Somewhere between a P&S and a dSLR

[ham]

Right, as usual I'm having a right royal pain trying to make my mind up about a purchase.

I have a 60D, 15-85mm IS USM and 30mm f/2.0 and I'm looking for something somewhere between that and the plain old point and shoot I have on my camera phone (HTC One X for what it's worth). Its main use would be street photography. Carrying with me everywhere and being a bit less intrusive than a medium sized SLR Plus Zoom, but still capable of reasonable image quality in varying light situations.

I have a friend who absolutely adores his Fuji X100, but I think it might be slightly out of budget for something I want to be able to abuse a bit. I want to be able to throw it in a bag without care, take it on holiday without having to worry about it getting sunlotion, sand, etc. in/on/all over it.

So naturally, I'm looking one down the rung at the X10. It really does look like a wonderful little camera. The manual zoom is a bit of a bonus, especially as it's f/2.8 at the long end. Their sensor pattern also intrigues me. How much extra help does it give in real-world terms?

I've seen it compared a lot with the Olympus xz-1 which is a bit smaller, but lacks the viewfinder. Are there any other options I should be looking at? And can anyone help shed some light on the choices?

[Steve U]

Ham my vote would definitely go to the just announced Sony DSC RX100- 20.2 MP, 10fps in burst mode, Carl Zeiss f/1.8 lens, full HD video capture, all for $648 US.

I think an almost unbeatable package with those features at that price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

Cheers,
Steve

[Rocco]

Ham my vote would definitely go to the just announced Sony DSC RX100- 20.2 MP, 10fps in burst mode, Carl Zeiss f/1.8 lens, full HD video capture, all for $648 US.

I think an almost unbeatable package with those features at that price.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...al_Camera.html

Cheers,
Steve

What he said. I was just reading about that one. Looks sleek as hell to boot. Also, the all aluminum body should help with your desire for durability.. In theory anyway. Looks solid at least.

[ham]

"available in UK at the end of July 2012"

Means it misses my music festival holiday in a months time (Benicassim, Spain) unfortunately.

Big sensor does sound cool. Is that the way these things are heading now?

[Rocco]

"available in UK at the end of July 2012"

Means it misses my music festival holiday in a months time (Benicassim, Spain) unfortunately.

Big sensor does sound cool. Is that the way these things are heading now?

Ish. Mirrorless seems to have the opposite approach with the micro 4/3rds sensor. I think the idea there is the blistering fps.

[ham]

So of the cameras currently out and available are the x10 and the xz-1 the ones to look at?

[Cory]

The first, if not one of the first, items I look at in P&S, is optical zoom ability. I wouldn't buy less than x10 optical zoom and I prefer x20 or better. If I can't change lenses, I want the maximum amount of versatility I can get.

[ham]

I'm not bothered by zoom whatsoever. Somewhere between 24-35mm full frame equivalent and I'm happy. In fact, I hate power-zoom. I quite liked the manual zoom on the X10, it felt real, instant.

I'm hoping I haven't sold myself on the X10 if there are better options available.

[thekingb]

Did you look at the Sony NEX series? APS-C sensor and interchangeable lenses, but not that small. I have the NEX-5N and the IQ is excellent. It's high ISO is even better than my 7D.

The Nikon J series is also intriguing because it is a mirrorless system but smaller than the NEX series.

[ham]

Is there a particular model I should be looking at in the NEX series? I'd want a small lens on it, fast and 24-35mm equivalent, but it couldn't be too expensive, because the idea is that it's a bit chuckable.

Same question with the J series too.