Compact Camera News

Film photographers from yesteryear, as well as today’s 35mm hipsters, have eagerly awaited Yashica’s triumphant return to the digital era with a widely teased camera promising “a journey to the truth.” But now that the camera is here, it’s a major letdown—at least for me..

Active lifestyle cameras are aimed at photographers who don’t want to worry about their equipment during their adventures, but do want to capture images they can be proud of—even under challenging conditions. All seven cameras on this list are virtually indestructible, high-performance compacts that are perfect for skiing, surfing, taking to the beach, boating, hiking or any other activity where an unprotected DSLR or mirrorless camera could be damaged. 

When it comes to Bridge cameras, Panasonic has established itself as one of the major players. The new Panasonic FZ2500 has a new 20x lens system (a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit) that covers a focal length range of 24 to 480mm (35mm film equivalent in 3:2 mode). The lens speed is f/2.8 in wide angle and f/4.5 at maximum focal length. Those very long tele settings require powerful image stabilization and the FZ2500 delivers with an optical and electronic hybrid stabilizer system which is able to level out up to 5 axis movements. We do note that when recording 4K videos only the optical stabilizer is available. The 13.2x8.8mm sensor has 20MP resolution.

Panasonic introduced the 12.8-megapixel DMC-LX100 compact camera with a Micro Four Thirds-sized sensor at photokina today. This pocket-friendly shooter features a newly developed, Leica-branded DC Vario-Summilux lens with a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 24-75mm, and an F/1.7-F/2.8 aperture range.

The Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 is a superzoom bridge camera for photographers on a budget. It features a small, 1/2.33-inch sensor with a resolution of 18MP. A massive lens system in the Panasonic FZ80 provides a focal length range between 20-1200mm (35mm film equivalent) and a whopping 60x zoom. Using the digital zoom, photographers can take photos with a focal length equivalent of 4800mm.

Panasonic announced today it will soon start offering an innovative new photographic function called “Post Focus” in some of its Lumix cameras. The feature allows photographers to capture multiple photos with multiple in-focus points through a single release of the shutter.

Panasonic just unveiled the tiny Lumix DC-TZ90 super zoom camera that delivers plenty of power in a remarkably small package. Ideal as a do-everything travel camera, the tiny TZ90 boasts a 30X optical zoom equivalent to 24-720mm in the 35mm format.