The best new compact cameras
Although most of the camera’s settings achieve effects that might as well be
fixed later on a computer (Polariod-style filters, for instance), it also
lets you play around with the genuine mechanics of taking a photograph.
In Aperture Priority mode, a dial with a pleasingly analogue look appears on
the screen showing how wide you have set the aperture — flicking this up or
down brings the background objects in and out of focus, and sets the Shutter
Speed dial racing around to compensate.
However, one mechanical aspect of this camera is not good at all: the zoom.
The smart Carl Zeiss lens can only zoom in by a factor of 3. In a large
landscape, this makes hardly any difference. Since the lens is also not very
wide-angled, it struggles with taking any sort of landscape shot.
This camera is at its best with extreme close-ups, low lighting and portraits.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 – reviewed by Gaby Wood
It’s sacrilegious to compare anything to a Leica; but it’s also an open secret
that Leica’s digital lenses are made by Panasonic. If you dream of owning a
digital Leica, complete with famous red-spot logo, then you’ll have to set
aside at least £500. But if the quality of the photograph is what matters to
you, you can get your Leica lens for less with a Lumix. It’s what quite a
few professional photographers carry around with them for fun, instead of
using film.
This model, however, is no sleek old-fashioned object but a small rugged thing
built for explorers – or possibly for spies. It claims to be water-resistant
to a depth of 13 metres, as long as the water isn’t below freezing or above
40 degrees centigrade. If you have a “marine case”, it can go even deeper.
It can survive a 2 metre drop. You can shoot with it remotely via your
smartphone – setting it up in one room, for instance, and manning it
Macchiavellianly from another. And thanks to its GPS technology, it knows
where in the world you are, even if you don’t.
In other words, the kind of tests this camera was subjected to in the course
of its manufacture must closely resemble testing on cars. It was hard to
vouch for its extreme functions in the course of my domestic life (though I
thought its shockproof qualities might come in handy, my bath is not 13
metres deep). The rest seemed up to scratch – 16 megapixels, a lens that
zooms from 28 to 218 mm. But it’s not – to go back to my original suggestion
about the kind of photographer who has embraced the Lumix – the model for
anyone interested in a manual override function. Unlike other Lumix cameras,
its widest aperture is 3.3, and the buttons required to arrive at the
various settings of film speed, aperture and shutter speed are almost
impossible to identify.
But then, if you’re 43 feet underwater, about to drop your camera from a great
height, or controlling it remotely from a faraway city, that’s unlikely to
be the first thing on your mind.
Panasonic Lumix TZ60 – reviewed by Hilary Stock
Being a control freak, I have always steered away from compact cameras, opting
instead for back-breakingly heavy and expensive DSLRs. I want to be able to
control all aspects of taking and processing a photo. Now, though, I have a
new best friend. I switched on the Panasonic TZ60, and there it all was –
simple, clear, surprisingly familiar and, most of all, versatile.
I can still shoot in RAW, I can use the traditional viewfinder, but I am free.
This tough little camera slips into my pocket, but has an enormous 30x zoom,
with image stabilization included. I can use it entirely on manual, through
to fully automatic, with a whole range of creative controls and effects. I
can view the shot or playback on a 100% LCD. I could link it to my
smartphone to share images, or operate the camera remotely. The wide angle
is good, tone and detail is retained in the zoom, and the colour
representation is accurate.
I am reassured by the lack of a touchscreen, preferring the familiar control
ring that gives me access to everything. Because it’s small, I do sometimes
put my finger over the flash, which is located near the shutter release, and
the zoom lever is very fiddly. In low light, the focus/shutter release feels
slow, and there is noise at high ISOs, but the same could be said of many
DSLRs.
Sony TF1 - reviewed by Horatia Harrod
This relatively cheap camera is slim and light and sits easily in the hand,
with rubberised edges to keep your grip secure. I was initially befuddled by
the placement of the lens in the top-left hand corner of the camera – which
is where I suppose you would expect to find it on a cameraphone. But with a
largeish screen, when your finger strays into shot, which it inevitably
will, you can see it and readjust accordingly. The zoom button on the top of
the camera is ridged, which makes it easy to get hold of; the zoom is
internal, not telescopic, which makes it more robust – if you dropped it,
there probably wouldn’t be dire consequences.
For a complete novice, it’s straightforward to use. The “easy” mode
makes pointing and shooting simple (there aren’t many options for manual
adjustments – this is not a camera for experienced photographers). There are
four filters you can apply to your photographs when shooting; I became quite
addicted to the “Toy Camera” setting, which offered a
darkened-at-the-edges lomographic effect. The automatic settings didn’t
produce pictures of great clarity, though – there was a bit of softness and
graininess to the pictures, and I wondered if a good cameraphone would
produce pictures of similar quality (for comparison, the Sony TF1 has a 16
megapixel resolution, compared to an iPhone 5S’s eight). Shooting at night,
I thought the camera’s inbuilt image stabilisation function helped to reduce
blur.
The camera comes with what must be the world’s most irritating memory card,
the tiny microSD, which is around an inch long and incredibly fiddly to take
in and out of the camera. Without it, the camera only has room for half a
dozen images.
Ricoh WG-20 - reviewed by Rachel Ward
It’s waterproof, it’s dustproof, it’s crushproof: it’s all a bit Bear Grylls,
but the Rioch WG20 isn’t a bad little starter as an introduction to casual
adventure point-and-shoot photography. It’s perhaps not the lightest of
small hand-held cameras, but it does feel solid – it’s also shock-resistant
against a fall from 1.5metres – so you don’t feel bad just chucking it in
your rucksack or letting it swing from your trouser belt.
The look is pretty basic and the front has a nice metallic sheen in bright red
giving it a youthful edge. The back has an ample 2.7inch LCD monitor that’s
really clear for shooting and playback. The screen also has an
anti-reflection coat and even in bright sunshine it’s easy enough to preview
images, a bugbear of other small digital cameras.
In terms of performance, however, the WG20 isn’t exactly groundbreaking. It’s
got a 14-megapixel sensor (about the same as a decent modern mobile phone)
and a 5x optical zoom, which is fair enough for an entry-level model. What
are perhaps its best features are the shake-reduction helping to reduce blur
in active conditions and the microscope mode which boasts five LED lights
positioned around the lens for macro illumination. These helped to provide
better results than I’ve experienced before. And with waterproofing to 10
metres you’ll have confidence taking snaps while snorkelling. I didn’t
plunge it to those depths but there didn’t seem to be any leakage when
submerged.
Fans of the selfie will appreciate the self-portrait assist function among the
selection of 25 shooting modes, if only to prove that you definitely did
climb that mountain. There’s also include a pet function which can detect
registered pets, so Fido can also be caught on camera with relative ease.
Plus, the HD video recorder includes a fun element that enables you to take
stills from a movie and edit in-camera. It’s a shame that no camera mounting
accessories come with the package but nevertheless it’s an easy and
convenient tool for outdoor use.
Ricoh HZ-15 – reviewed by Alice Vincent
With smartphone cameras taking great quality snapshots these days, why would
anyone ever use, let alone buy, a digital point-and-shoot? That’s the first
question that I asked myself about the Ricoh HZ15 – who is it for and what
is it for?
It’s a neat little camera, if a little on the heavy side, and benefits from a
large rear display screen and well laid-out, clear buttons. On top, the
rotating zoom button feels a little lightweight, but the 15x optical zoom
lens is nicely reactive. It’s this, combined with the HZ15’s 16 megapixel
quality shots (double that of the iPhone 5), which take it out of the realm
of smartphone snapper and into that of a valuable everyday photography tool.
Once you plug in the camera and upload the photos, the quality is clear.
There’s a nice warmth to portrait shots and a crispness and still life
scenes come out crisp and with elegance. Landscapes aren’t quite as clean as
I would like them, despite the camera’s panorama mode, which felt a little
gimmicky. As for the 20-odd, unconvincing scene modes, well after
Instagram’s latest upgrade, there’s really no competition.
The thing that really lets the HZ15 down is its display, which is grainy and
low-quality for its size and does the images taken no service at all. It’s a
shame, because for the basics, the HZ15’s lens and ease of use makes it a
good choice for taking quality everyday photos.
Nikon Coolpix S9700 - reviewed by Portia Webb
At first glance the Nikon Coolpix S9700 appears like any other compact camera
in the amateur market. Created for ‘the traveller’ it boasts a whopping 30x
optical zoom lens and vibration reduction that almost eliminates camera
shake and makes low-light shooting a delight.
Although it’s hard to get used to the settings, the HD video does look great
and adds another fun aspect to the camera. What works less well for those
looking for a travelling companion camera is the flash. It’s raised, to
avoid red-eye images, but is balanced on some sort of three-hinge
contraption and takes a delicate hand to shimmy back into place.
As you’d expect of any compact these days there are the usual auto settings as
well as the ability to alter colour and add filters to your images simply on
screen. But what I find best about this camera is that it’s beginning to
close the gap in the market between amateur and advanced photography. As
well as those auto settings the Coolpix S9700 has the option to use in full
manual mode. Great if you fancy yourself as a semi-pro and wanting to
experiment with controlling shutter speed and aperture yourself.
Finally, Nikon has installed GPS and wi-fi in this camera to make it super
easy to post to social media. Whilst this is handy, I’d say there is still
room for improvement on the wireless signal strength.
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The best new compact cameras
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