.Zuiko 14-150mm f4-5.6   AU$1899

Lumix G100 body only AU$999

Lumix G85 with 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens  AU$1329

Lumix G90 with 12-60mm f3.5-5.6 lens  AU$1490

Sony A6700 with E 18-105mm f4 lens AU$2799 

There are also some compact full frame models worth considering. I nominate:

Canon EOS R8 with RF 24-50mm f4,5-6.3 lens  AU$2389

Sony A7C.2 with FE 28-60mm f4-5.6 lens  AU$3118

Each of these satisfies my criteria for a proper camera and as such could provide a more satisfying user experience than any of the fixed lens compacts. They are not pocketable but are easily carried in a small shoulder bag.

The MILCs generally offer more features and capabilities than fixed lens compacts with better ergonomics and versatility.

As a group they also offer very much better value for money than the currently overpriced compacts.

Of the cameras listed above I like the Canons best for their well balanced combination of image quality, performance, features, ergonomics and price.

Original photo courtesy of camerasize.com

I used Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras for many years so I have a history with this system which I no longer use as MFT has been outclassed by Canon, Sony and Fujifilm in most aspects of camera capability. The MFT cameras listed in this post are really legacy products with old sensors, processors and autofocus systems.

I have not used the Fujifilm X-S20 but it has received positive reviews. I think they made a mistake with the controls on the rear of the body though. They omitted  the 4-way controller and replaced it with the poorly located and haptically challenged mini thumb stick which we see on the X-S20 and several other Fujifilm models.

The Canon EOS R10 gets the thumbstick position and haptics exactly right, the X-S20 gets it wrong and that would bug me every time I use the X-S20.

The A6700 and A7C.2 pack a lot of technology and performance into a small package in typical Sony fashion but I think Sony is still playing catch-up to Canon with the ergonomics and user experience of their cameras. Both the A6700 and A7C2 need a grip extension for five finger holding and each has a very small EVF eyepiece.

What about image quality and performance ?

Compact cameras will mostly be used for street, documentary, candid  and  lifestyle photos for which any of the cameras mentioned in this post has sufficient image quality and performance.

So the fact that some of these models have slightly better technical image quality than others, in terms of pixel count, high ISO noise and dynamic range is of limited relevance when even the oldest and least capable model is good enough for the job.

The same can be said for performance. We are not talking about capturing birds in flight or high speed sporting events here. Reliable single shot focus and exposure will do well enough. Even the old contrast detect autofocus in the MFT cameras works well enough for single shot capture on essentially static subjects.

Summary

We makes our choice and pays our money and in the realm of compact cameras I think that money is best placed right now (June 2024) on one of the smaller mirrorless interchangeable lens models with a compact zoom.

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