LX100 Advanced Compacts in the smartphone era

LX100 the street camera

Smartphones  have killed off the budget compact camera.

This has  changed the game for camera makers and for those of us who would still like to use a camera to make photos.  Many smartphones are better picture making devices than a standard compact.

The challenge now is for manufacturers to produce advanced compact cameras with  the picture quality, performance and ergonomics  of a good interchangeable lens camera (ILC), either DSLR or Mirrorless ILC.

Ideally this photographic mini wunderkamera would have an anatomical handle and thumb support, built in EVF, fully articulated monitor, large aperture zoom lens covering the wide to short tele range, built in flash and a full set of controls for expert use.  It should also be enjoyable to use.

Several of those features are at odds with each other. For instance giving the lens a longer zoom range or larger aperture will inevitably make it less compact.  Providing a larger sensor to improve picture quality will force the camera body and lens both to be larger.  A very small body has simply not the space available on which to fit every desirable feature.

So the designers have several technical challenges to overcome and they must arrive at a solution to these challenges which results in a product which consumers will want to buy, own and use. One for which no excuses need be made. One which is enjoyable to use and will deliver good pictures in almost any circumstance.

The other challenge for manufacturers is that should they succeed in producing the ideal mini wunderkamera, then demand for ILCs will presumably fall.

When out and about I see plenty of people with their entry level DSLR and kit lens. The latest advanced compacts are smaller, lighter and in some ways (for instance electronic viewfinder, focus accuracy, lens aperture and sharpness)  more capable than entry level DSLRs.

When these little wonders become popular I think they will challenge the relevance of  entry DSLRs and mirrorless ILCs  and that might present the manufacturers with the need to make a big shift in product priorities.

Here follows  my very brief and undoubtedly incomplete analysis of  current advanced compact offerings.  My apologies if I fail to mention someone’s favourite camera.

The product development people have to decide on a sensor size as that determines everything else.

Larger sensors provide better image quality but restrict the possible zoom and aperture range of the lens. 

The compact with the largest sensor is the Sony RX1. This has a so called “full frame” 24x36mm sensor with a diagonal measurement of 43mm. The lens is a 35mm f2. There is very little space on this camera for much else. There is no built in viewfinder and no zoom lens.  But the purist wanting the best possible image quality in a compact body need look no further. If he or she can afford it of course.   Many full frame DSLRs cost less.

Next down in sensor size comes  the so called “APS-C” with 28mm diagonal.  Several compact and not-so-compact cameras feature this sensor size.  None has a zoom lens.

I will give lens focal lengths for all the following cameras in full frame equivalents so you have some basis on which to compare them.

The Fuji X100 and its S and T updates are not particularly compact but come with a nice bright E35mm f2 lens and a built in viewfinder which can be either an EVF or an OVF. No built in flash though.

The Ricoh GR with E28mm lens has its little band of devotees as do some other Ricoh cameras. There is no built in viewfinder and many people find the E28mm focal length really too wide for general photography. But it does have pop up flash. The lens is an f2.8 which allows the whole lens module to be quite small and substantially retractable. Overall size is quite compact.

The Nikon Coolpix A is very similar to the Ricoh with an E28mm f2.8 lens and no built in viewfinder.

The next smallest sensor size is the so called “four thirds inch” which appears in the new Panasonic LX100. The LX100 actually uses only 19.4mm of the sensor’s total 21.5mm diagonal. This allows Panasonic to incorporate a multi aspect ratio feature which many Panasonic users have grown to appreciate from experience with the GH1 and 2, also the LX5 and 7. 

I think this sensor size is well chosen as it allows a camera body which is small but not so small it is hard to handle. A bright zoom lens with an aperture range of f1.7-2.8 is provided as is a built in EVF.  This camera comes close to having my ideal feature set for an advanced compact. The only things not provided are a built in flash which I am finding I do not miss and a fully articulated monitor which I do miss. However the monitor has a viewing angle up to about 80 degrees from the optical axis.  For composition I find anything up to about 45 degrees is usable.

Going down in sensor size we come to the Sony RX100 in original, Mk2 and Mk3 versions.  These cameras have picture quality very similar to the LX100 in a smaller package.   They use the so called “one inch” sensor with a diagonal of 15.9mm.

The Mk3 even has a built in EVF although you do have to pull it out from its hiding place for use.  There is a pop up flash too, but no hotshoe.  The RX100 cameras are a collective engineering triumph but are so small they are difficult to hold securely and have ergonomic limitations.

The Canon G7X uses the same Sony sensor as the RX100 Mk3 and a  lens with longer zoom range. No EVF unfortunately, and reviewers have criticised the G7X performance.

The so called “2/3 inch” sensor has dimensions of  6.6x8.8 mm with a diagonal of 11mm. Fuji’s X10, X20 and now X30 cameras have each used this sensor size. The feature list of the X30 looks quite appealing. There is a built in EVF, hotshoe, pop up flash, PASM Dial and control dial.  The problem for Fuji and its potential customers is that the body is larger than that of the LX100 or RX100 but the sensor is smaller.

Moving right on down the sensor sizes we come to the so called “1/1.7 inch” sensor with a range of actual sizes but most are around 9.5mm on the diagonal.  Just two years ago this was the most often used sensor size for advanced compacts.

These include the Canon G16, Panasonic LX7, Pentax MX-1, Olympus XZ-2, Olympus Stylus-1 and Nikon P7800.  

Right now this group is struggling for consumers attention with the larger sensor models available.

However I think that in due course developments in  technology will permit much improved picture quality from the 9.5mm sensor. At that time a camera similar to the Olympus Stylus 1 with its E28-300mm constant f2.8 lens could become very attractive as an all purpose model in  compact form.

And if that comes to pass consumers will likely wonder why they would bother with an interchangeable lens model.