Compact Camera Recommendation?

[William Norberg]

Hi

Budget: 700 (but prefer lower)

Reqs:
Viewfinder (electronic OR optic)
Good performance, and at least semi good in low light.
Full manual control

I am a student and want something i can put in my pocket. A viewfinder is a MUST. Zoom is not super important.

I can also consider interchangeble lens cameras

Thanks/
William

 

[Traciatim]

There aren't really any interchangeable lens cameras that actually fit in a pocket (unless you mean a REALLY large jacket pocket). You could look at something like a Canon G5X but that will be around 750 or so. Even that isn't really pocket-able though, considering something like the Olympus E-PL7 is arguably the same size and has an optional viewfinder.

What are you planning on taking pictures of? There aren't many small compact cameras with viewfinders that are very useful that are really cheap.

A good tool is over at DPReview that you can feature search with is over here: https://www.dpreview.com/products/search/cameras#!

Also, check out camerasize.com ... it's a pretty interesting tool for comparing cameras.

You could check out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS60. I'm not sure how useful the viewfinder actually is, and because its' a super zoom you probably give up some of the low light performance but it does seem to check all of the requirements that you have off.

 

[William Norberg]

There aren't really any interchangeable lens cameras that actually fit in a pocket (unless you mean a REALLY large jacket pocket). You could look at something like a Canon G5X but that will be around 750 or so. Even that isn't really pocket-able though, considering something like the Olympus E-PL7 is arguably the same size and has an optional viewfinder.

What are you planning on taking pictures of? There aren't many small compact cameras with viewfinders that are very useful that are really cheap.

A good tool is over at DPReview that you can feature search with is over here: https://www.dpreview.com/products/search/cameras#!

Also, check out camerasize.com ... it's a pretty interesting tool for comparing cameras.

You could check out the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS60. I'm not sure how useful the viewfinder actually is, and because its' a super zoom you probably give up some of the low light performance but it does seem to check all of the requirements that you have off.

The gm5 looks quite nice as well. The zs60 has a bad lens i believe. I need a camera for general use.

 

[Traciatim]

I wouldn't call it a bad lens... just that it's a compact camera and has a huge zoom range so it has to give up something, and that something is generally light gathering. I think the main trouble you will have is that most compact cameras don't have room for viewfinder that's of any value and if you require a viewfinder then you are kind of stuck with something quite a bit larger.

If you are willing to go without the viewfinder you might want to check out the Sony RX100 line. They have pretty great lenses in front of rather large sensors for a compact camera which is a great combination for portability and low light usage. Specifically the RX-100 III I believe has a viewfinder too if you can find one used (quick ebay search found: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-RX100-III-Camera-Lot-/122100762972 ) it should be in your budget.