Moving From Bridge To Compact

[giblet]

Firstly I would like to apologise in advance. I know pretty much sweet feck all about photography. I purchased a S6500FD around four and a half years ago before I went on holiday in an attempt to get into photography. Since then I have taken a few photos with it but mainly in the preprogrammed landscape, portrait and sport settings. The only time I put it into manual mode was to take some photos at different exposures for a hdr shot.

I have not used the camera for a fair few months now, I always seem to end up taking shots with my phone instead. I have also noticed that my friends dslr (a Nikon D50) takes much nicer looking pictures, even in auto mode. As a result I am looking to switch to a compact such as the NEX-5 as they seem to be smaller so theres more of a chance that I will take it along with me instead of lugging the s6500fd around plus they seem to tout "dslr quality photos" as one of the features.

Any suggestion for which compact to go for? I have around £300 plus whatever I get for the S6500fd on fleabay.

[GetCarter]

Canon S100 & Panasonic LX-5 are the best compacts out there at the moment.

If you're feeling flush, the Leica D-Lux 5 will get you better build, software, guarantee and residuals, but it's in essence the LX-5

[raptor600]

This one is as good as it gets - £390 and worth every penny!

[giblet]

Thanks for the replies. Is the NEX5 worth the extra cash compared to the 3? Also, I am guessing its better to get the 18-55mm lense for all round photos compared to the 16mm? I am more used to the fuji menu systems having owned a few fuji cameras, but I like the look of the Sony nex range.

[14-7]

If you don't want a bridge camera then stay away from the likes of the NEX series as that is what they are effectively.

Better off staying with something like a Canon S95 or S100 or the Nikon equivalents.

No need to worry about different lenses yet they will still allow pretty much full control when you need it. (and they are small enough to fit in your pocket when out and about)

[giblet]

14-7 said:

If you don't want a bridge camera then stay away from the likes of the NEX series as that is what they are effectively.

Better off staying with something like a Canon S95 or S100 or the Nikon equivalents.

No need to worry about different lenses yet they will still allow pretty much full control when you need it. (and they are small enough to fit in your pocket when out and about)

To be honest, I am not quite sure 100% about what I want. Aside from a fairly compact camera, that can attempt to rival say the auto mode quality from something like a D50. My thinking behind something like the Nex and other compact cameras is that they claim to be slr like quality, plus if its more portable compared to my current S6500fd then I am more likely to use it and as a result get into photography.

[sneaky schnell]

I think the NEX sounds like it would be good for your requirements. If you want better quality images, the sensor size in these cameras will really help as they are on par with those in many SLRs. They are set up to be very easy to use.

You should also consider Micro Four Thirds cameras like those offered by Panasonic and Olympus. They also have large sensors and a much better lens choice than the Sonys.

Both of the above choices are significantly better than any compact as most (all?) compacts have VERY small sensors.

[sparkypups]

you can also look at the samsung NX100 and NX200 as these are fairly compact but also have a large sensor.