Price: $675
Verdict: Gorgeous retro styling, a superb
viewfinder and fantastic photos make for a compelling package
Ratings: 5/5
The X10 is the more practical sibling of
the retro-tastic X100 but that doesn't mean it's any less awesome or chic.
Old-school nods include manual zooming on the 28-112mm equivalent lens, faux
Vulcanite body covering, an engraved top plate, a threaded cable release socket
on the shutter button, and an optical eye viewfinder that's way bigger and
brighter than those on its super compact rivals. It's also packing a bigger
sensor than its competitors throw in that pin sharp lens and super-fast
autofocus and you have incredible image quality in any given situation.
Canon PowerShot S100
Price: $440
Ratings: 5/5
Tiny and unassuming, the S100 nevertheless
packs an almighty photo punch. RAW shooting, GPS and a plethora of art filters
and manual controls are backed up by great photo and 1080p video quality, as
well as wonderfully simple ergonomics.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
Price: $450
Ratings: 5/5
It's not the most compact of compacts but
the 18MP HX20V builds on the success of the HX9V beautifully. The headline grabber
is the 20x optical zoom with serene image stabilisation and unrivalled video. A
superb compact that's ready for anything at all.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3
Price: $445
Ratings: 5/5
Our favourite rugged camera backs up its toughness with
environmental awareness that includes GPS, a compass, altimeter and barometer.
The FT3’s controls are glove friendly and its pictures are great. Look out for
price drops, too, as the FT4 is incoming.
Panasonic Lumix LX7
Price: $610
Ratings: 5/5
The LX7 has stolen the advanced compact
spot in our top ten from Nikon's P7100 with a beautiful (if chunky)
construction, speedy autofocus and a wide-angle f/1.4-2.3 Leica lens. Tons of
manual controls and fantastic image quality make this a trusty second cam.
Nikon Coolpix AW100
Price: $345
Ratings: 5/5
The 16MP AW100 isn’t just one of the nicest
looking tough cams out there (check out the fetching Camo finish), it’s also
one of the best-specced. Want proof? How’s 5x optical zoom, the best
geo-tagging we’ve seen and a great panorama mode grab you?
Nikon Coolpix S9100
Price: $235
Ratings: 5/5
An 18x zoom is the headline feature here,
aided by dual image stabilisation. You can get bigger zooms, but if you want
something that's compact and stylish, the idiot-proof S9100 is the way to go.
Shots are sharp with vivid colours and good low-light abilities. .
Panasonic Lumix LX5
Price: $570
Ratings: 5/5
Like the Canon S95, the LX5 takes a smart,
sleek approach to serious, no-nonsense snapping. Its Leica lens is fast and
wide, but to fully appreciate that you'll need to be shooting in RAW. Video at
720p and a generous array of controls complete a good job.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ20
Price: $260
Ratings: 5/5
Rocking GPS and manual controls, the TZ20
has an ‘Intelligent Zoom' that extends the 16x optical zoom to 21x and an easy
to use touchscreen. It's also built like a tank but most importantly, it
delivers classy Pics. It's keeping the TZ30's seat warm 'til we review it.
Olympus XZ-1
Price: $645
Ratings: 4/5
With a super-fast f1.8 Zuiko lens, the XZ-1
thrives in the kind of low-light conditions that would terrify most compacts.
Manual controls are easily changed via the lens ring and there's a wealth of
art filters, but its photos aren't the last word in sharpness.
Instant expert
Ratings: 5/5
Compact system cameras might be getting
DSLRs in a panic but meanwhile we're seeing the big players releasing pricey
advanced compacts too. Alongside the RX100 from Sony and Nikon's new Coolpix
P7700, we've tested the Panasonic Lumix LX7 (US$610, panasonic.com) and it's hard
to believe a compact can be so clever. Though it has a smaller sensor than the
Sony, the LX7 won us over with its sharp and accurate 10.1MP images, RAW
shooting, fast 24-90mm equivalent lens and reassuring heft. Autofocus is faster
than ever and the 920k-dot LCD screen is great outdoors (with the option for a
hotshoe mounted optical VF too). From macro and depth of field shots to art
filters and 1080p video, there's nothing the LX7 doesn't do well.
What to look for
Resolution
The number of megapixels is rapidly
becoming irrelevant. So long as you're in double figures you'll be OK, so move
on and focus on the things that really matter, such as..,
Picture quality
The only hands-on time you’re likely to get
is in an artificially lit shop. This will tell you nothing about picture
quality, so read reviews and check out shots taken with your potential snapper
on sites such as Flickr.
Features
Think about how you're likely to use your
camera, and prioritise features such as size, style, ruggedness and whether you
want in-depth control or an idiot- proof interface.
Swapping lenses?
There's now a middle ground between
compacts and DSLRs. Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Ricoh, Samsung and Sony make
‘compact system' cameras. The best of these can now be found in our DSLRs top
10 take a look if you've outgrown your compact.
