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Compact cameras

Unlike mobile phones, compact cameras are worth considering for serious outdoor photography. Well, some compacts, anyway: the term covers a multitude of sins. At one end there are cameras which aren’t much better than a mobile phone. At the other there are cameras which cost more than an entry-level SLR and have a raft of serious features; these are often marketed as a ‘pocket’ camera for professionals.

A very few cameras, like Sigma’s DP-2 and Fujifilm’s resolutely retro-styled X100, have SLR-size sensors in compact-size bodies. If you can live with a fixed focal length lens they’re a really intriguing prospect.

The undeniable advantage of compact cameras for outdoor use is their, er, compactness. Small size and light weight are surely desirable, and so is the ease with which a compact can be stowed in a pocket and pulled out in a second. However, smallness is a mixed blessing. It can make cameras harder to handle, especially when wearing gloves, and particularly when you want to change settings; often the control buttons are so small that they’re fiddly even with bare fingers.