A New Graduate in the Family

I attended the Lehigh University graduation over the weekend. My cousin John and his wife Heather (John and I grew up seeing each other often, so he's like part cousin and part brother) invited me to join their family for their son Ted's graduation. Heather, by the way, is one of the few relatives of mine who regularly reads TOP! Hi, Heather. She says she skips over the bits about cameras, so she can skip the middle of this post.

It was a sweet weekend, tinged with a hint of bitter only because it made me wish I had shared more of their kids' growing-up years and seen all of them more often. (They live in Los Angeles.) I had a great time, and it was great to see all of them, including Heather's niece Caitlin who lives in NYC.

Lehigh, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is regularly named among the most beautiful college campuses in America. Part of it is on a mountainside, and this time of year there is lush foliage everywhere. And it was a beautiful day. Downtown Bethlehem is very pleasant too, although we were probably in the best part of it—quaint Americana and characterful old buildings everywhere, the good restaurants typical of a college town, and yet a relaxed, laid-back vibe. It was a fun weekend and I'm grateful I got to be a part of it.

iPhone angst
I ended up thinking that I need a new camera, though. I've been trying to say that the iPhone is my "color camera" for a few years now. It's fantastic for the things it's meant for and designed to do, but it's mainly a communication device. It can be exasperating as a camera. The screen is hard to see in daylight, it isn't fast, and it has a mind of its own. I got a shot of Ted on the jumbotron by being prepared, but I was all set to get a picture of the graduates tossing their mortarboards in the air and missed it because the phone had turned itself off while I was waiting.

Yeah, I know, there's probably something I could have done to avoid that. But it's only a small part of the slowness problem. My most basic requirement for a camera has always been for it to go when I press the go button. On the iPhone I can sometimes hit the white dot and nothing at all happens—touchscreens being okay but hardly infallible. My old Leica M4 and M6 had an extremely short shutter lag and, as long as they were cocked, they would trip the shutter instantly no matter what else was going on. For years years now, though, I've feel we've been moved incrementally further and further from that ideal. It's amazing that a smartphone is as good a camera as it is. And I don't use the latest one. My overall experience this weekend, though, was that there's always that undercurrent of trying to get the phone to do something it's a bit slow to do.

I have the same trouble with the files. They look fantastic on the phone screen; they do fine on larger screens as long as you're not asking too much of the camera; but they fall far enough short of the best "real" cameras that ultimately they're just not terribly satisfying.

Random crowd shot. Nobody in this picture is family.

I don't quite know what to do about this. A graduation is tough to cover from the stands, and I don't go to two per decade, so it's not like I need to be perfectly outfitted to shoot a graduation. At the same time, my overall feeling is that the phone isn't quite cutting it for the things I need a casual camera to do. A 1"-sensor camera? Micro 4/3? And of course there's that problem that smaller cameras are usually built to lower standards. A few buck this correspondence, but for the most part, the cameramakers are locked into good=big and big=good, and small=cheap and cheap=small.

By the way, I took a total of 72 images over the weekend, plus two videos.

The road to success is always under construction*
Lehigh is historically an engineering school—the main speaker was Scott Willoughby, Lehigh '89, who led NASA's James Webb Telescope program for Northrop Grumman—and I'm newly of the opinion that engineers should be put in charge of all graduations. In an event like this there must be so many things that could go wrong. But the whole experience at Lehigh this weekend was crisp. The sit-down brunch beforehand, in a giant tent (tablecloths, no less); the speakers minimizing that "droning on and on" quality that most such events consider mandatory for some unknown reason. There were two photographers working it hard to make portraits of each graduate on the way to the podium, two very professional announcers expertly reading some difficult names, and each graduate paused for two seconds in front of the video camera for the jumbotron while their names appeared in on the screen in perfect synchrony. A lot of moving parts. Tough to pull off for most organizations. But not for engineering types, apparently. It went like clockwork.

Teddy graduated with the highest honors and a prestigious math award, although he wasn't advertising it. His father had to tell the table that night. Ted said something really interesting in passing at a family meal—he said, "I turned my stubbornness as a teenager into discipline." I liked that. I thought it shows a lot of insight, not to mention practicality. He's going on to graduate school, and I have a feeling he's going to continue to do well.

Mike

* —Lily Tomlin

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Sroyon: "Do you still have any Fuji bodies lying around? I find it such a versatile system, and now there are so many third-party options as well. I'm a fan! Actually if you find Fuji unsuitable for this purpose, I'd be interested to know why (not to argue or convince you otherwise, just out of interest). Perhaps it could be material for a new post too."

Mike replies: With a little more time to think about it, I think I just took the wrong camera for the weekend, as Dave Jenkins and Stan B. suggested. I should have taken the Fuji but I had the other two with me instead. One problem with the Fuji is that I traded a guy for a 55–200mm lens, and it stopped working right. But if I'd had a 35mm (~50mm angle-of-view equivalent) and that long zoom, and the body, I would have been fine; so, my mistake.

Paul Bass: "Congratulations to Ted. Young people like this give me hope for the future."

John Hufnagel: "For the things you 'need a casual camera to do,' Consider the 1"-sensor Sony RX-100. I've had one of the original models for over 11 years now, and it has never disappointed me. The 28mm ƒ/1.8 setting, with image stabilization, is great for indoor shooting, and the image quality and responsiveness blows the doors off any camera phone made to date. Does it match my EOS cameras with L lenses? Of course not, but they don't fit in my pocket."

Robert Roaldi (partial comment): "There are many used Nikon 1 bodies and lenses around, dirt cheap, that are perfectly good cameras. They just failed to click (no pun intended) because of the current 'full-frame' fetish. They're better and probably smaller than a lot of phones."

[Ed. note: The complete text of partial comments can be found in the full Comments Section, accessible by clicking on the link in the footer or by clicking on the title of this post and scrolling down.]

Stephen S. replies to Robert: "Robert Roaldi is right that the Nikon 1 bodies are perfectly good cameras, but the lenses are downright horrifically terrible. A design defect in the aperture mechanism renders most of them unusable. Nikon had a service advisory for the 10–30mm and would fix it for free, but that has since expired, and they ignored all the other lenses that shared the problem. Nearly two-thirds of my Nikon 1 lenses failed that way, including my 10–30mm after it was repaired, then again after the second repair! When my 30–110mm and 10–100mm met the same fate, I gave up on the system. Nikon won't repair them now even if you offer to pay, so the only options are DIY or sending it to a guy in Taiwan who is willing to repair them."

Sebastian: "My solution to the compact 'real' camera requirement is a Ricoh GRD IIIx. I also used the III (without 'x') for a while, but that only confirmed my preference of the 26mm lens over the 18mm. Sensor is of APS-C size. The only 'ouch' moment with the GRD is the moment when you pay for it. Cheers!"

Stephen J.: "My daughter went to Cannes last week for the film festival; she is the photo editor for the Press Association. Her job is not to make photographs, but rather to marshal the professional photographers and get them to be in the right places at the right times, and then crop or edit the pro’s work for publication across the world. If you pick up a magazine or newspaper and look along the edge of a picture, it will usually state which library the photo came from, the two biggest libraries being PA first and then (Balthazar) Getty. She just thought that if she had time, she would take a few snaps. Anyway, she took my Leica Q2 with her, as she has done for the last couple of years. The camera got a lot of love from the pro photographers too, when they were hanging about. There is a lot of hanging about at this event, since acting types have their own agendas, so there was time to play.

"I have seen what she and some of the pros shot and it is a lot better than usually comes out of it. I think I said last week in a comment that I am not a natural shooter. I know that you regard this company’s products as 'Veblen goods,' however this camera, or, if you must have the latest, the Q3, might well be something to look at. An interesting feature is that you can set the JPEG so that what you see through the viewfinder is what you get (wysiwyg), but the raw covers the full scope of the 28mm lens, i.e. you can go back to the raw and have another go, if you are not happy with your JPEG.

"I believe there are some good deals on the Q2; with the advent of the Q3, stocks of the former are still being offered new, but at good discounts. From my point of view, I am happy with the flexibility that this camera offers, but if you are particularly nerdy, there is a monochromatic version available too."

John Boney: "I’m sure you’ll get more suggestions than you could possibly want, so I’ll go ahead and throw one in—take a look at the Sony RX10 series, a DSLR-like but-more-compact with a permanent 24–200mm (or now 24–600mm, which seems excessive unless you’re into wildlife…) nice Zeiss lens, reasonable 20MP sensor, and I think is native 4:3 aspect ratio (but selectable to others), and shake-reduction. It’s a highly portable 'feels like a camera' tool now on at least it’s fourth generation so a good used one anywhere in the middle should fit. I still have the seemingly ancient second gen and I'm very satisfied with it. It does a nice job of covering most anything. I remember Kirk Tuck even saying he could do some professional work with it—it’s that versatile…."

Comments

[Stan B.]

Ur X-T1.

[s.]

get a ricoh gr3x already!
nearly a DMD (no by ergonomy, alas - you can't best a Leica M in that aspect)

[John Krumm]

I keep saying that we are in the golden age of used digital cameras. It won't last. Now is the time to browse KEH or MPB, pick up a sweet dslr or early generation mirrorless and stash it away with a lens you like. Pull it out for events like this, or when you are bored and want to try something different.

[Daniel]

Lehigh has a very good Wrestling team. Make time to attend a dual meet or two - it is worth your time.

[Larry Gebhardt]

"I turned my stubbornness as a teenager into discipline." I like that too.

It seems you should get the color version of your Sigma fp-m since it will be familiar and you can share lenses. Plus you've clicked with it from the sound of it.

I have a Sony 1" RX100V and it takes nice pictures, has a zoom lens with a useful range, and does everything I need as a travel camera. I still drag the larger camera with me most of the time. I'm not sure why, other than point and shoots and zoom lenses don't really click with me.

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

For what you are describing, I think the Sony RX10IV is absolute magic, even though it is very "old" in digital age. A 1" sensor giving a 24-600mm zoom range equivalent and somehow the lens is quite sharp across the full range. The lens is a f2.8-4 which is quite fast for that range. The only time I feel like the image falls apart slightly is at 600mm at f4. Maybe move to 5.6 there.

There is obviously a couple limitations. High iso will not match full frame. And you are not going to get the full separation one might want with creamy out of focus bokeh. Keep in mind the actual lens is something like 8.8mm-220mm so that is the bokeh you're getting.

Camera is light even if it isn't "small." Compared to full-frame body/lens, it almost feels like nothing. I've continued to be impressed with this camera as I have transitioned through Sony bodies - now A1 and A9III.

If I am going to a family event outside like your commencement and just want to sort of have fun and relax, with one camera, this is what I bring.

[darlene]

I don't quite know what to do about this.

For the past ten years, I've found that Fuji APS-C cameras are perfect for me as my travel lightweight alternative, leaving my MF and LF gear at home or in the campervan.

A few years ago, after renting every XF zoom lens from Lens Rentals, I realized I didn't want to carry around heavy lenses. My solution has been to upgrade the camera body every few years (from XPro2 to XPro3, etc.) and purchase excellent used copies of the XF 18-50mm and the compact XC 50-230mm zoom lenses.

The image quality and autofocus are identical in both XF and XC lenses; you just need to decide if you need features like a metal body, an aperture ring, a rear lens cap, and weather sealing. The weight and image quality of the XC lens I own are perfect for me.

When I travel light, I carry one APS-C camera body with a 26-MP BSI sensor and two lenses with a reach of 18-230mm, which effectively has more reach when considering the sensor size.

I love using my iPhone for quick snapshots; it's convenient and always with me. However, when it comes to the important stuff, I rely on my Fuji kit. The image quality, control, and versatility of a dedicated camera are unmatched, making it the better choice for photographic work that matters.

P.S. I grew up with friends from Pennsylvania, near the Lehigh Valley, a beautiful and historic area, as much of Pennsylvania is. We visited the Liberty Bell during my school trips, so I have some homegrown love for the area.

[Albert Smith]

"The screen is hard to see in daylight..."

Yes, this! I can't use any camera in a serious way unless it has a proper eye-level viewfinder. Whether it's a phone or one of those Ricoh GR models that people love (because the Fuji X100 variants are never in stock), they are impossible for me to see here in sunny Florida due to glare and hot-spot reflections. And don't get me started with needing reading glasses to do photography.

This is why I use the moniker, "real camera" when describing what that thing in my phone is not.

Mike, you have the X-T1. You don't need a new camera.

[Graeme Scott]

I had to google 'jumbotron'.

Camera buying & financial insecurity are recurring themes on your blog.

I hope more pictures do follow, sounds like it was a nice weekend.

[robert e]

Sounds like a great time, and a fine young man. As for a "casual camera", what about a bare, stock Sigma fp? It is, per Sigma, "the world's smallest, lightest full frame camera" after all. OK, you might need a separate pocket for the lens, unless you're willing to wear the combo for the outing, but the UI and controls are obviously very familiar to you, so no learning curve, no having to switch between systems and ways of doing things, just a different visualization and workflow.

And if you only need it for the odd event, how about renting?

[Dan Khong]

You have nailed the iPhone's (or any other mobile phone) slowness on the head.

Once you turn the pass-number access code on ON, it has a habit of being in, "You have to key in 6-digits first or it's no deal buddy" mode. That is when you miss the shot.

Nothing like a real camera. Even a point and shoot camera is a real camera.

[Jez Cunningham]

I’m excited to see how this develops as my iPhone 12pro max has become my main camera. I’m thinking of adding the Fjorden grip and upgrading to the 15 or, soon, the 16. My Nikon D7000 is far too long in the tooth, even with its old 80-200 f/2.8 and it came out for just a handful of pictures during a recent vacation. So I thought I’d trade it all in - but it’s worth half of nothing. Fresh start then… but let’s see where Mike goes.

[Ken Bennett]

This is the first time in 27 years that I haven't covered graduation, having retired from my university photo job a couple of months ago. Commencement weekend was always my favorite, followed closely by freshman move-in. I loved everything about covering commencement, the happy students and their families, the pomp and circumstance, the tradition of it all. Got some of my favorite photos over the years from that weekend. Curiously, this year I didn't miss it at all :)

I have a long story about my dad the engineer and his desire to attend Lehigh but instead going to Villanova, but it makes his mother look pretty bad (posthumously, and in hindsight, but still....) So I'll keep it to myself.

[You should put a book together of all your best shots from commencements. That could be a great theme. --Mike]

[Dave Jenkins]

What gives, Mike? The X-T1 you already have is just about perfect for the use you described today. And it's only very slightly larger than many models of m4/3s and smaller than many. If you still have a longish lens from the ones you were given some time back to go with your 23mm, you would have been perfectly equipped today. Why spend money on stuff you don't need?

[Jeff]

Remember how Michael Reichman used to say "horses for courses"? I think the iPhones are great as a very light travel camera and as a camera to always have with us to document our life and the interesting things we come across. They don't have telephoto lenses (well maybe a little now), they aren't designed to make big prints or for pixel peeping, and they aren't intended as wildlife cameras or to have instant responsiveness like a manual focus film camera with the shutter cocked and ready. I think that you were asking the phone to do things that it wasn't intended for. These kind of events are why we bother to lug "real" cameras and telephoto lenses when we want "real" camera results.

[Kye Wood]

Or.

Get a preloved top end compact.

I have a Nikon P7100 and a Canon S110 that are surplus to requirements.

You hit the go button and they never disappoint.

OOC jpegs are great. Run a raw through DxO Photolab with Prime NR and you're in DSLR territory.

Ridiculously portable too.

[Bill Polkinhorn]

These later model cell phones will now put up some pretty credible photos especially when coupled with TOPAZ PHOTO AL (to upscale and refine) that you can crop into. The results border on magic. You can also add one of these to your phone so you can find the shutter quickly: https://www.amazon.com/ULANZI-Smartphone-Detachable-Wireless-Shooting/dp/B086C3N1SN/ref=asc_df_B086C3N1SN/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693712892344&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5718722926387241804&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031376&hvtargid=pla-959432391595&psc=1&mcid=84d8295e978b3903b11c9fe44f98007e&gad_source=1

[Daniel Schnall]

Olympus/OM Systems. Small = very good.

[Peter Williams]

What happened to the Fuji system you had? It would seem ideal for colour photography wen the iPhone isn't up to the task.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

I can trigger my Android camera with the volume up/down keys (configurable), which means there are more positions I can shoot sort-of-comfortably in, and also that I don't have to contend with touch-screen weirdness at least when using that mode. (I believe it has to be turned on in settings. Dunno if iPhones have anything similar.)

But yeah, the general slowness is generally annoying. It's what I tell people is the worst drawback of smartphones as a camera.

My Leica M3 never timed out waiting for the shot—but about anything from my N90 on could, sometimes. But the default timeouts are longer than on phones, at least.

[Kent Phelan]

Announced today:
"The Panasonic Lumix S9 is a 24 megapixel mirrorless camera with a full frame and L-mount. It has a flip screen and is available in multiple colors. However, it doesn't have a viewfinder, so users must use the rear screen for everything."

Supposedly a mimic of the Leica Q cameras (minus the eyelevel VF). 24 megapixels and will accept your L mount lens(es). What's not to like?

[Gaspar Heurtley]

Regarding “cameramakers are locked into good=big and big=good, and small=cheap and cheap=small”:

Years ago I commented (I think it was in the Pentax post) that Nikon and Pentax were the only camera makers that built all their cameras with big, comfortable grips, even entry level ones.
All the other manufacturers seemed to think that bigger budget equals bigger hands, so their grips got bigger and bigger as you went higher in their lineups.
That’s still true today.

[Walfredo Cirne]

Yes, of course you do need a new camera, Mike. :-)

From what you write, consider an Olympus (aka OM system). They allow you to photograph by touching what you want to be in focus. The ultimate decisive moment interface. Somehow Panasonic insists on you enabling this everytime you turn the camera on. Go figure.

And the micro four thirds lenses are unbeatable in qualify + size + weight + price. The Panasonic 14mm f2.5 + 25mm f1.4 + Olympus 45 f1.8 is a fantastic prime set up. Likewise, the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 is an amazing all around zoom.

[Richard Skoonberg]

Smaller cameras are usually built to lower standards..." Years ago, I purchased a used Sony RX100 (model 1) with its 1" sensor and Zeiss zoom lens. I have printed sharp images up to 14"x 21" without a problem. All I can say is that there are good, small cameras (1" and M4/3rds)out there that can make excellent images (and can fit in a coat pocket).
I feel the same way as you do about phone cameras. You summed it up well.

[Bear.]

Mike, if you're willing to spend four figures, do yourself a favour and get yourself a Sony RX 100 vii. It has the worst interface you'll ever find on a digital camera. It's so tiny that even my reasonably nimble fingers hit buttons that from time to time do strange things and turn on weird settings that I don't understand. The lens is s l o w both in aperture and as an electronic zoom (although it is 28 - 200 mm equivalent - extraordinary). But compared to an iPhone it's absolutely no contest. Once you've got an image framed, it's faster to focus than my D3. It has eye focus (or at least I think it does - with Sony cameras, I can never tell which focus mode does what (see above re interface) - but eyes always seem to be in focus) plus all the mod cons of a "real" camera - including shooting at more frames per second than I can count, an eye level EVF (deal breaker for me), and it does video too (well, I think it does, I don't really know). Most importantly, the image files are really, really dang good - if there was enough light, I'm comfortable to print at A2 and with judicious care I have printed for exhibition up to A1. The truth be told, except for noise in low light, the image quality is far superior to my trusty old Nikon D3 and I never thought twice about its file quality for exhibition. All in a little packet that's smaller than my late and much lamented Olympus XA. Just remember to buy and change up a handful of batteries and a spare charger or two. They're cheap and you'll need them.

[John McMillin]

You didn't directly ask for suggestions, but I'll offer one anyway. IMHO - remember that dated, once-popular phrase, from more civil times? - the next step up from a phone camera is the Ricoh GR. It's almost as compact, but it adds a pretty complete set of controls. The sensor is serious business, as you know. The GR won't take a nap at the key moment, and the shutter has neither noise or lag.

I have one that I rarely use. It falls into the gap between the default smartphone and my 4:3 camera, a GX8. But if you spend a lot of time in that gap, it's an obvious choice. In an odd way, the Ricoh reminds me of a Rolleiflex TLR: it's the largest format in the smallest camera.

[s.wolters]

The DJI Mini 3 Pro would of course be the ultimate TOP-camera, but my guess is that you're thinking of a Ricoh GR IIIx.

[Sebastian]

My solution to the compact "real" camera requirement is a Ricoh GRD IIIx. I also used the III (without "x") for a while, but that only confirmed my preference of the 26mm lens over the 18mm. Sensor is of APS-C size.

The only "ouch" moment with the GRD is the moment when you pay for it.

Cheers!

[Ilkka]

I made a little comparison just for my own travel use and concluded that a good 1” sensor camera is better than iPhone but the iPhone is better than smaller sensor cameras, except at long focal lengths. Another simple comparison put the latest iPhone pro against the small sensor canon ‘monocular’ Powershot zoom camera that has a built in 100&400 equivalent lens. At 100 it was a close tie but at 400 the canon was clearly better than the digitally zoomed iPhone.
Confirmed to me the importance of still carrying a camera. And that sensor size and lens quality are important.
The main lens in new iPhones uses a slightly bigger sensor, but the ‘telephoto’ uses a cropped sensor that allows a shorter lens to be built in to the thin body.

[Robert Roaldi]

There are many used Nikon 1 bodies and lenses around, dirt cheap, that are perfectly good cameras. They just failed to click (no pun intended) because of the current "full-frame" fetish. They're better and probably smaller than a lot of phones.

Btw, I detest touch screens and turn the feature off on my camera bodies.

I've said this a few times already. Doesn't anyone else find it odd that an early driving force behind the desire for full-frame sensors was so people could continue to use all their old film lenses, but that they've gone on to buy new "digital" lenses anyway, and most recently are now renewing their lens collections again in favour of mirrorless "full-frame" lenses.

Point & shoots were fine, they didn't take up much space and were mostly better tools than phones. But phones won. Why. So many questions like that in life. Why do people buy oversized trucks to commute to work or to buy a few groceries. Why do we buy bigger houses but have fewer kids. Why do we build really wide residential roads, tear down the trees, then crank up the A/C to compensate for all the man-made heat sinks.

There's nothing wrong with smaller sensors. The number of people who actually really and truly care about razor-thin DOF or really large prints probably rounds to zero.

[Nicholas Hartmann]

"And of course there's that problem that smaller cameras are usually built to lower standards. A few buck this correspondence, but for the most part, the cameramakers are locked into good=big and big=good, and small=cheap and cheap=small."

One smaller camera that is not built to lower standards (and certainly not to a lower price point) is the Sony RX100 series. It's now up to Mark VII; I have the Mark II, now over 10 years old, with a lens that combines moderate reach (about 14-120 mm 35-e) with moderate speed (about f/4 maximum aperture except at very wide angle). The files get icky above ISO 1600 even shooting RAW, so it's not ideal for low light. It has a tilting back screen and you can turn the brightness way up; the only viewfinder option is a big clunky add-on that was stupidly expensive when new.

But without that viewfinder it's TINY, almost exactly the size and weight of the Olympus XA from the 1980s. That camera definitely defied the conventional good=big, small=cheap wisdom; one photographer whose work I know well shot an entire two-week story -- a trip through France by train -- with nothing but an XA and lots of Tri-X, and got a nice show out of it.

The RX100 VA, a newer version with a 24-70e zoom range and an f/1.8-2.8 maximum aperture, plus a really cool pop-up viewfinder, looked appealing to me as a do-it-all digital XA replacement, but I found the OOF blur with some fine-scale high-contrast subjects (e.g. a backlit tree) had an "onion-ring" look in the highlights that I could not tolerate or fix in post-processing. Maybe it was that particular sample, but at just under $1,000 new and not much less used, I haven't yet risked it again. Other versions trade maximum aperture for longer zoom reach (up to 200 mm-e).

Your mileage, and your tolerance for odd bokeh and high cost, may of course vary. The RX100 really is pocketable, and the results are very good indeed: I spent ten days with my Mark II in a place I thought I might never visit again, and came home with images that look very much like ones taken with an M43 body and a good short zoom. Try putting THAT in your pocket...

[Chico Ruger]

I suggest the Panasonic Lumix DC-LX100 II. While it’s getting a little long in the tooth, I find it excellent for the situations you describe. IMO, the only thing it’s missing is a tilt screen. Maybe Panasonic will fix that if they ever come out with a III.

[Jamie Pillers]

The little Nikon 1 V3 camera is absolutely perfect for family gatherings, kids’ sports, etc. The files from its 1-inch sensor are excellent. And the lenses are tiny. I’m really sorry I sold it!

[Kirk]

Did I miss an important part? Don't you still own the Sigma fp? Why didn't you use that camera for your photos?

If you really *need* a color camera in addition to your monochrome version wouldn't it make perfect sense to just buy a nice, clean, used Sigma fp without the missing Bayer filter? Same batteries, same loupe finder, same lenses, best color on the market, and a wonderfully small package.

[Andrew Eckert]

I just recently went through a similar thought process My Nikon Z5 is a little too big, heavy, and 'serious' to carry everywhere, even with the 40mm f/2. And I just don't enjoy taking pictures with my phone. So a few weeks ago I picked up a used Panasonic GM1S and 20mm f/1.7 II from KEH. It fits the bill perfectly for a carry-everywhere camera that's enjoyable to shoot and yields great results. I think many photographers would be put off by the tiny body and fiddly controls, but I'll put up with it since I can even carry the GM1S + 20mm in hand while out for a run! That's something I'd never do with my Z5 or pretty much any other camera I've owned.

If I recall correctly, you already own a Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8. You could pick up a used Panasonic GX model or Olympus PEN or E-M5 to pair with the zoom and a 20mm f/1.7 or 17mm f/1.8. That might solve your problem and get a nice lens off the shelf and back into use.

[psu]

> My overall experience this weekend, though, was that there's always that undercurrent of trying to get the phone to do something it's a bit slow to do.

This, I think, is inevitably more a matter of human factors and mechanical practice than a limitation of the hardware itself.

For sheer compute power and I/O bandwidth the photo pipeline in an iPhone (say) 11 or 12 and above is (i think) far beyond what was in the most expensive dedicated digital cameras into the 2010s. Those iPhones are comparable (probably) to even fairly beefy desktop computers from that period, so that's not really the bottleneck.

Of course, you have to have the machine ready to take the shot and you have to be comfortable with the mechanisms for triggering it. I like using the volume buttons to trigger the shutter. This only really works well for horizontal pictures but is a bit more definite and solid than the on screen button sometimes. And of course you have to make sure the phone is not asleep when you want it to take a picture.

If the phone is ready and I'm shooting with it I have never really noticed that it's any more sluggish than my real camera. But keeping it ready can take some practice I guess?

For me the limitations of the sensor and image pipeline and the ergonomics tend to be compensated for by the smart HDR, noise reduction, and night mode (which was amaaazing for the recent aurora displays).

But yeah. If I really "care" or if I know I'll need a telephoto lens, I bring a 4/3rds along.

I have considered getting one of those Sony 1" sensor cameras. But I'd probably use it _with_ the phone and not instead of it.

[Jnny]

Dang! You were in my back yard. Had I known, I'd have invited you over for Lebanon bologna, tea and some shoo-fly pie.

[Kosch]

I put my Ricoh GR in my pocket whenever we go out. I rarely pull it up because my iPhone is there too, and it will be great in the majority of my shots. Every once in a while though, I cannot get the shot I want with my iPhone; I really don’t know why, something bugs me about what is going on. I will pull out my Ricoh, and take a few shots of the exact same scenario, and after I do my editing/sharing and what not, the resulting photo is the one everyone wants. Get a pocketable camera and you will get what you need.

[David Lee]

I am very happy using only my XPRO-2 and a 27mm lens. Even the 18-55 feels heavy nowadays.

[Andy Munro]

That looks like a great family weekend. I enjoy meeting up with family.

Asking a bunch of photographers about gear is always going to get a large response. I was thinking of your Fuji. You might try a Fuji XC 50-230mm. It cheap and light but effective.

[almostinfamous]

somehow "camera phones" have mostly died out despite the cameras being the focus of so much of phones' marketing these days. The only exception seems the sony xperia 1 and 5 series - they have a proper two stage shutter button that you can use to activate the main (rear) camera instantly. main difference in the cameras is that the 1 has a compact zoom lens, the 5 has a fixed 'tele' lens. however, the android interface may take some getting used to.

[Dennis Ng]

I got a 28-400 for this kind of occasion. With a z9 you can do dx-600 as well.