Which camera for social/blogs and travel photography?

[virulenza]

Hi all, I am a light to moderate user of cameras. But I want to find a compact camera for the following uses:

- Travel photography (scenery, wildlife, flora and fauna), and preferably if able to take the Northern Lights also? Or in snowy, cold countries occasionally too?

- Photos for social media/blogs/Instagram: Food, portraits of people and selfies, photos of makeup/beauty products

- Perform well in low-lighting like in restaurants

- Have a tilt-screen and wifi capabilities, remote shutter functions (I've never used this function before. Is it a cable-release, or use a non-wired remote?)

- Lightweight and portable, I don't want to be weighed down when travelling and I'd prefer if my camera can fit into a handbag on weekends or a small backpack when I travel.

Any recommendations?

Thank you

 

[Ah Keong]

may I ask if you have a budget in mind?

 

[virulenza]

Hi, thanks for the response. To be honest, I do not know the price range of cameras these days, so I am not sure what is considered a reasonable budget. It would be great if I can keep it to under SGD $1000, or $1200? Preferably I don't want to go above SGD $1500 because I think that's starting to get expensive, and technology moves very fast. I don't want to overspend, only to have things going out of date so quickly.

 

[virulenza]

may I ask if you have a budget in mind?

View attachment 13172

Not sure if you managed to see this, I'm new to this forum so I'm still getting used to the forum.

Hi, thanks for the response. To be honest, I do not know the price range of cameras these days, so I am not sure what is considered a reasonable budget. It would be great if I can keep it to under SGD $1000, or $1200? Preferably I don't want to go above SGD $1500 because I think that's starting to get expensive, and technology moves very fast. I don't want to overspend, only to have things going out of date so quickly.

 

[one eye jack]

Hi all, I am a light to moderate user of cameras. But I want to find a compact camera for the following uses:

- Travel photography (scenery, wildlife, flora and fauna), and preferably if able to take the Northern Lights also? Or in snowy, cold countries occasionally too?

- Photos for social media/blogs/Instagram: Food, portraits of people and selfies, photos of makeup/beauty products

- Perform well in low-lighting like in restaurants

- Have a tilt-screen and wifi capabilities, remote shutter functions (I've never used this function before. Is it a cable-release, or use a non-wired remote?)

- Lightweight and portable, I don't want to be weighed down when travelling and I'd prefer if my camera can fit into a handbag on weekends or a small backpack when I travel.

Any recommendations?

Thank you

The last condition is cute...there are literally many compacts but you must find one that for wildlife have at best 30X zoom and for low light a fstop of between F1.8 - F2.8 not to mention a flip screen with a resolution of 900K dots plus wifi for social media.

Everything is a compromise..looks like megapixels hitting 20Mp.Can't promise camera is weather sealed
for extreme conditions though.;p Have a look below links:

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/categories/best-digital-cameras-with-wifi/products

http://www.sony.com.sg/electronics/cyber-shot-compact-cameras/dsc-wx500

http://www.techradar.com/news/photo...meras/best-travel-or-superzoom-camera-1259446

 

[virulenza]

Hi, thanks. I'll read into the links you provided. Do you have any thoughts on the Sony a5100 or Sony RX100 series? Seems like the Sony RX series has been mentioned on some articles too.

Or should I stick with Panasonic?
Any options for micro four-thirds? Yea I'd prefer one that is compact size or up to the size of the Sony a5100, or no bigger than the Olympus EPL PEN series because I think that's getting quite big and bulky already, TBH. Because sometimes a smaller camera is more discreet, haha! A bit embarrassing sometimes to whip out a large camera just to take pictures of food or a selfie, lol. A smaller camera also does help when you travel and occasionally want to take street photography (with people in it), without getting stares!

 

[one eye jack]

Hi, thanks. I'll read into the links you provided. Do you have any thoughts on the Sony a5100 or Sony RX100 series? Seems like the Sony RX series has been mentioned on some articles too.

Or should I stick with Panasonic?
Any options for micro four-thirds? Yea I'd prefer one that is compact size or up to the size of the Sony a5100, or no bigger than the Olympus EPL PEN series because I think that's getting quite big and bulky already, TBH. Because sometimes a smaller camera is more discreet, haha! A bit embarrassing sometimes to whip out a large camera just to take pictures of food or a selfie, lol. A smaller camera also does help when you travel and occasionally want to take street photography (with people in it), without getting stares!

Your initial requirements is for a compact camera like those in the links and if you can find one with all the features you have stated then it is THE most compact in terms of size and weight.

When you mentioned the Sony A5xxx series or Olympus EPL then you are in a different catagory
meaning the image sensors are very much larger than the compact (the size of your finger nail).
Between the sony mirrorless (APSC) and the smaller M43 olympus the resolution and quality are
the main criteria not to mention the size and weight.

The olympus EPL series do not have built-in EVF (electronic viewfinder) but you can buy it as an attachment on the flash hotshoe.Which in that case you might as well go for the OM series with EVF.

The Sony A5xxx series are rather dated and have no EVF, might as well go for A6000 or A6300 that have EVF.That's if you find EVF useful. Do note that Sony and Olympus are interchangeble lens systems.Seems like Sony A6500 have wifi but costs more.
Where as Sony RX100 series have fixed lens so can't change to other lenses.

A bigger image sensor gives you better resolution and enlargement for photographic prints.
Do check if those cameras have wifi features or not.

From what I saw Sony RX100 M 3 (the zoom is not that long for wildlife) has the features that you want and within your budget.There are a few models in the series that costs more?

Frankly any brand that have the features you want should be good to upload to the web.It all boils down to your personal preference for colour,ergonomics (handling) and price.

 

[pinholecam]

For blogs/social media, actually the requirement isn't that high to need the latest/greatest gear.
The pictures posted are usually not too big and that usually masks any technical flaws in the camera system.

So you don't need the latest camera, and any camera from the past 3-4yrs will do well provided you know what you are doing with the picture taking.

As for small cameras, there are quite a few options out there and their differences will mostly boil down to interface/default color preference/style. (esp for your needs)
The usual contenders being m4/3 and Sony NEX (thought there are also more niche favorites like the Ricoh GR; Sigma DP series; Fuji X100F; Sony RX100 )


I've used a small compact ILC (the Pentax Q7) for various tours as a 2nd camera and it already does most of what you need. (and thats a 3-4yr old small sensor camera)
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1292695&highlight=pentax+q7
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/136-pentax-q/256302-pentax-outing-more-q-system-impressions.html

 

[chan_cy]

Sony rx100, maybe one of the older mark 3 or 4 versions since they update yearly. See what suits. I find them quite well made and take very good images and decent videos for under $1k.

 

[ckwomdem10]

maybe you can consider Olympus OMD-EM10 MkII, which is small, light, 5 axis image stabilisation for low light, electronic view finder, built-in flash and under S$1000 with compact pancake lens, or Pen E-PL 7 or 8, similarly spec but without the evf. Additional lens are cheaper and lighter than other larger sensor systems as well, which is good for travelling and blogging, with options to expand compared to a fixed lens compact. In addition, the EM10 and Pen comes with wifi connection to directly download images into your phone/tablet and use your mobile device as a remove control to take photos. hope this helps.

 

[Ernest]

I would suggest that you look for camera with the biggest sensor that meet your portability requirements and your budget.

 

[ziggy]

A Sony A6000 w kit lens is about $900 new. Add another $300 for the 55-210 lens. Total $1200 for a very decent apsc camera kit, more than good enough for travel and social media posts.

Or the Canon M3 kit with 2 lenses about the same price. Also similar bundles from Olympus and Nikon. All are APSC sized sensors, while the Olympus is micro-four-third. APSC size is larger than micro43 so should give better quality.

 

[ckwomdem10]

I think the sensor size between apsc and m4/3 in producing better quality photos are not as significant, main moot point for virulenza is "...or no bigger than the Olympus EPL PEN series because I think that's getting quite big and bulky already, TBH. Because sometimes a smaller camera is more discreet, haha! A bit embarrassing sometimes to whip out a large camera just to take pictures of food or a selfie, lol. A smaller camera also does help when you travel and occasionally want to take street photography (with people in it), without getting stares!"...and APSC lens are definitely bigger, heavier.

also, I think too many people are too hung up about sensor size, but don't get me wrong, all sensor size have their pros and cons, but more importantly is how one wants to use the camera and the photos...for most, the photos are usually shared on social media and/or small prints, even some pros prefer smaller and more portable camera that don't break their back lunging it around or sprained their wrist when holding too long. its more about the fun of taking photos.

an interesting article to share...
https://petapixel.com/2017/03/24/battle-micro-43-camera-outsold-full-frame-dslr/

 

[TheDream]

I think a small micro four thirds camera like the GF9 meets your requirements:

https://microfourthirdssite.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/first-blog-post/