Need a good compact!

dts197

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I'm looking to buy some kind of compact digital camera to use at a concert. I own a Canon 7D but it might not be allowed in (been told it's up to the staffs discretion on the day). I've looked at reviews on Amazon but can't see any stand out performers.

Picture quality is essential and something with a decent optical zoom. I've got an iPhone 6s+ which I will have with me as well. Can anyone recommend something that will be far superior to the quality of the iPhone? Budget around £500. Thanks!
 
Sony RX100 Mark II/III or Canon G7x, but zoom's not great. If you want superzoom you're only going to end up with the same IQ as the iPhone, which in low light is going to be pants. Of course you could go up a level and get a M4/3 system with telephoto lens but then they might not allow you in with this either.
 
Plus one for rx100
 
Sony RX100 Mark II/III or Canon G7x, but zoom's not great. If you want superzoom you're only going to end up with the same IQ as the iPhone, which in low light is going to be pants. Of course you could go up a level and get a M4/3 system with telephoto lens but then they might not allow you in with this either.

Is this the GX7 you mean?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NLBGC...UTF8&colid=LAFBC739A34M&coliid=I2MCG5WG85ZQAO

Because the specs are different to this one on the Panasonic website here.
DMC-GX7KEB Lumix G Compact System Cameras (DSLM) - Panasonic

I say decent zoom but I'll probably be around 5-10m away. While it'll be at night, the stage will be lit.
 
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RX100 then :)
 
Is this the GX7 you mean?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NLBGC...UTF8&colid=LAFBC739A34M&coliid=I2MCG5WG85ZQAO

Because the specs are different to this one on the Panasonic website here.
DMC-GX7KEB Lumix G Compact System Cameras (DSLM) - Panasonic

I say decent zoom but I'll probably be around 5-10m away. While it'll be at night, the stage will be lit.
Yes the Canon G7x not Panasonic GX7. The Panny is a great camera but is an interchangeable lens system not a compact.

There is another option, a used Sony RX10 but it's a bridge rather than compact. It does have the larger sensor like the RX100 so IQ will be better than your average bridge and compact.

Although the stage will be lit I would imagine you'll still need to ramp up ISO and so larger sensor cameras will be better.
 
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Yes the Canon G7x not Panasonic GX7. The Panny is a great camera but is an interchangeable lens system not a compact.

I didn't even notice one was Canon and the other Panasonic!
 
I've only got the mk1 Sony RX100, but in a drunken end of Reading Festival mood, it still took shots like this from around 5m

Frank Turner Reading 2015 by Lee aka Rancid, on Flickr
Thanks for this. Backs up what I said about the light, ISO 3200 at 1/40, iPhones and compacts wouldn't stand much of a chance. At 1/40 you're really risking motion blur at a concert meaning ideally you need to ramp up ISO even more to allow faster shutter. The RX100 III and G7X do have a faster aperture though which would help keep shutter speed a bit higher.
 
Indeed, in hindsight I could have got good results at 6400 or so, but Frank was fairly static for once!
When I bought this, it was for gigs like the OP, it was trading reach for IQ, and I'm glad I did. It's low light performance exceeds what I thought compacts were capable of, and it's successors are better still.
 
There is another option, a used Sony RX10 but it's a bridge rather than compact. It does have the larger sensor like the RX100 so IQ will be better than your average bridge and compact.

Although the stage will be lit I would imagine you'll still need to ramp up ISO and so larger sensor cameras will be better.

I looked at the RX10 which says it has an aperture of 2.8. Would that not be as good as the RX100 and the GX7 in low light which has an aperture of 1.8? I think I'm right that the lower th number, the better they are in low light?
 
yes and it also has a longer zoom - but it's huge in size by comparison and you said you wanted a compact ?
 
yes and it also has a longer zoom - but it's huge in size by comparison and you said you wanted a compact ?

Yes, I do. I was just checking about the aperture as by the sound of it, the 2 compacts would be better in low light anyway?
 
I looked at the RX10 which says it has an aperture of 2.8. Would that not be as good as the RX100 and the GX7 in low light which has an aperture of 1.8? I think I'm right that the lower th number, the better they are in low light?
The RX100 and G7X are only 1.8 at the short end and soon stop down to f2.8. The RX10 is f2.8 right up to the max zoom of 200mm, compared to the 70mm of the RX100 and 100mm on the G7X. As both myself and Jim mentioned though it is much bigger than the compacts.
 
Try a lumix gm1 in one pocket and a 14-140 lens in the other. Build once inside.
 
The RX100 and G7X are only 1.8 at the short end and soon stop down to f2.8. The RX10 is f2.8 right up to the max zoom of 200mm, compared to the 70mm of the RX100 and 100mm on the G7X. As both myself and Jim mentioned though it is much bigger than the compacts.

I'll go & take a look at the Sony RX100 iii this week. I might as well ask while I'm here, is there a particular kind of memory card that's better than the other? As the Sony takes SD, SDHC, Micro SD etc. I'm just used to the CF flash my Canon uses.
 
The last concert tickets I had had restrictions on "professional photography equipment" which mentioned specifically "zoom lenses over 5" once extended" and "all interchangable lens cameras".
I decided I didn't want to have an argument with security and have to trek back to the car with my Olympus E-PL5 so I took my Fuji XF1. It did well in very low light but this was at the Milton Keynes bowl and we were a long way from the stage so I got atmosphere not Dave Grohl's face :)
Foo Fighters Milton Keynes

I also chickened out at the football during the Olympics which had similar restrictions, every bag was searched and everyone was xrayed at Old Trafford, then I saw people with giant telephotos on DSLRs in the stands.

If you are going by car and don't mind taking your camera back if you're unable to take it with you then I might try it, but you're safer with a compact.
 
The last concert tickets I had had restrictions on "professional photography equipment" which mentioned specifically "zoom lenses over 5" once extended" and "all interchangable lens cameras".
I decided I didn't want to have an argument with security and have to trek back to the car with my Olympus E-PL5 so I took my Fuji XF1. It did well in very low light but this was at the Milton Keynes bowl and we were a long way from the stage so I got atmosphere not Dave Grohl's face :)
Foo Fighters Milton Keynes

I also chickened out at the football during the Olympics which had similar restrictions, every bag was searched and everyone was xrayed at Old Trafford, then I saw people with giant telephotos on DSLRs in the stands.

If you are going by car and don't mind taking your camera back if you're unable to take it with you then I might try it, but you're safer with a compact.

Was back in 2012 but from memory the restriction at the Olympic stadium in stratford were no longer than 200mm and had to fit into a smallish bag

A non pro DSLR body and 70-200mm (along with a TC in another pocket) were fine
 
Was back in 2012 but from memory the restriction at the Olympic stadium in stratford were no longer than 200mm and had to fit into a smallish bag

A non pro DSLR body and 70-200mm (along with a TC in another pocket) were fine
How did they differentiate a "non pro" DSLR?
 
They didn't it was more to do with the size restriction - you could get a longish lens and a non pro DSLR into the bag or a shorter lens and pro body

Could have maybe got both in certain bags but they were pretty tight on people taking the mick by squeezing loads in
 
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I'm still going to take my 7D with me as they'll be lockers if they decide it's not suitable. I got a reply from 2 of the venues today that I'll be going to and both said it's unlikely I'll get away with my 7D (I sent a picture with the 15-85mm lens attached). I was originally going to pick up a lens to take but doesn't seem worth it as I probably won't get to use it.

Had a look at the Sony RX100 iii today and it seems pretty good. It should be ok for what I want but I would have preferred just a little more zoom though. Around 8x would probably be perfect. The RX10 looked about the same size as my 7D.
 

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