So if you don't know, now you gon' to find out. I work at BH Photo as a information sales person. Sometimes I feel if I had the supplies I could totally build you a camera. I dream of sensor sizes and I dream of camera specs, but at the end of the day it's all about photography! I can throw up specs all day, as much as it is good to know the technical aspect of photography, I really like having conversation's about shooting and what I can do to better my creativity. So I decided to put together a list of my top 5 favorite small/compact great quality camera's for all your selfie, blog, ootd capturing needs. In no particular order, I wanted to showcase amazing camera's that not only can you throw in your bag, but provides exceptional image quality for $1000 or less!
I work with these camera pretty much everyday and know they really do outshine the others under the $1000 range. I'm not brand loyal at all, I have a Canon camera, but love Fuji and Sony as well.
Here we go!
Fuji X100S:
$849.95
This beauty has a SLR* sized sensor called APSC*, it has the Fuji touch called the XTRANS. The XTRANS which is a filter that's on top of the sensor that provides film like colors that are super beautiful and seamless are unique to Fuji cameras. The 23mm f2 fixed lens provides great low light performance that will blow your mind away. At 16.3MP you can print pretty largely with this camera and create images that'll stand out from the rest.
Sony A6000:
$598
GAWD so I'm in love with the A6000 from Sony. The A6000 is a mirrorless* camera that literally provides everything you'd find in a SLR, but so much smaller! It also has a APSC size sensor for great quality and it's packed with an electronic viewfinder, articulating LCD screen, hot shoe, dial control and WIFI! Let's not forget this camera is literally the FASTEST mirrorless camera on the market right now. At 11 frames per second and 179 Phase-Detect Points, 9/10 times your shots will always be in focus! The wifi capability allows you to transfer images wirelessly to your smartphone via the Sony app. Instant gratification for your IG needs on the go. This camera is perfect for shooting outfit posts, tutorials, etc it also has full HD 1080 video recording so you can record how to videos as well.
Sony A5100:
$498
The A5100 much like the A6000 is a mirrorless camera that is super fast in focusing as well, the frames per second rate is 6 frames vs the A6000 11 frames. So unless you're shooting fast moving subjects and objects you'll be more than okay with this camera. It is much smaller than the A6000 if small and compact is a key factor for you this is a great option. It has the same sensor size as the A6000 so you're not compromising in quality. It has a great flip up LCD screen (that has the option of touch to focus) that gives you the perfect selfie capability!
Sony R100 III:
$798
The RX100 III is the smallest compact camera of my selection! It has a one inch sensor which provides the best quality for such a small camera! This camera may be small, but it has a great lens that has a nice wide to a little bit of zoom range 24-70mm f1.8-2.8. It performs very well in low light and if you're thinking I wish this had a viewfinder for those bright days where you can't see the LCD screen? Wish no more! It has a pop up viewfinder which can be found on the left hand side of the camera. I would suggest buying this if you have already a SLR camera and wanted something small to carry everywhere.
Canon G1X II:
$749
So you don't want to change lenses, but want the best quality and small? The G1X II provides that for you! It has a 1.5 inch sensor which gives the best image quality and it's still very small for such a large sensor. It has great low light capability and fast focusing. This is a perfect vacation camera without having to worry about bringing lenses. It also has a flip up LCD screen for selfies!
All these camera's shoot 1080HD video!
Hope I wasn't too confusing for you guys! Basically it's all about your needs and what you're shooting that makes narrowing down your choices easy! All of these options are small and compact with great image quality. Whether you need a pocket-able camera or something half the size of a big SLR, but with the same image quality you can find it on this list!
*SLR- Single Lens Reflex because the same lens is used to produce the image in the viewfinder as is used to capture that image at the sensor, and the mirror reflects light to the viewfinder.
*Sensor- Sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal which records your image and provides the image quality. The bigger the sensor the better.
*APSC- Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor size approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System. Ideally you see this sensor size in semi professional cameras.
*Mirrorless- This type of camera provides an interchangeable lens mount. They do not have a mirror reflex optical viewfinder. They removed the mirror that reflects the image into the prism in order for you to see through the viewfinder in order to make the camera much smaller and compact. You aren't losing anything with mirrorless other than the optical viewfinder and weight.