OT: Cameras

[morrisericd]

I have a Sony 6400 with some nice, long range glass that I use for sports shooting mostly. It's a great setup and takes terrific pictures. Unfortunately, even with smaller lenses, it's a little too big to stash in my pocket. I looked into getting a Sony rx100 for an upcoming ski trip, but ultimately decided to upgrade my iPhone to the 11 pro which is supposed to have a killer camera.

Did I make the right decision? Still not sure. There's really something to be said for the "always in your pocket" aspect of phone cameras. And - it does take nice pictures. However - especially for long range shooting and sports - I just don't see how the phone can compare.

[zambenini]

At the recommendation of a friend, and considering the use, (pics of family outings, slipping into a handlebar bag or daypack for outdoor adventures), I think the Sony RX100 family is right for me.

I was outbid yesterday by $10 on a RX-100-III on ebay (It went for $304). That's about my budget - can RX-100 users chime in on the model family and/or features I should look out for there?

Thanks,
John

[eddief]

maybe not as good glass but will you know the difference?

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pan...mc-zs200-tz200

or maybe more in your price range is the zs100. earlier model, same camera, a little less zoom:

https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-Meg.../dp/B010NU5AX8

Originally Posted by zambenini

At the recommendation of a friend, and considering the use, (pics of family outings, slipping into a handlebar bag or daypack for outdoor adventures), I think the Sony RX100 family is right for me.

I was outbid yesterday by $10 on a RX-100-III on ebay (It went for $304). That's about my budget - can RX-100 users chime in on the model family and/or features I should look out for there?

Thanks,
John

[XXtwindad]

This is a good example of why off-topic threads can be really informative. I'm a complete novice to photography, but I'd love to get more into it.

I'm actually contemplating getting a "flip phone" again. The only reason I've been holding off is for the camera aspect. But, from what I've gathered here, some (most?) of the phone out there are just as compact and take much better photos.

[sonicCows]

Sensor quality on phones is great now and I can get some nice photos from my phone camera, even at night, but computation photography can't overcome physics.

You will notice crazy distortion on pretty much anything taken with a smartphone camera, like a brick wall or faces; this is due to the wide lenses needed for an equivalent focal length on a larger sensor. Here is a good example with the new iPhone:
https://boingboing.net/2019/09/27/fisheye-banana.html

Zooming in with an iPhone is mostly done by cropping images as well, not a true optical zoom. Compact cameras are fine taking photos of landscapes but if you want specific compositions you're mostly out of luck. Sensor size and ease of controls will always have me come back to using dedicated cameras over a smartphone.

[MikeD]

What computer monitor would you guys recommended? I currently have a 1080p 24" monitor and it's not adequate for viewing and editing photos. I'm thinking a 4K monitor, but not an expensive professional grade one.

[tuxbailey]

Originally Posted by MikeD

What computer monitor would you guys recommended? I currently have a 1080p 24" monitor and it's not adequate for viewing and editing photos. I'm thinking a 4K monitor, but not an expensive professional grade one.

I have an older version of this monitor. It was pretty good out of the box without the need of calibration as it is factory calibrated:

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-PA329Q-3...0084FNAB4?th=1

The 24" sRGB version should good enough for everyday use. If you want to splurge get the 32" Adobe RGB version.

Here is a link for other choices:

https://www.creativebloq.com/buying-...-photo-editing

[MikeD]

Iphone 11 Pro vs Panasonic DMC-SZ7:

Panasonic


iPhone


Panasonic


iPhone


Edit: I went back and re-uploaded the photos at medium resolution.

[joosttx]

Bottom is iPhone bc looks to be over processed

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by joosttx

Bottom is iPhone bc looks to be over processed

Nope. The first photo in each set is the iPhone photo.

What's also interesting is that in the first photo set, where the sky is all white in the Panasonic photo, I ran the photo through Lightroom and I could not get the sky to show any clouds, so that detail is lost.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Nope. The first photo in each set is the iPhone photo.

well the settings you have on the camera are over processing the image.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by joosttx

well the settings you have on the camera are over processing the image.

The settings were on "intelligent automatic," the default automatic setting which the manual says is the best all around setting. It does have other scenery settings, which may or may not improve things. It's a point and shoot camera, which is how I used it.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The settings were on "intelligent automatic," the default automatic setting which the manual says is the best all around setting. It does have other scenery settings, which may or may not improve things. It's a point and shoot camera, which is how I used it.

An iphone is perfect for you.

[colker]

Originally Posted by MikeD

The settings were on "intelligent automatic," the default automatic setting which the manual says is the best all around setting. It does have other scenery settings, which may or may not improve things. It's a point and shoot camera, which is how I used it.

The best setting is raw and you chose what to do on photoshop when converting to jpg. Automatic has too much contrast.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by MikeD

Nope. The first photo in each set is the iPhone photo.

None of those photos are very good at this size. I would hate to see them at full size.