My old Canon SD500 broke recently (I fell on it!) and I need to replace it. I need to take photos and video of my goalie son playing soccer, as well as casual indoor and outdoor events. So far I have all Canon cameras. So shooting speed and interior photos are both important to me. Wide angle and telephoto are nice too, of course. But nothing heavy, that's important. Preferably something to slip into my purse or a coat pocket. One last thing, has to work well with my Mac computers. (So that cuts out Sony. I hear that the Panasonic format doesn't work well with iPhoto either.) Thanks for your suggestions as I am overwhelmed and confused, not sure that what I am looking for is out there.
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Compact camera for sports and casual use
- Thread starter joanp
- Start date
In general, the smaller the camera, the less well it is going to do shooting sports and in low light settings. Compact cameras shoot at lower maximum shutter speeds than big DSLR cameras and they also typically have smaller apertures - which is a double whammy because if your camera isn't capable of capturing as much light, your solution is to keep the shutter open for longer, and then you get blurred action shots.
RaymondR
Senior Member
with the caveat that rsbones is absolutely right, you should consider the enthusiast compacts -- the larger than normal sensors tend to give better performance: Canon G12 and S95 or 100, Nikon P7100, Oly XZ1, Panny LX5, Samsung TL500, Fuji X10. Sony doesn't have an entry in this market that I am aware of.
All the cameras I listed are well regarded though the Fuji is very new so there is not much experience level to go on. All will shoot in RAW which should give you a bit more post processing control over noise, etc. in low light shooting. The P7100 has the longest telephoto reach, the Oly has the fastest lens so likely to be good choice for interior shots, some start at efl 28mm others at efl 24m so the latter group will start wider. The smallest and lightest is the Canon S95 or 100, the others are bigger and heavier but all should meet your purse or coat pocket criteria. You are going to have to make some compromises. Nice feature of the G12 and Samsung is the articulating LCD which can be turned inward to protect it from scratches when kept in pockets, etc.
Full disclosure -- I own a G11 and an Oly m4/3 and have owned a Nikon DSLR and Panny compacts. I prefer Canon and Oly jpeg engines and color rendition to Panny and Nikon. I have no experience with Fuji or Samsung.
Video is of no real interest to me so I cannot comment other the video performance of any of these cameras.
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RaymondR
All the cameras I listed are well regarded though the Fuji is very new so there is not much experience level to go on. All will shoot in RAW which should give you a bit more post processing control over noise, etc. in low light shooting. The P7100 has the longest telephoto reach, the Oly has the fastest lens so likely to be good choice for interior shots, some start at efl 28mm others at efl 24m so the latter group will start wider. The smallest and lightest is the Canon S95 or 100, the others are bigger and heavier but all should meet your purse or coat pocket criteria. You are going to have to make some compromises. Nice feature of the G12 and Samsung is the articulating LCD which can be turned inward to protect it from scratches when kept in pockets, etc.
Full disclosure -- I own a G11 and an Oly m4/3 and have owned a Nikon DSLR and Panny compacts. I prefer Canon and Oly jpeg engines and color rendition to Panny and Nikon. I have no experience with Fuji or Samsung.
Video is of no real interest to me so I cannot comment other the video performance of any of these cameras.
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RaymondR
The new Fuji x-10 is worth a look. It has a 28 - 112 zoom (f 2 wide - f 2.8 at tele end) and it focuses very rapidly. It is very good in low light conditions...and it does not weigh much.
I have one and it is quite impressive.
I also have Panasonic GH2, GF1,LX5, LX3...and Canon S950...as well as a Fuji X100. I am impressed with the little x-10.
I have one and it is quite impressive.
I also have Panasonic GH2, GF1,LX5, LX3...and Canon S950...as well as a Fuji X100. I am impressed with the little x-10.
jon404
Senior Member
I have an Olympus XZ-1. Keep in in my front shirt pocket, with a spare battery and an older optional VF-1 optical viewfinder in my other shirt pocket. Ready to go anytime anywhere. It has a VERY fast lens and takes a picture IMMEDIATELY -- no lag -- good for sports up to the 112mm equiv lens limit. For action, you can put it on SCN > Sports mode, or use shutter priority at 1/500 sec, or higher, in daylight. A great little camera!
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