Recommendation for Small Camera

[DeeDee Groff]

I currently have two Nikon bodies with two Nikkor zoom lenses that I take on cruises.

 

When it's safer to travel again, I am flying to Frankfurt and going on a land tour for four weeks followed by a month-long cruise.  I do not want to take my usual photography "set up" on the land tour so I'm hoping someone will suggest an alternative.

 

I do no have a cell phone, let alone a smartphone, so that's not a photography option.  Would someone please suggest a small digital camera that would be reliable and comfortable to use?  A friend has a Minolta underwater camera, and I am hoping someone will weigh in on the feasibility of that for my purpose, but also another alternative so I can compare.

 

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

[Crew News]

After many years, I surrendered my Canon PowerShot S120, as my pocket camera for cruising.  All of my indoor photos and quick-reaction photos when I did not have my regular camera were taken with that camera. 

 

Only slightly larger, I now use a Canon G7 MKIII.  It has good zoom and excellent RAW photos but a huge reason for my upgrade is this camera's video capability.  Another huge improvement is the 24-100mm zoom lens.  Add great stabilization and I am happy with my upgrade.

 

Although i have not yet tried it, the MKIII can live stream to YouTube.

[TheOldBear]

In addition to the Canon G series, you may want to consider

• Panasonic LX100 Mark II / Leica D-Lux 7
• Panasonic TS200 / Leica C Lux
• Fujifilm X100V
• Sony ZV1
• Sony RX100

Most of these are based on 'one inch' sensors - the Fuji has a larger sensor, and a unique hybrid viewfinder.

 

For a compact interchangeable lens option, one of the smaller micro 4/3 bodies [OMD EM10 series; Pen-F] plus travel zoom [14-150] and a prime [17 f/1.8] might be a nice option.

 

[BoozinCroozin]

For pocket cameras, I say Panasonic are very good. I had one for a long time. I now have a Panasonic G9 for my DSLR. Canon, Sony, Panasonic are all really good P&S cameras.

[KYBOB]

I second the Canon G7 Mark III great camera, even good for video. But get extra an battery or 2.  

[Heartgrove]

We have three Sony mirrorless bodies: A6000, A6400, and A6500. My wife uses the A6400 with the kit 16-50mm pancake telephoto lens almost exclusively for her art projects. It is fairly small with the pancake telephoto attached and allows some variety with the 16-50mm length. But because it has the same lens mount as my two cameras, she has access, if need be, to the lens collection I use. 

 

I would suggest your choice of brand but a camera similar to this as it can meet your new criteria and still be expandable in the future.

[Tahitianbigkahuna]

At the top of the pack of bridge cameras (all in one) is the Sony RX10IV. Everything you can do with 95% of the mirrorless/DSLR cameras you can do with the Sony RX10IV. 20 mega pixels, RAW/Jpeg, every mode you have with a high end camera, built-in flash/shoe, incredible eye/face focus mode, 4K video ... and a constant F/4 24-600mm equivalent lens with power zoom ... the perfect travel camera. The RX10IV is heavy compared to most bridge cameras because of the incredible Zeiss lens ...

 

I own two A7iii bodies with excellent glass but for travel I take the RX10IV 😉

 

Picture taken yesterday  ... 600mm, 1/2000, F/4, ISO-1600, +2/3 EC

 

 

 

Taken last year - 600mm, 1/1600, F/4, EC +1

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Tahitianbigkahuna

[DeeDee Groff]

Thank you so much for all the helpful replies!

 

Next Thursday I am driving to Boston where there is still a "brick and mortar" camera shop to take a look at all your recommendations.

 

Stay safe,

Deb

[Nikon1957]

On 5/9/2021 at 12:19 PM, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

At the top of the pack of bridge cameras (all in one) is the Sony RX10IV. Everything you can do with 95% of the mirrorless/DSLR cameras you can do with the Sony RX10IV. 20 mega pixels, RAW/Jpeg, every mode you have with a high end camera, built-in flash/shoe, incredible eye/face focus mode, 4K video ... and a constant F/4 24-600mm equivalent lens with power zoom ... the perfect travel camera. The RX10IV is heavy compared to most bridge cameras because of the incredible Zeiss lens ...

 

I own two A7iii bodies with excellent glass but for travel I take the RX10IV 😉

 

Picture taken yesterday  ... 600mm, 1/2000, F/4, ISO-1600, +2/3 EC

 

 

 

Taken last year - 600mm, 1/1600, F/4, EC +1

 

The only thing I would add (I carried the R100iv for several years and loved it) is that the two newest iterations - vi and vii, (I now carry the R100vi), have increased the zoom range from 24-70 to 24-200 (at the expense of about 1 stop at the max end - which is a very acceptable compromise in my thinking). Otherwise they are essentially identical.

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

On 5/3/2021 at 4:38 PM, TheOldBear said:

In addition to the Canon G series, you may want to consider

• Panasonic LX100 Mark II / Leica D-Lux 7
• Panasonic TS200 / Leica C Lux
• Fujifilm X100V
• Sony ZV1
• Sony RX100

Most of these are based on 'one inch' sensors - the Fuji has a larger sensor, and a unique hybrid viewfinder.

 

For a compact interchangeable lens option, one of the smaller micro 4/3 bodies [OMD EM10 series; Pen-F] plus travel zoom [14-150] and a prime [17 f/1.8] might be a nice option.

 

One upvote for ZV-1. I have had one for a year and the pictures and video are great. Also check out the ZV-E10 with interchangeable lens.