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Just How Good Are Modern Compacts?

duncan said:
Having had my much loved LX3 nicked I went through the same process 2 months ago and settled for a RX100iii. Main use is rockclimbing and mountaineering so a 24mm (equivalent) wide angle capability and viewfinder were high priority and weigh/size more important than manual controls. LX100 was in the mix. The nearest equivalent Canon seemed the G9X (but 28mm widest angle). Canon G1X may be better but it's bigger and twice the price.

Very happy with my choice so far but it is a compromise wrt handling. Two questions for other RX100 users:
Presuming you avoid Sony's appalling Play Memories picture management softwear (or is it just me?). How do you get the images from camera to PC? Back-up is flickr and an external hard drive if that's relevant.
Any suggestions for a compact, robust case (see use)?
Click to expand...

Don't you find it a little too tiny and fiddly to use while climbing? I'm always afraid of it slipping out of my hand and go tumbling down the crag, so 9 times out of 10, I leave it at home and take an even smaller Panny Lumix that sits better in my hand.

For transferring pix to PC with a USB cable, the camera first goes into battery recharge mode; push the on/off button again, and then it should work (if it doesn't say Mass Storage on the screen, try changing the USB settings). On your PC, select the drive that has DSC showing (and ignore the drive that says PMHome).

I have a Crumpler Base Layer S. My RX100iii just fits. It's a padded neoprene type case, zip at top, and velcro loop on back to attach to whatever.
 
Thanks for the tips.

I agree the RX100 controls are fiddly, the LX3 is better. A sling around the neck reduces the chance of fumbling it into the void: since loosing an Olympus XA to the sea at Gogarth I've always used one. I'm stictly a fair weather climber so not trying to use the controls with gloves on and tend to adjust the settings for a set rather than for individual pictures.

I love doing technically challengeing (for me) long (500-100m) rock routes that sometimes come with big walk-ins. Weight is critical but, as these are sometimes once-in-a-lifetime events, a decent quality record is good to have. I didn't take the LX3 on a couple of routes in this genre as we were counting the grammes and really miss the photos.


Nose of El Capitan, pitch 23 (pancake flake). 13 hours in, 10 to go. Taken with an Ixus100 which was light and compact but stopped working after 18 months and the quality (in good light) not a huge upgrade on a decent mobile phone.

 
Aye, that's a wee little crag. Well done, mate!
Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think the Sony would make this a better photo. All it would do is make everything sharper. You'd still have that classic climbing shot problem of flattened perspective, which in this case is really a pity as it does little justice to the scale of the climb. One reason the iconic shot of Lynn Hill on Pancake Flake works so well is because everything else except the climber is slightly out of focus. It also helps that she looks amazing.:D
 
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