£1k travel camera
Discussion
I did a 3 week west coast of USA road trip last year - had similar dilemma around a good compact camera over iPhone/DSLR etc.
Ended up with a Sony Rx100VII. Best purchase, tool for the job etc
I’m no David Bailey (aperture/stops etc all alien to me). On automatic setting - captured vistas/whales/sea otters/Bald eagles etc/sun rise/setting.
V Interested in your Japan trip - never had chance to go in that direction yet - but maybe in a year or two think it could be on the cards.
Have a great journey and hopefully share itinerary/post trip report.
Ended up with a Sony Rx100VII. Best purchase, tool for the job etc
I’m no David Bailey (aperture/stops etc all alien to me). On automatic setting - captured vistas/whales/sea otters/Bald eagles etc/sun rise/setting.
V Interested in your Japan trip - never had chance to go in that direction yet - but maybe in a year or two think it could be on the cards.
Have a great journey and hopefully share itinerary/post trip report.
Sony RX100VII is a great light travel camera.
In my experience, it all comes down to what you are shooting and want you want to do with the end product.
If your photos are mainly for social media sharing with friends and family and occasional viewing on your phone or tablet, then a high-end phone will do really well. I use my iPhone 13 Max for most of my photography.
If you are shooting from a distance and/or fast moving targets, then the dedicated camera will be best - especially so if you want to print or view on a large screen with a ton of sharp detail. I use my mirrorless Canon R5 for this (forget DSLR's, Mirrorless all the way now).
I'm a lazy photographer, I shoot RAW + JPG and only use the JPG's for quick post and sharing. I save the RAW files and one day when I'm bored, I'll go back and play with the originals to produce better images.
In my experience, it all comes down to what you are shooting and want you want to do with the end product.
If your photos are mainly for social media sharing with friends and family and occasional viewing on your phone or tablet, then a high-end phone will do really well. I use my iPhone 13 Max for most of my photography.
If you are shooting from a distance and/or fast moving targets, then the dedicated camera will be best - especially so if you want to print or view on a large screen with a ton of sharp detail. I use my mirrorless Canon R5 for this (forget DSLR's, Mirrorless all the way now).
I'm a lazy photographer, I shoot RAW + JPG and only use the JPG's for quick post and sharing. I save the RAW files and one day when I'm bored, I'll go back and play with the originals to produce better images.
I defo dont want a camera phone upgrade, my phones last me years and I upgraded to an A32 a couple of years ago and it should last me another 5+ years. (the camera is sh*t on it though!) (I sure the latest Iphone 26 XXXL Max Gen 3 is a lot better but I cant stomach the prices for what is to me mainly a phone to me)
Camera wise I used to have Nikon DSLRs but we are going back to the early days. I have a friend who is into photography so whenever I need a "proper" camera I borrow one of his, but they are always huge and worth a fortune so I am not risking taking one to Japan and also its just too heavy.
I have a Casio point and shoot, it has some level of manual settings but its showing its age. It still takes better photos than my Samsung phone though. Its about on a level with my wifes iphone, think its an 11.
Thats a 14 year old camera. Its garbage in low light though.
So in short without waffling on I would like the feature / manual adjustment of an SLR but in the size of my pocket Casio with modern 20+MP sensor.
Last night I read a lot more reviews again and now I am leaning towards the ZV1.
It has the glass from the VA and most of the features of the VII.
At £550 its going to be £150-£200 cheaper than the VII.
But then in my mind I am like if I am going to spend £550 on something then £750 is really probably not that much of a push further for a used VII.
Then I start thinking about a used VA again for £450... that IS a decent saving over the VII.
Its just too confusing!! I think the f1.8 lens on the VA/ZV1 is what I need. But then I do like using my zoom and on the Casio I think its a 35-180 or something like that so I might miss the reach. In fact I know I will. On the casio I bump into the end of the optical zoom quite often.
And this is where I end up going round in circles. I suppose a small APSC with interchangeable lenses is really what I should get but then its a lot more cr@p to carry round.
Camera wise I used to have Nikon DSLRs but we are going back to the early days. I have a friend who is into photography so whenever I need a "proper" camera I borrow one of his, but they are always huge and worth a fortune so I am not risking taking one to Japan and also its just too heavy.
I have a Casio point and shoot, it has some level of manual settings but its showing its age. It still takes better photos than my Samsung phone though. Its about on a level with my wifes iphone, think its an 11.
Thats a 14 year old camera. Its garbage in low light though.
So in short without waffling on I would like the feature / manual adjustment of an SLR but in the size of my pocket Casio with modern 20+MP sensor.
Last night I read a lot more reviews again and now I am leaning towards the ZV1.
It has the glass from the VA and most of the features of the VII.
At £550 its going to be £150-£200 cheaper than the VII.
But then in my mind I am like if I am going to spend £550 on something then £750 is really probably not that much of a push further for a used VII.
Then I start thinking about a used VA again for £450... that IS a decent saving over the VII.
Its just too confusing!! I think the f1.8 lens on the VA/ZV1 is what I need. But then I do like using my zoom and on the Casio I think its a 35-180 or something like that so I might miss the reach. In fact I know I will. On the casio I bump into the end of the optical zoom quite often.
And this is where I end up going round in circles. I suppose a small APSC with interchangeable lenses is really what I should get but then its a lot more cr@p to carry round.
FWIW I went round the houses trying to work out what to get as I just wasn't taking a DSLR out. I bought a Panasonic bridge camera, but that was still inconveniently bulky.
So I went through the same process as you and decided it came down to the Sony RX100 Vs Panasonic TZ100. I ended up getting the Panasonic because I wanted the bigger zoom and the Sony with the same zoom (possibly slightly shorter?) was twice the price.
Obviously the Sony would have been better, but I'm very happy with the Panasonic and can't see how it would have been that much better. IYSWIM.
So I went through the same process as you and decided it came down to the Sony RX100 Vs Panasonic TZ100. I ended up getting the Panasonic because I wanted the bigger zoom and the Sony with the same zoom (possibly slightly shorter?) was twice the price.
Obviously the Sony would have been better, but I'm very happy with the Panasonic and can't see how it would have been that much better. IYSWIM.
gotoPzero said:
Cheers - that’s the weekend sorted starting an itinerary for a future trip … 
Well, I ended up with a second hand RX100 VII.
Not got it yet, should be here for the end of the week.
Spent a smidge over £600 which I think is a pretty good deal seen them go on ebay for £700-£750.
The MK5A was about the same cost new, so I hope I have done the right thing!!
Just need to get a couple of extra batteries and I am good to go.
Not got it yet, should be here for the end of the week.
Spent a smidge over £600 which I think is a pretty good deal seen them go on ebay for £700-£750.
The MK5A was about the same cost new, so I hope I have done the right thing!!
Just need to get a couple of extra batteries and I am good to go.
gotoPzero said:
Well, I ended up with a second hand RX100 VII.
Not got it yet, should be here for the end of the week.
Spent a smidge over £600 which I think is a pretty good deal seen them go on ebay for £700-£750.
The MK5A was about the same cost new, so I hope I have done the right thing!!
Just need to get a couple of extra batteries and I am good to go.
That’s a good price - I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Re batteries I bought a couple of the Duracell alternatives as belowNot got it yet, should be here for the end of the week.
Spent a smidge over £600 which I think is a pretty good deal seen them go on ebay for £700-£750.
The MK5A was about the same cost new, so I hope I have done the right thing!!
Just need to get a couple of extra batteries and I am good to go.
Duracell NP-BX1
I’d also recommend a grip add on as found the camera quite smooth.
I got this one - Sony Grip
Edited by seyre1972 on Tuesday 4th April 21:00
Camera has turned up... jez this thing is solid.. you could really do some damage with it
Feels well made. Given it was used it looks and feels like brand new so very happy with that.
Spent the last 2 hours just messing with settings etc.. there is a steep learning curve!
The weather outside is garbage so just taking a few shots inside. Its very impressive so far.
There will be more questions in the main forum shortly
Feels well made. Given it was used it looks and feels like brand new so very happy with that.
Spent the last 2 hours just messing with settings etc.. there is a steep learning curve!
The weather outside is garbage so just taking a few shots inside. Its very impressive so far.
There will be more questions in the main forum shortly
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