RX 100 dead.. need new camera recommendations

[Jamie Telford]

Hi all after a nice long two year romance with my rx100 I had to bury her due to sudden and complete death.

I'm really constrained on budget and am looking for something around the 500SGD range..

so far I'm looking at the EOS M with the 18 - 55mm for 500SGD or perhaps picking up a panasonic LX7 for 450SGD.

I played around in courts today with the EOS M.. and it's an interesting camera.. I originally considered this but snapped the rx100 back in the day.. given its price back then (no built in flash WTF?) but now sitting at 500 for the basic kit.. seems nice for a APC based camera.

Next consideration is the LX7.. and is nicely priced now for such a good camera.. My only problem with it is overall pixel count.. and kinda out of step with modern premium compacts..

So I'm dreading the thought of stepping back from the outstanding capability of the RX100 and want to choose a camera that won't make me cringe to much..

The RX100 for me is a much to fragile device which I've had repaired twice before its recent final death.. so i'm not too keen on getting such a camera again.. I'd like something more robust and child proof (me being the child)

cheers guys in advance!

Jamie

 

[brapodam]

IMO the EOS-M is still not a mature system yet - not enough lenses for it, and the size and grip is a bit too small to mount other lenses on it with adapter. Setup will become very front heavy.

I think there should be some m4/3 cameras that will fit your budget. Of course if you're only ever going to use the kit lens, then I think the EOS M should be fine.

 

[Jamie Telford]

Cheers for the input.. yeah I think it would make a nice camera.. I've also noticed you can put Magic Lantern on it for some extra functionality.. I'm leaning towards the 22mm prime lens combo for an extra few bucks.

[video=vimeo;92726519]http://vimeo.com/92726519[/video]

Nice soft focus

 

[Jamie Telford]

actually now torn on the 18 - 55mm lens after seeing the following..

[video=vimeo;103907706]http://vimeo.com/103907706[/video]

 

[rhino123]

If you have make up your mind to get the EOS-M (which by the way is an excellent camera), I would recommend that you get the 18-55mm lens as your first lens. It is a very versatile lens whereby you would get to explore a wide range of focal length. Only after you feel cool about which focal length suits you best, then you go into prime.

 

[Jamie Telford]

yeah good point.. I actually do prefer wider angles.. I'm heading off into Myanmar for 3 weeks in a couple of days so that should work out.. cheers

Jamie

 

[brapodam]

yeah good point.. I actually do prefer wider angles.. I'm heading off into Myanmar for 3 weeks in a couple of days so that should work out.. cheers

Jamie

If you prefer wider angles, then the 11-22 sounds about right for you. Since you're open to Magic Lantern, go for it. Magic Lantern really adds a lot to Canon cameras. And I also agree that the 18-55 is a very versatile lens.

Take note that you should use a nightly build rather than the stable build for Magic Lantern, since they kind of ditched the stable release model. Some of the notable features that I feel are very good:
-Auto ETTR
-Dual ISO (something like a single shot HDR)
-RAW video
-Focus peaking (even in playback mode, which I find to be very useful for checking if you camera focused correctly)
-RAW exposure aids like Histogram/Histobar and zebras (live view histogram is usually extracted from a JPG preview, but ML can access the RAW data and show the histogram based on RAW data)
-Bulb timer and intervalometer, so you don't need a remote trigger

Full list of features are found here (these are for the latest nightly, not the stable release which doesn't have a lot of stuff): http://builds.magiclantern.fm/#/features

If you decide to buy it already, buy it soon and try it out first before your trip to get yourself familiarised with the camera. This is even more important if you want to use an "unstable" software like Magic Lantern. Sometimes you will encounter strange behaviour, and you will need to do a battery pull. You'll need to make sure the version of ML you install is stable, so you'll need to test out the various features you'll use during your trip.

 

[JacePhoto]

Wow! I was considering RX-100 series. What u said scared me.

 

[SilentSeth]

I'm a bit curious. May I know what damages that required you to repaire the RX100 twice before it went dead?

 

[airconvent]

Had mine for almost 2 years with no problem. Its quite solidly built. You may have had a bad set. If I were to choose again would be the mk3 but wow...the price is the killer...

 

[Berkins]

Not considering the rx100 mk2? Can get export sets for low 500s

 

[kei1309]

LX100

 

[Jamie Telford]

First the lens sensor for detecting if the barrel was extended or not failed.. Totally making the device a brick..

Tried to get it repaired under warranty but Sony wouldn't play as I couldn't produce the correct international warranty.. And was quoted almost 400 for the repair in Singapore...

I ended up getting it repaired in Japan for 120 USD on a recent trip there.. They replaced the entire lens barrel assembly, the CMOS sensor, and the LCD screen.. For reasons that are beyond me and for a lot cheaper than the service centre in Singapore..

2nd problem happened about a year later when the flash module shorted out.. I got that repaired in Singapore for about 150SGD..
The camera worked well for about 4 months on my road trip across Europe and finally started playing up again when I was in Istanbul.. Screen showing a scrambled image from the sensor and the lens retraction problem raising its head again... A couple of days later the lens stopped coming out all together again..

I really did like this camera.. But its not robust enough... Its too flimsy in my opinion for someone who travels a lot and can't keep a camera in a pristine environment all of the time.. For something that is sold as a pocketable camera to be true.. Make sure your pockets are lined with pillows.

I ended up stripping the unit to see if I could reseat some of the ribbon cables into their plugs in a vain attempt to resurrect the camera. And only when in pieces can you really appreciate the fragility of the device.. It's almost held together with shoestring and a prayer..

That being said.. I managed to increase my new camera budget a couple hundred bucks and I snapped up the new canon g7x for 705 SGD in Funan..

Very nice camera.. Much more solid.. Excellent photos.. And the WiFi connectivity, in particular being able to shoot from a smart phone, ended up trumping the EOS M.. And image quality is equal or not better than the rx100 iii, all for 500 SGD less..

Check out the review by cameralabs on the G7X for an unbiased look at the differences..

Thanks for all the advice thou.. Appreciate it!

Cheers

Jamie

 

[rhino123]

First the lens sensor for detecting if the barrel was extended or not failed.. Totally making the device a brick..

Tried to get it repaired under warranty but Sony wouldn't play as I couldn't produce the correct international warranty.. And was quoted almost 400 for the repair in Singapore...

I ended up getting it repaired in Japan for 120 USD on a recent trip there.. They replaced the entire lens barrel assembly, the CMOS sensor, and the LCD screen.. For reasons that are beyond me and for a lot cheaper than the service centre in Singapore..

2nd problem happened about a year later when the flash module shorted out.. I got that repaired in Singapore for about 150SGD..
The camera worked well for about 4 months on my road trip across Europe and finally started playing up again when I was in Istanbul.. Screen showing a scrambled image from the sensor and the lens retraction problem raising its head again... A couple of days later the lens stopped coming out all together again..

I really did like this camera.. But its not robust enough... Its too flimsy in my opinion for someone who travels a lot and can't keep a camera in a pristine environment all of the time.. For something that is sold as a pocketable camera to be true.. Make sure your pockets are lined with pillows.

I ended up stripping the unit to see if I could reseat some of the ribbon cables into their plugs in a vain attempt to resurrect the camera. And only when in pieces can you really appreciate the fragility of the device.. It's almost held together with shoestring and a prayer..

That being said.. I managed to increase my new camera budget a couple hundred bucks and I snapped up the new canon g7x for 705 SGD in Funan..

Very nice camera.. Much more solid.. Excellent photos.. And the WiFi connectivity, in particular being able to shoot from a smart phone, ended up trumping the EOS M.. And image quality is equal or not better than the rx100 iii, all for 500 SGD less..

Check out the review by cameralabs on the G7X for an unbiased look at the differences..

Thanks for all the advice thou.. Appreciate it!

Cheers

Jamie

Congrate on your purchase. I have the G7X too, it is a beautiful piece of gem and I really loved mine. Although many people will disagree with you that the G7X had better image quality as the RX100iii. Anyway, the difference is really minimal and lets us not go there, in case a brand war started brewing in the horizon.

Anyway, happy that you have a camera that worked the way you wanted it to

 

[Shizuma]

Do consider a Canon 550D or 500D. They are solid underrated performers. Slap on Magic Lantern and you will see what powerful tools they can become.

On some days I consider my 500D easier and better to use than 7D...! (yeah I use old systems, have to just put in more effort shooting)

 

[SilentSeth]

Feel sorry for u & your bad experience with the Sony set. Perhaps you got a lemon one.

And congrats on your purchase!

 

[Jamie Telford]

Some pics from my Myanmar trip so far.. Resized only.. Very impressed by the the g7x

 

[Jamie Telford]

 

[samsam1997]

Some pics from my Myanmar trip so far.. Resized only.. Very impressed by the the g7x

Wow your shots are very nice,.I'm kinda surprised by the quality thou , makes me wanna get one too

 

[Greensox]

For those considering RX100Mk3 and G7X, just a reference.

http://youtu.be/_E6Mxxe_kG4