Upcoming vacation - which small camera?

[jtyson]

I guess the phone could work. It just isn't really picture friendly for things that are moving, or while I'm moving. That is why I was looking into something more capable

 

[Light Guru]

I guess the phone could work. It just isn't really picture friendly for things that are moving, or while I'm moving. That is why I was looking into something more capable

How is it not picture friendly for things that are moving?

Just use one of the many apps that gives you manual control over the shutter speed, some even have a shutter priority option.

 

[jtyson]

I can barely get pictures of my dog moving around to not be blurred with the iphone. Sure, if I get into manually doing everything, then yes it would be better, but again, that leads me to having to put far more time and effort into taking pictures and learning how to properly adjust everything, so I may as well carry around a DSLR.

That was my reason for saying I'm interested in something with a good Auto mode. I don't need pictures that are perfect to professional standards. I just want good pictures on Auto mode. I see people flood the internet with them all the time, so I know it is possible. I'm just looking for some good gear to do it with

 

[Light Guru]

I can barely get pictures of my dog moving around to not be blurred with the iphone. Sure, if I get into manually doing everything, then yes it would be better, but again, that leads me to having to put far more time and effort into taking pictures and learning how to properly adjust everything

Point and shoot cameras will give the same problems.

That was my reason for saying I'm interested in something with a good Auto mode. I don't need pictures that are perfect to professional standards. I just want good pictures on Auto mode.

The problem with full auto is that cameras don't read your mind to know what you want. You will get better results if you use a partial auto mode like shutter priority. And the iPhone can do that.

 

[jtyson]

Forgive my ignorance, but how is it soccer moms all over the world get good shots of their kid's games if the Auto function does not work? You can't expect me to believe that they all took a photography class or spent months in between their career, maintaining a household, raising children, appointments, etc perfecting their knowledge of their Canon Powershot. I just find that hard to believe.

I'm well aware that the camera can't read my mind. I also know that plenty of people use Auto with good results. Again, I'm not searching for the professional quality images that one would expect on this board. I'm just looking to take some better pictures than I can with my iphone.

 

[Light Guru]

Forgive my ignorance, but how is it soccer moms all over the world get good shots of their kid's games if the Auto function does not work? You can't expect me to believe that they all took a photography class or spent months in between their career, maintaining a household, raising children, appointments, etc perfecting their knowledge of their Canon Powershot. I just find that hard to believe.

I'm well aware that the camera can't read my mind. I also know that plenty of people use Auto with good results. Again, I'm not searching for the professional quality images that one would expect on this board. I'm just looking to take some better pictures than I can with my iphone.

Well you can call those soccer mom photos good if you want but I've never seen a good soccer photo from a point and shoot.

Besides all the soccer moms stopped using point and shoots years ago, they all just use their cell phones now.

Check out the PureShot and Manual. They are both nice camera apps that offer both full manual and shutter priority modes in addition to auto modes.

 

[LakeFX]

Forgive my ignorance, but how is it soccer moms all over the world get good shots of their kid's games if the Auto function does not work? You can't expect me to believe that they all took a photography class or spent months in between their career, maintaining a household, raising children, appointments, etc perfecting their knowledge of their Canon Powershot. I just find that hard to believe.

I'm well aware that the camera can't read my mind. I also know that plenty of people use Auto with good results. Again, I'm not searching for the professional quality images that one would expect on this board. I'm just looking to take some better pictures than I can with my iphone.

There is a lot of middle ground between full auto mode and spending months learning photography. It won't take you more than an hour to learn how to use shutter priority mode, which will let you take less blurry pictures.

 

[jtyson]

Okay a quick google search and I understand both Shutter Priority and aperture priority. I have a vague understanding of aperture, but I do understand shutter speed. I will check out some 3rd party apps for my phone and see if I like toying with it all. I do still say I'd rather equipment that wouldn't require me tweaking something every shot, but I guess that doesn't exist.

 

[Tinderbox (UK)]

I have a Nokia 1020 it has a 42mp sensor IS and has an zenon and led flash also it shoots in raw dng format and has a dedicated camera button.

Pity it`s a Win 8.1 phone and not Android

Nokia Lumia 1020 - Full phone specifications

John

 

[LakeFX]

Okay a quick google search and I understand both Shutter Priority and aperture priority. I have a vague understanding of aperture, but I do understand shutter speed. I will check out some 3rd party apps for my phone and see if I like toying with it all. I do still say I'd rather equipment that wouldn't require me tweaking something every shot, but I guess that doesn't exist.

You shouldn't need to tweak it every shot unless you are entirely changing what you are shooting every shot. For example, I went to shoot birds yesterday. I set my camera to shutter priority and a fast shutter speed (I chose 1/1000 because of a long lens). I shot for about an hour and didn't change settings at all.

 

[jtyson]

I couldn't switch phone platforms. I use iPhones because of the continuity between all my devices.

While you are correct that I wouldn't need to switch things for the same type of shooting, that is true. But the nature of taking pictures on a vacation is not to take pictures of the same things over and over again. It is to catch candid moments, sights to be seen, maybe some strange wildlife you come across, etc. Not just buildings, or ducks, or boats.

 

[jaomul]

I am an enthusiast but would struggle with my phone also. Even a relatively inexpensive camera with a viewfinder would improve shots for me probably due to the steadying affect of holding the camera rigid against my face.

Look into fugi x20, get good reviews and we'll within budget.

 

[jtyson]

I appreciate your reply with a suggestion! I am going to do some research on the Fuji and see if I can get my hands on one to try out. Do you have any clue how it compares to the RX100 III? I don't always like to trust snapsort and reading through dpreview is cumbersome.

I did take a look at the flickr pool for the camera and I saw quite a bit that I like. Obviously those are going to be from people with far more experience and interest than me, but still, the camera is seemingly pretty capable.

 

[Tinderbox (UK)]

I have had 3 fuji x20 and while it is a great camera and i love the way the lens turns on the camera, i just dont like the exposure system, too many outdoor photo`s come out dark as any bright light makes the camera underexpose the entire photo, and correcting the exposure in ps or lr just brings out really bad noise in the photo due to the small sensor, unless you are going to manually correct expose while taking the photo`s i would give it a miss.

John.

I am an enthusiast but would struggle with my phone also. Even a relatively inexpensive camera with a viewfinder would improve shots for me probably due to the steadying affect of holding the camera rigid against my face.

Look into fugi x20, get good reviews and we'll within budget.

 

[Microbois]

Sure, if I get into manually doing everything, then yes it would be better, but again, that leads me to having to put far more time and effort into taking pictures and learning how to properly adjust everything, so I may as well carry around a DSLR.

That was my reason for saying I'm interested in something with a good Auto mode. I don't need pictures that are perfect to professional standards. I just want good pictures on Auto mode. I see people flood the internet with them all the time, so I know it is possible. I'm just looking for some good gear to do it with

I don't mean to discourage you, but there isn't a whole lot to learn to be proficient in photography. You wish to have the cake and eat it too. It ain't work that way, sorry.

You just can't expect that any Auto mode will be so great that it will replace your knowledge and your judgement. Usually, people who take better pictures have just gone through the effort of learning some basics in photography, and that will replace all the Auto mode in the world. There's no such thing as an amateure or professional quality shot, it all comes to having the right exposure for a scene. Please don't take me wrong, I shoot once and a while in Auto mode with (S) shutter speed or (A) aperture priority, but this is always done knowing that it will work well in such circumstances.

I use to have a small waterproof camera (Panasonic DMC-TS3), and it had a ridiculous amount of different Auto programs, but they were all shown with a tiny icon and a brief title. It was very hard to even figure out what they were about anyway, and since that camera had no manual mode, I struggled to pick the right Auto mode. I mean, there was probably more work involved in learning the specifics of all those Auto modes on that camera, than just learning the basics of photography. Seriously.

Also, I don't know what you mean by extra work to take a good picture, but if it's just playing with the settings VS going full auto mode, then there's no more work involved if you know what you are doing, actually, it would be less work because the Auto mode may not get you what you want in the first place as opposed to full manual that will deliver exactly what you need and expect.

I'm sorry if my answer is not what you want to hear, but we have to be honest and tell anyone not interested in learning anything in photography, that there is no magic Auto mode on any camera that will deliver beautiful pictures in all situation. Sure, once in a blue moon your camera will be in the right program, and the circumstances will be perfect, but that's called "luck". No camera can read your mind yet, and if you want good results, well, you have to know what you are doing. Period.

Good luck.