So, with Xmas coming up and a few birthdays having elapsed when she had not wanted a main present, it was new camera time. For most purposes her iPhone will suffice, but there are times when a better quality camera is needed. One of those instances is when photographing ancient artefacts*, which can be small so a macro facilty was a must. Interchangeable lenses are definitely not required, so we were looking at compacts. An initial foray narrowd the options down to three, Panasonic's LX100 and FZ1000, and the Fuji X30. That selection also meant that a range of sensor sizes were being considered, topping out with the 4/3 one in the LX100. On Monday, final tests were conducted with a 5p coin standing in for an iron age stater and the results reviewed on my laptop over dinner. The FZ1000 had been an early frontrunner due to its versatility but was ruled out on the grounds of its size. The X30 fell somewhere in between the other two, but the LX100 finally prevailed. Image quality and the usefulness of the physical controls on the camera body rather than having functions buried in menus were the main factors for it winning out.
A word of praise here for Park Cameras in London, who were very helpful. In total, it took three visits to make the final choice and shooting with a memory card meant that disassembly of the security tethering was necessary to gain access to the memory slots on the Panasonics. When I returned yesterday evening to make the purchase they even chucked in a 16 GB memory card unbidden. I was told that if my daughter has any questions about the camera, she can return there at any time. All in all, they offer a good level of service which was just what was needed.
* Other than Dad.
