The best compact cameras to upstage your smartphone
Forget your iPhone, these are your new daily snappers
Admit it, unless you’re a professional photographer, you’ve never thought about splurging on a camera. And, with that smartphone in your pocket boasting its fair share of megapixels anyway, why would you?
Yet, for those of you relying on your iPhone 7 or Google Pixel to capture your day-to-day antics, you’re missing out on the latest compact action cameras.
So here’s a list of the best cameras out there, because we still believe that there’s room in this world for the traditional point-and-shoot.
Arguably the most sought-after digital camera, this one ticks pretty much every box. Superior HD image stabilisation with exceptional quality is delivered by this 12MP camera, and it does particularly well in low light conditions.
We believe this is GoPro’s best release yet, supporting 7 languages with voice control – so you can capture with a simple “GoPro take a photo.”
We can all agree that there is something quite personal and intimate about an instantly printed photograph. And, whilst Leica’s latest Sofort Instant Camera – which bars the user from directly sharing digital images on social media – may irritate some of the Facebook generation, purists will love it.
This camera successfully infuses nostalgia with a compact, modern design – somewhat reminiscent of Instagram’s iconic logo. The fun part is that there’s a selfie, timer and manual mode, and it takes just under a minute for the film to develop.
The first thing you’ll notice about this camera – after its slick design – is the two fisheye lenses on either side – which is how the 360-degree images are captured. Controlled using an app for iOS and Android, you’re able to get a live preview, toggling a full 360-degrees with your finger before taking the snap and sharing it instantly.
What’s more, you can shoot long movies in up to 1080p HD with YouTube support. So, the next time you happen to be standing before a spectacular panorama or under the night sky, you’ll be able to capture it in full, thanks to the adjustable exposure settings.
Small enough to fit in your pocket, this revolutionary concept works with your iPhone/iPad to essentially give you DSLR-quality photos and video, without the weight and bulk of heavy equipment. With an aperture of f/1.8, this allows exceptionally impressive depths of field with DSLR-like blurring of backgrounds.
Boasting an outstanding shutter speed range from 1/20,000th of a second to 30 seconds, you can literally freeze fast-moving subjects, or shoot in very low light. For photography enthusiasts, you’ll be pleased to learn the camera shoots in RAW and JPEG, too. Weighing-in at just over 100g, you’ll happily take it with you everywhere.
Sony have piqued our interests and got us excited to snap up their latest Cyber-shot model – given an outstanding 20.2 megapixel CMOS ultra-large sensor, which captures professional-looking DSLR-like photos with superb depth of field. The clever post-production ‘filters’ also exhibit how Sony stayed way ahead of the smartphone’s capabilities, too.
So, if you initially dismissed the compact camera, you might want to consider otherwise. Fast moving objects? Captured, thanks to its burst of up to 10 frames per second – something the iPhone simply cannot compete with.
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