The screen is fixed, which is a shame when composing from awkward angles, but it did perhaps help to keep the overall size of the camera down. The main drawback is a rather small electronic viewfinder, though it does offer a 1.16-million-dot resolution, but a 3-inch rear LCD with touch sensitivity helps with the handling. Alongside this, there’s a rich feature list which includes 4K video shooting, 10fps shooting, built-in WiFi and an electronic viewfinder.
While 10x doesn’t get near the heady heights of the 30x or 40x zooms elsewhere in this list, the 25-250mm equivalent should be more than enough for most situations. However, Panasonic’s TZ100 manages to bridge the gap between premium compacts and superzooms, with its 10x optical zoom offering. In most cases, compacts which feature a large (one-inch) sensor, have a restricted zoom. Read our Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII Reviewīest all-rounder: Panasonic Lumix TZ100 Price: £389 Panasonic Lumix TZ100 – at a glance The RX100 V is still a fantastic, somewhat more affordable, option but its lens doesn’t have as much optical zoom. If you don’t have those kind of readies available, take a look at some of the older RX100 models. That’s a heck of a lot of money to spend on a compact camera, but you do get something seriously impressive for your cash. You need to pay top whack to get all of these features in such a small package, and the RX100 VII currently retails for around £1,000. So, what’s the drawback? Well – it’s the price. You also get a cleverly hidden electronic viewfinder which pops out from the corner of the camera. Other exciting features include 4K video, in-built wi-fi and a tilting LCD touchscreen. The autofocus system is also pretty impressive, so you could conceivably use this camera to shoot sports and action. High-speed shooting is available – pretty incredible for a pocket camera – you can shoot at 24fps. Not only do you have a one-inch sensor, you get a 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) lens which offers an f/2.8-f/4.5 maximum aperture.
We’re now in the seventh generation from the original camera, and the tech which is packed into this miniature marvel is quite something. Sony’s RX100 range is what introduced the one-inch sensor to the market, and the camera which others tend to follow. The ultimate offering in portability and overall image quality has to be the Sony RX100 VII.
Screen: 3-inch, 921,600-dot tilting touchscreen LCD.Sensor: 20MP Exmor RS CMOS, 13.2 x 8.8mm.In this unmissable buyer’s guide we take a closer look at some of the best compact cameras that you can currently buy and give our expert recommendations about what each one is best for…īest compact for action: Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII Price: £1,150 Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VII – at a glance Now, a compact camera has to offer something extra – that could be a larger sensor, a longer zoom, 4K video, rapid shooting or something else entirely. It’s no longer a case of simple ‘point-and-shoots’, as for the most part, your smartphone can fulfil that job. The compact camera market is diverse, but it has undeniably changed a huge amount in the past few years. That’s when having a compact camera comes in extra handy something that you can easily slip into your pocket and be ready to shoot with at just a moment’s notice. With the best will in the world, it’s not always practical to have a large camera with you.
Compact cameras, aka ‘point-and-shoot’ cameras, aren’t as simple as they used to be, and these cameras all offer far more than you might expect… Are you looking for the best compact camera you can buy? Then look no further, as this buyer’s guide is for you.