Railfan Technology > Recommendation for a Good Point & Shoot Camera

Lookng for anyone with Experience or feedback on a few Cannon Point and Shoot Cameras. Will use on trips without my DSLR Im looking for a lightweight option to use on a Cruise and Possible light weight trips.
Options I have looked at are:
Cannon Powershot SX740HS
Cannon Powershot G7X Mark II
Cannon Powershot G7X Mark III.
Testing out the Mark III currently but looking into the SX740 HS due to the long focal length for a all around lens.
Anyone have any feedback on these or others,
Thanks in Advance,
JR

If you're used to the quality of a DLSR, I doubt that the long focal length of the SX740HS would give you much value. But I haven't used it.   I bought a G7X Mk II before the III was available for the reasons you describe and have had it about 4 years.  I have a hard time using it at the longer end of it's lens range (100mm).  Hard to hold steady not having a viewfinder. It's better at the lower end of the lens range.    I used it on business trips and non-rail trips where I wanted something that created a Canon raw file but was light weight.  I use it more now for grandkids.  It's acceptable for general photography, fits the 'street photography' needs well.  If I were faced with the same situation today, a better phone camera might do most of what I was looking for.  Just quickly looking at the spec difference between the II and the III, the question is whether the higher frame rate and updated processor is worth the $150 difference.   It would have been for me if the III was an option.

Go over to www.dprevew.com and read the reviews.   There is no reason to limit yourchoice to Canon.

Agreed. Sony is a much better alternative to Canon these days.

For what it's worth, I had a need for something pocketable and discreet yet I didn't want to sacrifice quality or get a really small sensor.  

With those criteria, there are compromises compared to full-frame to acknowledge and learn to work with and/or live with, but that's reality.

After a great deal of research and deliberation, I winced at the $$$ and went with the latest iteration of the Sony RX100, the Mark VII.  

So far, I have no regrets other than that I didn't get it sooner.

All of the M1 through M6 iterations are readily available used as well.  I've seen the M1 for under $200.

You could look at a Panasonic TZ60....

How often will the camera on your cell phone do the job?

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

IDK if a cell phone can stop an Acella at 100 mph.   The new cameras are fine for small prints and online views.

bobwilcox Wrote:
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> How often will the camera on your cell phone do
> the job?

Depends on phone quality...

Thanks for all the input, I am looking for something to put in my pocket rather than my Nikon DSLR with my lenses. I am not limited to Cannon P&S cameras, Want something good and compact. cell phones are good but they have their limitations also. 

If you're used to a Nikon DSLR and its controls & menu layout, perhaps the Nikon Z30 Mirrorless Camera with 16-50mm Lens might be a consideration.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/22 14:40 by JR24.

Press25 Wrote:
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> After a great deal of research and deliberation, I
> winced at the $$$ and went with the latest
> iteration of the Sony RX100, the Mark VII.  

I went through the same thing and have the same camera. It makes great images and is definitely "pocket size" but I find it challenging to use with my big meat hooks. If I had to do it all over again, I might choose a slightly larger camera that is more ergonomically suited to large hands. 

For reference here's a series of shots from the Sony.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,5319097

I've had a few point-and-shoot cameras to keep handy when I am not carrying the "big guns," and I've found all of them to be inferior to what my Samsung Galaxy phone is capable of.

The one hitch to that is the split second lag time it takes to shoot the photo.  With the phone, you have to anticipate and hit the shutter icon a split-second early to get the photo you want.  It takes a little practice, but the photos are great.  Two photos I took with my phone have been used for DVD covers.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Due to age and declining health, I decided to sell off my high end Canon gear including "L" lenses about 2 years ago and stick with my older 'pocketable' Canon G15.  The G15 does close to everything I needed for RR as well as general photography.  From handling an external flash to full manual control, I was quite satisfied with using my 'backup' camera of the past 10-12 years.  It's biggest shortcoming, in my opinion, is it has a 'unique' Canon (or compatible) battery vs standard AAs, or whatever.  However, carrying an extra battery and charger was not a problem...until I completely forgot to pack them for a short 4-day vacation in May...cell phone to the rescue!

Like most, we've 'poo-poo-ed' cell phone photography for its tiny sensors and 'OK for the masses' image quality.  These days, I'd estimate that 99% or more of all digital images created each day are taken with a cell phone, viewed and shared a couple times then erased or forgotten.  It was apparent to some at least 10 years ago that cell phone photography 'killed' the point-and-shoot camera market (used to be the 'Instamatic' crowd in the film days) and would soon 'kill' the 'all in one' market such as my G15 and quickly set its sights on the higher end point and shoot/all in one cameras.

As luck would have it, I had recently replaced/upgraded cell phones to a higher end Samsung 5G A52.  Prior to my May vacation, I doubt I took more than a couple dozen cell phone pictures except by accident!  Why?  The usual shutter lag, poor image quality, small sensor, etc.  Not being a 'shill' for Samsung or any cell phone manufacturer, I was absolutely blown away at the capabiities of the built in camera!  Central, of course, was the ease of use and its abilities in 'full auto' mode.  I've been a 'full manual' shooter since my first camera about 60 years ago.  Only with my G-series cameras starting about 2002 did I regularly use the 'auto' feature of digital photography.  The A52 blew me away with it's automatically handling changes of lighting - even under bridges or through tunnells! - to almost no noticable shutter lag.  Zooming, interior shots, sunny day, roomette, through the window, and on and on 'sold me' on the phone camera....or should it be camera that doubles as a phone?  At one point, while stopped on the Cardinal after dark somewhere in West Virginia alongside a river, I decided to try a couple through the window shots from my darkened roomette.  I was blown away!  Using the window to steady the camera, it took high ISO longer exposure images automatically!  I simply pushed the shutter 'button' and hoped for the best.  I even took an accidental 5 second movie with clear results on my computer monitor at home!  Needless to say, I've taken very few images with my G15 since then. 

Of course, I have Photoshop and Lightroom on my computer and everything goes through Lightroom and a very few through Photoshop for general editing, minimal sharpening, cropping, 'clean up', even making selected elements (like poles) disappear.  5x7 prints from my Epson r580 photo printer are far more than acceptable even for the pickiest of viewers, in my opinion.

No, I doubt the phone could take a 30 second night image of the moon.  But who cares?  I'm more than pleased with my cell phone camera results.  And I'm a picky perfectionist! 

For a comparably small investment in a new higher-end cell phone with outstanding photo capabilites, I strongly recommend you try that route instead of 'investing' in rapidly being 'left in the dust' photographic gear.

The best camera is the one you have with you.

Perfect timing for the discussion at hand.

I was headed to the post office this afternoon when the detector a few miles south of me went off.  I pulled into the parking lot of Rural Health and pulled out my Samsung Galaxy cell phone.  I knew it would be a challenging situation for any camera: snow on the ground and shooting directly in the sun's direction.

Let these shots of northbound Canadian National A431 illustrate the results you can get with a contemporary cell phone, and why I quit bothering with a point and shoot.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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You've nailed it - cellphone cameras have come a long way - always available to most folks.  I'm with you these days - NO wasting time and $$$ on point & shoot cameras.

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
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> Perfect timing for the discussion at hand.


pulled out my Samsung Galaxy cell
> phone.  I knew it would be a challenging
> situation for any camera: snow on the ground and
> shooting directly in the sun's direction.
>
> Let these shots of northbound Canadian National
> A431 illustrate the results you can get with a
> contemporary cell phone, and why I quit bothering
> with a point and shoot.

The next step for cellphone cameras (IMO, of course) should be generalized synthetic depth of field. "Portrait mode" does for a special case but that doesn't help RR pictures. Would probably help to have two lenses spaced far apart on the camera. Oops, phone. While they'e at it, the two lenses could also generate a stereo image.

Here's a paper on an early version; https://arxiv.org/abs/1806.04171



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/22 14:59 by clem.