For small pocket-sized digital cameras, I originally had a Canon A95 (5MP) point and shoot camera and then moved to the Fujifilm F10 (6MP). I eventually ended up purchasing a Lumix DMC-LX5 (10.1MP). I sold that camera to one of my students thinking I would not be using a point and shoot camera ever again. Wrong...
This year, I found out that the United Center will no longer allow large cameras with removable lenses to enter the building. No more shooting the Bulls games with my nice camera! They will only allow small point and shoot cameras (cameras without removable lenses) or smartphones in to take photos. Having sold my Lumix camera, I no longer had a good P&S to use. I had used that camera on my fishing outings, but started using my iPhone instead more often.
Over time, I started missing that Lumix camera and decided there was still value having a good point and shoot camera. But, considering I now shoot with a very high megapixel camera, I wanted one that could at least give me 20 MP or more. I also wanted high ISO ability, full manual, aperture priority and shutter speed priority settings as well. I wanted one that could also be used for vlogging or any other kind of video shooting. While the iPhone does well in good lighting, it's absolutely terrible in low light shooting.
I shoot a lot of my food when I go out and also whenever I cook. I had been using my iPhone mostly because it is always with me and it's convenient. But if I didn't have good lighting, I could not get a clean shot. It only takes a decent photo with good lighting. Also, forget about "real" shallow depth of field... it can't do it! While the new iPhone X cameras can fake a shallow depth of field, there's no better than real shallow depth of field. The Canon has an f1.8-f2.8 lens so I can get shallow depth of field shots and let more light into the camera as well. The zoom range is the equivalent of 24-100mm on a full frame camera.
I did a bunch of research and found that the best option for me was the Canon G7x Mk II camera with a 1" sensor. It's not the best point and shoot out there, but I wanted one that wasn't too expensive. After all, it's going to be used constantly and it will be with me all the time in a carry case on my belt, it could still get damaged and I didn't want to invest too much for it.
The Canon G7x MkII is best known as one of the most popular vlogging cameras used by YouTubers. It's flip up screen makes it easy to see yourself while vlogging and being in the shot. It's downfall however is no external mic jack and no headphone jack. The built-in mics are not very good for
vlogging. So, many YouTubers will use a Rode lavalier mic and record a separate audio track on their iPhones and then sync up the audio to the camera's video via an external editing software like Final Cut Pro (Mac) or Adobe Premier (PC).
Using a small point and shoot camera is less conspicuous. Whenever I use my large DSLR camera, people stop and stare. When I use this small camera, nobody pays attention. I suppose they are all used to seeing people take photos with an iPhone and so this small camera looks less threatening. In fact, I think many people chuckle whenever they see me use such a puny looking camera. If only they knew that this thing does far better than their smart phone!!
I am finding the photos from the Canon G7x Mk II are decent enough for the kind of photography I am asking it to do. The videos are not 4k, only 1080p at up to 60 fps but that's good enough for me. It's not cheap, but it's also not super expensive. For the mid-range of pricing, it's a decent enough camera for what I need right now.
You'll see more shots from me with this camera for food photos, street photography and everyday life photography. I'll use the D850 for more serious projects or if I am asked to do professional work. But for now, the Canon G7x Mk II will be used quite a bit more.
I hold the camera with a small handheld tripod from Manfrotto called the Pixi. It's about $18. Great for table shots and just to use to hold the camera steady in one hand. I also bought a "selfie stick" made by Smatree. It was around $16. It's a two-section pole that extends up to 36.6". Great for using when vlogging. While many YouTubers use just the Manfrotto, I find that having a longer pole means not having to hold your arm up as high. That's just tiring! The pole makes it much easier. It also comes with a Go Pro mount, but I'm only going to use the standard 1/4" threaded stud on its ball head for the Canon camera.
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Update: I sent the camera back to B&H Photo in New York. The camera's lens was very soft at the edges of the frame of the images. This is a common problem with these point and shoot style cameras, but especially with this camera model. I asked them to send me a replacement. The replacement arrived quickly, just one week after I sent back the other camera. It still has a problem, but not as pronounced as the first copy.
I found that any "closeup" image say less than perhaps 2 or 3 feet has soft edges if shot under f8 aperture. If you shoot photos at a distance, you can shoot even f1.8 and it would probably be acceptable. But closeups can have issues especially with wide open apertures.
You just got to get use to issues and work around it. Really, when the images are shot really close the depth of field is really shallow, so you might want to use f8 just to keep it from being too shallow! I'll keep this copy of the camera and work around its issues. Still useable for me!
