Compare the Best Compact CamerasJune 2020

There are five main camera types that you will need to decide between when choosing a new camera - each have their own advantages and disadvantages and which one is right for you will depend on what type of photos you plan to take and what you aim to get out of your photography. These are Compact, SLR, Bridge and System cameras. Here we will concentrate on compact cameras.

Compact Cameras

Compact cameras pack an incredibly large amount of technology into a tiny design that will easily fit inside your pocket. Compact cameras produce better quality images than mobile phones mainly because they have much bigger lenses which allow more light and more detail to be received by the camera's sensor. They also feature zoom lenses which let you get close to the action without any loss in image quality that comes with the digital zooms found on phones.

Lightweight and compact

Great for everyday use and holiday snaps

Better image quality than a smart phone because of bigger lens

Easy to use

Get close to the action with an optical zoom

Full exposure control often available

Cheap

Image quality generally lower than other camera types.

You can not change lenses

Image Sensors Explained

Megapixels & Sensor Size

Megapixels are a quick and easy way of measuring the level of detail that you can expect from a camera. One megapixel means 1,000,000 pixels and refers to the number of individual pixels that the camera's sensor can capture.

Whilst megapixels are a quick guide to the camera's performance, equally important is the physical size of the camera sensor. Larger sensors are able to capture more light which produces images with less noise and better dynamic range. Because they capture more light they can also take superior photos in low light conditions without flash.

Bigger sensors require physically bigger cameras and also bigger lenses to gather enough light to cover the sensor. For this reason the biggest sensors tend to found on the biggest cameras such as the DSLRs. This is also the reason why mobile phone manufacturers use very small sensor sizes.

The physical size of the sensor is described in many different ways including fractions and letters. Unfortunately it is not easy to relate these sizes to one another, but the chart to the left provides a guide and shows how each sensor size relates to the size of traditional 35mm film.

Full frame sensors are sensors that are physically the same size as traditional 35mm film. Full frame sensors are desirable because they capture very detailed images, but also because they are directly compatible with the huge range of lenses designed for 35mm film. There are plenty of DSLR cameras with sensors which are smaller than full frame. These cameras can still be used with 35mm lenses, but the smaller sensor size means that a conversion factor will apply to the lens. For example if a camera with non-full frame sensor has a conversion factor of 1.5 then a 200mm lens will behave like a 300mm lens, which is great if you want to be closer to the action, but not so good if you need a wide angle shot.

Optical vs Digital Zoom

Many cameras have incredible zoom capabilities which let you get really close to the action. However when checking a camera's zoom capability it's important to check whether it has an optical zoom, a digital zoom or a combination of both.

Digital zooms let you zoom in by effectively cropping the photo. They do produce a zoom effect, but the quality of the image will be reduced because it has been cropped. Most mobile phones use a digital zoom.

Optical zooms work by physically moving the lenses that capture the image. The zoomed in photo is still captured using the full extent of the camera's sensor so there is no loss in image quality as you soom in.

Camera Screens

Almost every digital camera has a built in screen which lets you frame the shot you are taking, review and edit photos that you have taken, and also adjust the camera settings. Some cameras have fold out screens which make it easy to take self portraits and allow you to take photos when the camera is not at eye level such as in a crowd.

Touchscreen camera displays offer very intuitive control systems similar to those found on a mobile phone. Touch allows you to choose which part of the picture you want to be in focus or to be exposed correctly simply by touching it.

Viewfinders

As digital screens have become more advanced many camera manufacturers have dispensed with the traditional camera viewfinder. However there are many advantages to a traditional viewfinder. Firstly it is much easier to see what you are photographing in bright sunlight conditions through a viewfinder. Holding the camera to your face also steadies the camera giving you sharper photos. Finally a viewfinder uses much less power than a screen so you can switch the screen off when taking photos to make your battery last longer.

Traditional cameras have optical viewfinders. This means that the image viewed through the viewfinder is exactly the same as the image that camera will photograph. Optical viewfinders reflect light entering the camera's lens off a mirror and into the viewfinder. When the photo is taken the mirror quickly flicks out of the way to let the sensor receive the image. All top end DSLRs have optical viewfinders. Some cameras have digital viewfinders which are basically a second very small screen viewed through the viewfinder. Digital viewfinders have the advantage of allowing you to preview how the final image will look including any applied effects, however generally speaking they are considered inferior to an optical viewfinder.

Image Stabilisers

Some cameras have image stabilisers. These devices are designed to reduce the effect of hand shake on the stability of the camera thereby producing a sharper photograph. They are particularly important for large zoom cameras as zooming in will amplify the effect of any hand shake on the camera image.

There are two main types of image stabiliser: optical and digital. Optical image stabilisers work using a special lens which moves to counteract the effect of any hand shake. Optical stabilisers are considered superior as they do not artificially manipulate the image quality.

Digital image stabilisers work by a processor analysing the photo after it has been taken in order to reduce image blur. This can be achieved by the camera taking multiple photos and then combining the best parts of each photo together.

Autofocus

The camera's focus setting determines which part of the image is sharp.

Compact cameras will have an intelligent autofocus system which attempts to determine which part of the image should be in focus. These generally work well, but sometimes the camera can focus on wrong thing, for example when shooting through a window the camera may focus on the glass. Often budget compact cameras do not have a manual focus setting.

Premium compact cameras and above have manual focus as well as autofocus. Manual focus lets you control which part of the image is sharp by either twisting a focus ring or on touchscreen cameras, touching the part of the image that you want to be sharp. This is particularly useful when the subject is not in the centre of the image.

Cameras with viewfinders such as DSLRs often have multiple focus points which can be seen through the viewfinder. You can preselect which focus point is going to be used, which is great if you know that your subject will definitely be in a particular part of the picture. High end DSLRs also have predictive focus which will track the subject that you are taking, such as a fast moving car, and predict the position of the subject at the exact moment the photo is taken to give the sharpest possible image.

ISO, White Balance & Manual Exposure

With the exception of budget compact cameras most cameras allow you to manually set the exposure settings. Primarily this means setting the ISO level, the lens aperture and the shutter speed. Manual control is useful for capturing images in difficult light conditions such as at dusk, or for controlling creative effects such as depth of field (which parts of the image are in focus and which aren't).

The ISO level is particularly important as it effectively sets the sensitivity of the image sensor. Look for the maximum ISO level that the camera can support. A higher maximum ISO means that the camera's sensor is more sensitive to light which is very useful for taking photos in low light conditions without flash.

Some cameras let you manually set the white balance of the photo too. White balance is important because different light sources (such as the sun or artifical light) produce different types of light which can affect the colours in the photo and if set incorrectly can make the photo look unnatural.

Continuous Shooting

Some cameras support rapid continuous shooting. This lets you hold down the trigger to take a rapid succession of photos, which is useful for capturing fast moving subjects. The speed at which the camera can take multiple photos is measures in frames per second and most cameras will have a limit on the number of photos that can be taken in quick succession. For best results you will also need a fast memory card which is capable of saving images very quickly.

Lens types

For system and DSLR cameras there are hundreds of different lens types available giving you a huge range of creative possibility. Lenses fall in to a number of distinct categories each of which has their own unique benefit.