UKH

Looking to replace my RX100, which packed up last autumn. Things I liked about it were: size (small enough to stuff down my t shirt on a sling and not really notice), pictures looked (IMO) banging, went fully manual when I felt like learning something, battery always lasted the whole day, even if I was mostly on photo duty instead of climbing duty. The main thing I didn't like about it was that it broke after 8 months (it was second hand, mind, but appeared to be in quite good condition).

My budget is £300 absolute max, I'm struggling to find a RX100 in the kind of nick I'd like for that (MPB has some 'good's, but how good is 'good'? Don't want to spend ~£250 for it to just break again in 8 months). Another option seems to be Lumix GM1 with something like the 20mm f1.7 on the front. Does anyone have experience with this camera?

I'm not overly fussed about zoom - when I did want to zoom on my RX100 it didn't tend to go far enough anyway, so I guess I could just save up a bit more and get a second lens further down the line. How should I expect image quality to compare with the RX100? Bigger sensor, but a lot of pictures I see online taken with the GM-1 seem to be quite noisy. Crappy uploads, or crappy camera? I like the idea that with a GM-1 I don't have to replace the whole thing when one component of it inevitably gives up the ghost.

Apologies for the rambling post, would appreciate thoughts on whether I should just hold out for a RX100 in better condition to come along or whether a GM-1 will fit my needs. I tend to be taking climbing pics, the ones on my profile are fairly representative of the kind of photos I like taking and found the RX100 reasonably well-suited for.

Hi,

Personally I'd stick with the RX100, if you are happy with the performance. MPB are a good company, so good condition will be decent condition and I beleive the cam would come with a 12 month warranty. That said either the GM1 or the RX100 will be pretty old so I guess there are no guarantees of longevity.

As another suggestion you might like the Panasonic LX100, which is compact, takes decent pics and has a nicer 'manual' experience IMHO!

Had a quick look on camerapricebuster.co.uk - Ffordes selling new RX100 for £298.50. Not sure whether warranty is for 1 year or two though - length of warranty varies with different Sony models.

Very timely for me. My RX100 Mk1 packed up a couple of months ago having given 8 years excellent service. After much thought I finally decided to replace it with a new RX100 Mk3, the oldest version still manufactured. I bought it yesterday from Jessops at £399 including case and thumb grip. It's available at the same price elsewhere. It's arriving today!

I appreciate that £399 is above your "absolute" price limit, but, if you can stretch it, you will get a new camera (even though it's an old model) with a warranty. There's a lot of reports of RX100s (mostly Mk1's I think) packing up after about the length of time I've had mine. But I really like the image quality, which is exceptional for the weight and size. The Mk3 had, when it was introduced, about the best reviews of any compact camera. If I get another 8 years of quality use for my £399, I'll be pleased. At that point I'll be 80. If I'm still into photography (and hopefully climbing) there may be a better option than the RX100 series available to meet my requirements, but I'm not sure there is at the moment.

Having said that, only time will tell if I've made the right decision.

Martin

Edit - Whoops, just seen Gary's post. Looks like I might have just wasted £100! Although Gary doesn't say which Mk it is.

It's the original RX100 that  Ffordes are selling for £298.50 i.e the Mark 1 version. We've got the Mk1 & the Mk4 - the first one to include a pop up viewfinder, which I find really useful, especially in bright sun. 

Just checked the Ffordes site. The camera Gary spotted for £298.50 is a Mk 1 RX100 (and it's now £289.50). It's marked as new, but I think the Mk 1 has been discontinued for quite a while so it may be old stock. However, it does meet Joe's budget ceiling.

Martin

Gary posted while I was writing. By the way, the Mk 3, which has just arrived in the post, also has the pop-up viewfinder which I'm looking forward to using in bright sunlight - let's hope we get lots of that this year!

Martin

Great spot, I didn't know about camerapricebuster - thanks for that! Sounds like I should probably just go with another RX100 and maybe take slightly better care of it. Thanks Gary and Martin!

I had a MKI for 7 years and then it died, despite really looking after it very well.

I was in exactly the same situation, and ended up buying a new MKIII 2.5 years ago.  It has developed a very annoying short circuit issue on the mode selection dial on the top - it flashes between settings and is a big problem on certain modes.  I'm loathed to get it seen to as I know it'll cost me.  On fully auto mode it wasn't happening, though my last trip out it started to.  I bought mine as a grey import for £360 and had to change the language over from Chinese to English (tutorial online!).  

I will see how the problem progresses, and if the camera becomes unusable I may consider buying another MKIII, or call it a day and move back to Canon with a G7X MKII but really not sure.