bradpitt

I have recently bought Nikon Coolpix L310 with 14.1mpxl and 4X optical zoom which I have taken to my last trip and the picture quality is awesome.

SeAAttle

Just used a newly purchased FZ200 on a quick trip to Rome. Great when I need to travel light but still learning to use it. Missed a few nice shots (that I would have gotten with my Nikon gear). Somehow, the camera gets set to overexpose badly and the only way I can correct the problem is default to original settings. Of course, I forgot to reset RAW. Nice camera that I take everywhere I go.

fvsn

Hey guys,

I write reports during my travels and have always used my phone 5MP Camera or my 12MP old Canon Camera to take photographs of the flight and service. And now I'm looking at ideas to find a camera that would do the job a lot better and improve the standard of my photographs.

I'm looking for something like "pocket size" but with great quality for taking pictures in low light conditions, for instance inside the cabin during dining service.

I dont usually take pictures of landscape and sightseeings, only hotels rooms, airplane cabin and seats.

Any suggestions?

chollie

Panasonic Lumix L7 for super low-light. Lovely bright 1.4 lens - I'd be very surprised if you ever use the flash on this camera. I got it specifically for its low-light abilities.

Lots of possibility for manual control, if that's your thing, and even shoots in RAW or JPEG.

nkedel

What's your present 12MP Canon?

If money is no object, the camera you want is almost certainly the Sony RX100 (huge sensor, brighter lens, still quite compact) but it's more than twice as expensive as some other options.
http://www.dpreview.com/products/son.../sony_dscrx100

Somewhat less expensive: Canon S100/S110 are both worth considering; good low-light capability and relatively wide-angle lenses. The S100 is on its way out, and priced very aggressively right now, and would be my choice (I've got the generation-older S95, and am still incredibly pleased with it.)

See also the DPReview feature search:
two other models it digs up with fairly comparable features are the Nikon Coolpix P330 and Olympus Stylus XZ-10 although I'm familiar with those only from the specs on DPReview.

The Olympus is barely over $300 on Amazon, and might be a good alternative to the S100 ($280) at the lower price range.

Depending on the age/model of your current Canon, there may be some less expensive alternatives that still would be an improvement, and come in well under $300.

nkedel

The LX7 is a great camera and much more affordable than the RX100, although it's a little chunkier than the RX100 and quite a bit chunkier than the Canons (actually looking at the dimensions on the RX100, that's itself a a bit larger than I thought...)

chollie

The LX7 is my first non-Canon. I travel light for a variety of reasons and I have yet to find a single P&S that can do it all. Recently I've been using the Canon SD4000 (2.0 lens, nice in low light and macro I'm very happy with) and a Canon SX260 (for long zoom).

I really got the LX7 for one reason (which ruled out the S100/S110) - the long exposure setting. The SD4000 goes up to 15s, IIRC; the LX7 goes over a minute, I think. It's chunky, but still much smaller and more compact than the last Olympus film camera I carried and about the same size as the my first digital P&S cameras.

The 1.4 lens was a bonus - I wanted something for the Northern Lights, but I'm already impressed with the difference between the 1.4 and 2.0.

fvsn

My present Canon is EOS5000, too big for travelling!

Money is no object, I just want to improve my shots. I'm looking for great quality pictures.
Between Sony RX100 and Sony NEX Series, what would be the best choice?
Is it possible to change lenses on the RX model?
Thank you!

nkedel

RX100 is non-interchangeable.

For indoors, low-light stuff there are advantages to both, although my first thought (especially onboard planes) is the biggest advantage to the RX is in compactness and pocketability. Still, the NEX (at least with a pancake lens) will be substantially more portable than anything EOS, and at high ISOs is probably lower-noise than the RX100.

For NEX, here are the relatively bright lens choices:
http://lenshero.com/lenses/sony-nex-7-f2.8-lens

Since the NEX is APS-C, those are actual focal lengths, so multiply by 1.5x for 35mm equivalent; the lack of a 2.0 or faster option at the really-wide end would be less than super for your use (I'd think) although if money is no object the 24mm/1.8 (36mm equivalent) is optically excellent and not that much longer than the 28mm-equivalent of the RX100.

Not an obvious answer without a few caveats, but if it's not too big, and you can find a set of lenses you like, and given that you said money was no object, probably one of the NEX-series.

Personally, I'd want something pocketable (or that can clip to my belt), and don't think I'd be that comfortable bringing out a NEX (based on a coworker's NEX-7; perhaps some of the other models are smaller) enough more places than I would an EOS.

Calcjr23

The Canon 600D and the Sigma 10mm f/2.8 for cabin/cockpit shots whilst the 17-50 for out of window views.

nkedel

Good camera, great low-light capabilities, but almost as far from pocket-size as you can get (although I suppose a 6D would be even bigger.)

ND Sol

If money is truly no object then you should consider the Sony RX1, which features a full-frame sensor and a fixed 35mm F2 CZ lens. As JohnDP noted above, after he bought his, he sold his Canon DSLR 5dMK3.

nkedel

A potentially excellent choice, depending on the tradeoff value of compactness.

As originally stated in terms of pocketability, I'd still go for the smaller RX100, but the best thing to do if possible would be for fvsn to look at them in person as they're the best judge of their own taste for bulk.

fvsn

So by the arguments I think I'll go for the RX100.
I'll drop by at any Sony store to check them both and choose.
I'll post here as soon as I have my decision.
Thank you all for the amazing help!

SQ421

I purchased a Samsung NX1000 twin lens kit over the weekend at a rather sweet price and hope to put it through its paces on the upcoming trip to Tokyo. Coming from a Canon SX20IS (which essentially was a hefty P&S with some manual controls), I'm still getting used to the swappable lenses and figuring out which one to use in what situation. If there's a good (and easy to understand) guide to this, please point me to it.