The best small cameras with manual controls
- — 31 January, 2011 15:42
For serious photography, the ideal equipment has always been a digital SLR with full manual controls and the ability to change lenses to suit the scene. However, that doesn't need to be the case any more.
There are many small cameras on the market that give you total control over the exposure settings and many also have very fast lenses. This means that you don't always have to carry a digital SLR — or even a chunky Micro Four Thirds — camera with you to take awesome pictures.
All the small cameras in this round-up feature manual exposure controls in the form of dials or control rings and most can even shoot in RAW mode, so you can edit them to your heart's content without sacrificing image quality. On the downside, not all the cameras have large zoom lenses. This means that in some cases you'll have to use good old foot zoom.
While being able to take control of the exposure in a small camera is great, the other fantastic thing about these compacts is that well… they are small. Most of the time they will easily fit into a pants pocket, allowing you to carry them to parties and to special events, and you can even take them on trips without them becoming a burden.
In this round-up we've included models from Panasonic, Canon, Nikon, Ricoh, Samsung and Olympus, to give you an idea of the type of camera you should consider if you want a small camera that lets you take total control of exposure settings. Now the Canon G12 may be a little bulky to fit in most pockets, but we've included it because we wear cargo shorts most of the time.
6 / 7
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Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX5
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Nikon P7000
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Olympus XZ-1
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Canon PowerShot G12
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Canon PowerShot S95
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Samsung EX1
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Ricoh GR Digital III
The Samsung EX1 has a fast f/1.8 lens and manual controls that make it a good choice for an enthusiast or professional photographer who wants a fully manual but small camera for casual shoots. It supplied great depth of field during our tests, and it can take vibrant looking photos. However it does have some problems with noise, even at low ISO speeds. Despite this, its asking price and excellent ease of use definitely make it a manual camera to consider.
- Review Date:
- Reviewer:
- Manufacturer:
- 30th June, 2010
- Elias Plastiras
- Samsung
- Rating:
- Price:
- $ 599.00
- Pros:
- F/1.8 lens, easy to use menu system, great screen, great depth of field
- Cons:
- Noisy images, some softness in bright areas, some lens distortion at wide angles, shutter speed not fast enough
