Three-way shootout: compact cameras ~ Photography

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Compact camera shootout

Nikon, Canon, Panasonic: Despite the “slower” f2.8 lens, the Nikon manages to produce a dreamy, DSLR-worthy background blur that helps the leaf to pop out of the frame. But you’ll have to pop the camera into macro mode yourself, as the auto mode isn’t smart enough to switch it automatically. Photo: Jenneth Orantia

Can a smartphone replace your point-and-shoot?

Compact cameras are regularly dismissed as producing good rather than great images. This may be the case for entry-level and mid-range compacts (although skilled photographers can produce brilliant shots regardless), but there’s a certain breed of compact that proves that size doesn’t always matter.

Prosumer compacts are in the upper echelon of the point-and-shoot category, offering larger sensors, faster lenses and DSLR-quality image processors. They’re mainly targeted at enthusiasts and professional photographers, and come with all of the manual settings, features and physical buttons you’d expect in an advanced camera.

Nikon Coolpix A.

However, the superb auto functions also make them great step-up cameras for users that want to take their photography to the next level without sacrificing the pocketable form factor.

Nikon Coolpix A
$1289 (priced at Digital Camera Warehouse)

The Coolpix A isn’t for everyone. A pricetag north of a thousand dollars puts it well out of reach of casual photographers, and even if you’ve got piles of money lying around, you may be put off by the lack of zoom lens.

Canon PowerShot G15.

Nikon is up-front about the Coolpix A’s intended audience, namely professional DSLR users looking for a secondary compact option. Indeed, it manages to shoehorn the exact same APS-C-sized 16.2-megapixel sensor found on the Nikon D7100 digital SLR into a package that’s lighter than the Canon PowerShot G15 and thinner than the Panasonic Lumix LX7.

Nikon DSLR shooters will feel right at home, as it has the same controls and menu system found on the company’s bigger cameras. Support for 14-bit RAW captures also gives users a lot of leeway when it comes to editing, especially for rescuing under- or over-exposed images.

If you’re a dab hand at photography, the Coolpix A can produce photos that are nothing short of phenomenal. The fixed 18.5mm lens (28mm if you convert it to the 35mm equivalent) may not be as versatile as the typical compact zoom lens, but its ability to take razor-sharp images across the entire aperture range (starting at f2.8) with next to no chromatic aberrations or corner softness makes it a shortcoming that seasoned photographers will happily overlook.

Panasonic Lumix L7.

But the Coolpix A isn’t a slam-dunk. The lack of built-in optical viewfinder is a surprising omission for a camera of this calibre, and the auto-focus isn’t as fast or reliable as the Canon and Panasonic contenders. It’s not a great camera for shooting videos, either, as you have to dig through the menu system to activate it and there’s no external microphone option.

Canon PowerShot G15
$491 (priced at Digital Camera Warehouse)

Like the other compacts in this round-up, the PowerShot G15 is aimed mainly at pro photographers seeking a smaller camera. In that regard, the fast f1.8 lens, an abundance of manual controls and buttons and the Canon Speedlite-compatible hotshoe make it a strong contender, especially since the price has dropped since it first launched late last year.

The G15 has lost a few features from its predecessor, the G12, namely the 2.8-inch articulating LCD screen (replaced by a fixed higher-resolution 3-inch display), and the dedicated ISO dial. But it has lost a lot of weight in the process, making the G15 far more pocketable. The 5x zoom lens is over a stop brighter as well, allowing for better low-light performance and making it easier to throw your backgrounds out of focus. Despite a faster lens on the Panasonic, the Canon was able to produce brighter and clearer images for low-lit scenes, and its performance at the high ISO levels (namely 1600 and 3200) was a lot stronger.

The G15 has a longer 5x optical zoom (a 28-140mm focal length) than the Nikon and Panasonic, so you get greater flexibility for framing shots. It’s also the only camera out of the three to squeeze in an optical viewfinder, and the advanced image stabilisation is surprisingly effective for countering camera shake at shutter speeds that are up to four-stops slower than what you can usually get away with.

The 1/1.7-inch 12.1-megapixel sensor is larger than the chips found in most compacts, and the same size as the one on the Panasonic. It can capture beautiful photos provided you keep the ISO below 800, with bold colours and plenty of detail, even if they’re a little soft coming straight out of the camera. Its main shortcoming is that there are other compacts offering better image quality and features in the same price range, such as the Panasonic Lumix LX7.

Panasonic Lumix LX7
$539 (priced at Digital Camera Warehouse)

The Lumix LX7 is a classic example of how more megapixels don’t necessarily equate to better image quality. The 10.1-megapixel sensor has the lowest resolution out of the three cameras on test, and while it didn’t produce the best photos (that credit goes to the inimitable Nikon Coolpix A), it did outperform the Canon PowerShot G15 on almost every test â€“ low light shooting was the main exception.

A lot of this comes down to the lens. The LX7 has one of the highest-quality lenses you can find on a compact camera, which isn’t surprising given its made by Leica. In fact, from a technical perspective, the LX7 is practically identical to the Lecia D-Lux 6, which costs an extra $300.

The Leica DC Vario-Summilux lens is a lot faster than the ones found on most other compacts (including the Nikon and Canon), and can shoot as wide as f1.4 at the wide 24mm end and f2.3 when it’s fully zoomed to 90mm. It doesn’t zoom as far as the Canon, but its corner-to-corner sharpness is a lot better across the entire focal range. Our only real complaint is that it has a removable (and easily losable) lens cap rather than the sliding lens cover design found on most other compacts.

Speedy performance is another strong suit for the LX7. Whether you’re talking start-up time, auto-focus locking or continuous shooting, the LX7 was consistently faster than the Canon, and quicker than the Nikon for shutter lag and auto-focus. For shooting at higher ISO sensitivities, the LX7 is no match for the Nikon or the Canon. Compared to the latter camera, ISO 1600 images were a lot noisier, and while the Canon could still pull off ISO 3200, the LX7 was a mess.

Verdict

There’s no question that the Nikon Coolpix A takes the best photos, but with a pricetag almost three times that of the other compacts, the image quality advantage is practically a given. That brings the fight down to the Canon PowerShot G15 and the Panasonic Lumix LX7. There are some things that the Canon does better, such as the longer zoom range, better low light performance and more physical controls on the body. But the LX7, with a price tag that is within spitting distance, proved to be the better camera all-round, producing superior photos at a faster clip than the Canon.

Further reading:

A beginner’s guide to DSLR

The best smartphone camera

Top 20 digital photography apps

A beginner’s guide to photo editing

How to shoot shake-free mobile video

How to swipe away photo imperfections

Can a smartphone replace your point-and-shoot?

1 comment so far

Hey Guys. Great article, except you incorrectly referred to the LX7 as the L7 three times.

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June 06, 2013, 10:39AM

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Compact camera shootout

Jenneth Orantia extensively tests the capabilities of three compact digital cameras. All photos are in the order Nikon Coolpix A, Canon PowerShot G15 and Panasonic Lumix L7 (left to right or top to bottom).

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