Second hand compact system camera?
Discussion
I’m off on a long holiday to the US at the end of the month and been thinking about a new camera, I’ve had digitals over the years but more recently stuck with my Sony Z2 phone which doesn’t take a bad shot (blues aside).
Initially I was looking at compacts around the £200 mark but a mate has a Sony A6000 which I’ve been quite impressed with. A search around ebay and the older models are around that price. Not necessarly after Sony but was wondering if anyone has any recommendations?
I’d be mainly using auto for now however I do enjoy playing about with the settings but not anything too complicated. Not got long to shop about unfortunately. I’d like a small zoom or maybe just pancake but nothing too big lens wise as what has put my off buying an SLR (been thinking about getting into photography for a while, just don’t have the time) is the bulk.
So any models to look out for?
Initially I was looking at compacts around the £200 mark but a mate has a Sony A6000 which I’ve been quite impressed with. A search around ebay and the older models are around that price. Not necessarly after Sony but was wondering if anyone has any recommendations?
I’d be mainly using auto for now however I do enjoy playing about with the settings but not anything too complicated. Not got long to shop about unfortunately. I’d like a small zoom or maybe just pancake but nothing too big lens wise as what has put my off buying an SLR (been thinking about getting into photography for a while, just don’t have the time) is the bulk.
So any models to look out for?
The cheapest I have seen the RX100 MK1 priced up in the shops recently is approx £289, the prices have been rising due to damage to the Sony factory producing these cameras which has caused a backlog in production along with a drop in the value of the GBP.
I used a Sony RX100 for just under two years and was quite pleased with its performance and image quality, it's certainly a very solidly built bit of kit. Leave it in AUTO and it will rarely let you down, but if you want to try out different effects such as blurred backgrounds then move the dial to 'A' for Aperture Priority and select f1.8 and you can achieve some very nice depth of field along with higher shutter speeds which will reduce motion blur.
Having recently purchased a cheaper Sony WX500 superzoom with a smaller sensor I find the drop in shutter speeds and increase in ISO in low light quite astounding (due to the smaller sensor being used) which leads me to think that perhaps I ought to be reconsidering buying one of the RX100 models, I quite fancy a MK4 but not so keen on the high price it currently commands. Problem with shop marketing is that they promote the number of megapixels the cameras have whilst conveniently forgetting to tell you about the size of the sensor which is more important.
There are better cameras out there on the market but they tend to be bigger and that is the dilemma, pocketable or not - Panasonic produce some very impressive compact cameras but once again they are physically bigger, Canon produce the G7X and G9X models which are similar in size but they cost far more money. Which leads me back to the Sony RX100 being a very good compromise in terms of price, performance and image quality. Buy it from John Lewis and you are provided with their excellent 2 year warranty with the option to purchase a 3 year accidental damage warranty - my RX100 failed just under 2 years old and they refunded me no questions asked so I can vouch for the quality of the JW aftercare.
In terms of a larger DSLR, take a look at the Canon 100D kit, if you combine that with a Canon EFS 24mm f2.8 pancake lens it's so very tiny and sets you up for your future interest in photography along with the potential to add more lenses as you see fit. Drawback is you can't really put it in your jeans pocket!
Hope this helps you a little in your decision making!!!
I used a Sony RX100 for just under two years and was quite pleased with its performance and image quality, it's certainly a very solidly built bit of kit. Leave it in AUTO and it will rarely let you down, but if you want to try out different effects such as blurred backgrounds then move the dial to 'A' for Aperture Priority and select f1.8 and you can achieve some very nice depth of field along with higher shutter speeds which will reduce motion blur.
Having recently purchased a cheaper Sony WX500 superzoom with a smaller sensor I find the drop in shutter speeds and increase in ISO in low light quite astounding (due to the smaller sensor being used) which leads me to think that perhaps I ought to be reconsidering buying one of the RX100 models, I quite fancy a MK4 but not so keen on the high price it currently commands. Problem with shop marketing is that they promote the number of megapixels the cameras have whilst conveniently forgetting to tell you about the size of the sensor which is more important.
There are better cameras out there on the market but they tend to be bigger and that is the dilemma, pocketable or not - Panasonic produce some very impressive compact cameras but once again they are physically bigger, Canon produce the G7X and G9X models which are similar in size but they cost far more money. Which leads me back to the Sony RX100 being a very good compromise in terms of price, performance and image quality. Buy it from John Lewis and you are provided with their excellent 2 year warranty with the option to purchase a 3 year accidental damage warranty - my RX100 failed just under 2 years old and they refunded me no questions asked so I can vouch for the quality of the JW aftercare.
In terms of a larger DSLR, take a look at the Canon 100D kit, if you combine that with a Canon EFS 24mm f2.8 pancake lens it's so very tiny and sets you up for your future interest in photography along with the potential to add more lenses as you see fit. Drawback is you can't really put it in your jeans pocket!
Hope this helps you a little in your decision making!!!
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