After a mere two and a half years of research, I finally bought a new camera last August. I wanted one with excellent image quality, but wouldn’t kill me when I also carry my film SLR (which weights approximately half a ton). I wanted one that wasn’t too expensive, but wouldn’t be a waste of money for photos worse than my phone takes.
Two and a half years is a long time to look at cameras, get carried away, look at the cheap option and weigh up all the options.
So here is a list of advanced compact cameras that I considered for different reasons. In the interest of full disclosure, I haven’t owned or even touched most of these.
The cool one: Fujifilm X10
With reportedly great image quality and obviously good looks (similar to my SLR) this one immediately caught my attention. I also owned a Fujifilm bridge camera several years ago and loved it. If I didn’t want to also carry around my SLR, this one could have been a winner. Fujifilm also makes the X100 that is supposed to be even better, but costs even more. My narcissism still loves this option.
If you don’t mind it a bit clunky: Canon Powershot G5
It’s a bit bigger, but supposed to have really great image quality. It was also just a little too large for what I was looking for. I do love Canon cameras though.
The cheaper option: Canon powershot S120
This one is very small and very affordable (last time I checked). It’s supposed to take really decent photos but I was worried it wouldn’t have the image quality I wanted. It seems like a good option as a step up from a phone camera towards a fancier one.
If you win the lottery: Leica Q
Leica lenses are renown for their quality and with the price on this one, I hope it would live up to the hype. Looks like a beautiful machine.
I know a lot of these cameras are ‘out of date’ now. When I’m looking for a new camera, I actively look for the previous year’s version because the price usually drops when a new version comes out and I rarely need the most brand new technology. For example, I bought a second hand iPhone 4s and am perfectly happy (especially with my £8 phone bill!)
Teacup and Mouse 