Recommend me a compact camera

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 Andy Johnson 09 Jun 2021

I'm looking for recommendations for a compact camera for hill/climbing use.

Must have decent optical zoom and GPS location tagging. Nice to have compass for direction tagging, and rechargeable via USB (rather than separate charger). Don't need wifi.

Thoughts?

 Philip 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Andy Johnson:

I asked this a while back. Trying to decide between a weatherproof Olympus Tough or something with more manual control. I opted for a Panasonic Lumix LX-15.

OP Andy Johnson 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Philip:

> I opted for a Panasonic Lumix LX-15.

Yes, thats the kind of thing I have in mind, but it doesn't have GPS.

 Ridge 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Philip:

> I asked this a while back. Trying to decide between a weatherproof Olympus Tough or something with more manual control. I opted for a Panasonic Lumix LX-15.

Thread hijack, but how are you finding the Lumix?

 Philip 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Ridge:

> Thread hijack, but how are you finding the Lumix?

I hate cameras. My Canon 60D is too big, my waterproof Pentax waterproof is too old, the LX-15 is great if I find time to remember the features, but too often I just point and click. Post processing for depth of field is great (got my kids to hold a lighthouse by merging depths). Macro is good. What would be easier would be some kind of web interface where I could customize the functions and disable all the stuff I don't need so I have a simpler camera.

But the general subject of photography depresses me. I bought a powerful desktop and expensive 4k monitor to do photo editing. No time to set up. No time to review photos. Most of what I have is taken with my Samsung S9 and put on FB/Google Photos.

1
 Philip 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Andy Johnson:

Doesn't it? I'm sure one of the variants does. When I searched it said available on the LX-15 via the smartphone app.

OP Andy Johnson 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Philip:

> When I searched it said available on the LX-15 via the smartphone app.

That sounds like a lot of unnecessary faff to me. I don't want to have an app on my phone just so I can use my camera. On the hill my phone is usually in flight mode anyway.

Post edited at 13:52
 Philip 09 Jun 2021
In reply to Andy Johnson:

> That sounds like a lot of unnecessary faff to me. I don't want to have an app on my phone just so I can use my camera. On the hill my phone is usually in flight mode anyway.

From the YouTube how to, it does seem a faff.

In reply to Andy Johnson:

Just a small point to consider with gps on cameras in my limited experience using an Olympus Tough - start up time was extended considerably to allow for an accurate gps fix such that it was not worthwhile waiting for it for a quick grab a shot type of photography. It was far slower than the likes of navigation gps units. There was also a heavier drain on battery esp if you left it on.

I switched the gps off with my Tough for all photography because it was so slow especially the initial fix in a new area. It was of course a bit quicker after it got it’s initial fix, but was still slow after when the camera had been switched off in between shots whilst walking a route. The camera would need to remain on to keep the fix and be quick.

There is some merit in having an app for example linked to the camera if you want geotagging of photos without taking the time hanging about. Olympus can do this for their non gps cameras. The geotagging with Olympus is I believe done at download stage and not during the taking of the photos.

Others will know if other makes of camera with gps are similar or quicker.

Post edited at 21:00
OP Andy Johnson 11 Jun 2021
In reply to Andy Johnson:

Thanks for all the comments.

It seems that compact cameras started losing embedded GPS a few years ago - which I think is a shame. I can understand why it might not be a very compelling feature for general consumer use, especially in a product category that has been squeezed by smartphones, but for photographing landscapes I think it has real value. And damnit I like to know where my pictures were taken.

I eventually picked up a Sony HX90V which I think will be fine for my purposes.

Wikipedia has a list* of cameras that provide geotagging, which I found quite useful.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cameras_which_provide_geotagging


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