The Best Compact Cameras 2020: Stiftung Warentest Winner And Other Recommendations

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-06-01 15:05

• Compact camera with very good picture quality
• Robust outdoor compact camera
• The price-performance tip
• More questions and answers about buying compact cameras

The best compact cameras 2020: test winner at a glance

placement	product	price	offer
Stiftung Warentest winner	Fujifilm X100V	approx.1,400 euros	Offer on Amazon
Outdoor tip	Nikon Coolpix W300	about 380 euros	Offer on Amazon
Price-performance tip	Canon G7 X Mark III	approx. 700 euros	Offer on Amazon

Test winner at Stiftung Warentest: Fujifilm X100V

There are compact cameras with excellent image quality. One of the top representatives: the Fujifilm X100V. The reasons for the good quality can be found quickly: This " noble compact " offers a sensor as large as an SLR camera (APS-C). The lens is a fixed focal length, 36 millimeters based on the small picture, with an aperture of f / 2. That means: It is a very bright wide angle. Zoom? Doesn't exist, or only digitally (i.e. with loss of quality). If you want the X100V, you should already be familiar with photography and know that you want a prime lens. The great image quality in the compact housing costs an impressive 1,400 euros. For this money you can also get a good system camera (see below), but it is usually not that compact.

If you want a very high-quality compact camera that delivers great image quality, the Fujifilm X100V is the right choice. At Stiftung Warentest she heads the list of high-quality compact cameras 2019/2020, with a quality rating of 1.6.

Fujifilm X100V digital camera

Now from € 1,511.32 on Ebay price comparison price can now be higher. Price from 2020-27-07 00:06 a.m.

Advantages:

• Very good image quality (even in low light)
• High-quality
• With many functions, including WiFi

Disadvantage:

• Prime lens
• expensive

Robust outdoor compact for bad luck and divers: The Nikon Coolpix W300

No system camera can keep up: The Nikon Coolpix W300 is shockproof for a height of up to 2.4 meters and waterproof up to 30 meters. This makes it the ideal holiday camera that can survive careless children's hands, sand and salt water. And even dives. Many hobby divers rarely go deeper than 30 or at least 35 meters. This means that the small compact camera can always be carried - and you don't need a bulky housing for a "leaky" camera in your holiday luggage. The focal length range extends from 24 to 120 millimeters (based on the 35 mm format), thanks to the macro function and flash, even small creatures can be photographed above and below water. I own the predecessor of the W300 and was pretty glad that I had dangled it on my diving jacket during this encounter with Mantas:

However, the capabilities of the Nikon Coolpix W300 are limited: the sensor is small, RAW files cannot be saved. The image quality is clearly visible behind that of system cameras - above and below water. The camera is available in four housing colors.

Nikon Coolpix W300 outdoor camera

Now from € 379.00 at Amazon Similar offer at Mediamarkt Price can now be higher. Price from 26.07.2020 23:36 h

Advantages:

• Robust
• Waterproof
• With GPS and WiFi

Disadvantage:

Mediocre picture quality

Value for money: Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III

Our price-performance tip is the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III, in the classic compact camera look. Although the image sensor is small (1 inch), the image quality is still good. The Stiftung Warentest even gave the picture with automatic settings a rating of 1.9 (for comparison: the test winner from Fujifilm got a 1.5) and praised the good color rendering and very high resolution. In addition, the image stabilization is very good.

The focal length range extends from 24 to 100 millimeters (equivalent to the small picture). With an aperture of f / 1.8 to f / 2.8, the lens is bright. In addition to these core criteria, the compact camera from Canon offers many other functions, including WiFi and frills such as YouTube live streaming.

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III compact camera

Now from € 713.53 at Amazon Similar offer at Otto price can now be higher. Price from 2020-27-07 01:51 a.m.

Advantages:

• Good picture quality
• Compact
• With WiFi

Disadvantage:

Compact cameras in the test: So it was tested

The most important criterion when testing compact cameras is the image quality. The above-mentioned test winner at Stiftung Warentest and our price-performance tip fall into the category of high-quality compact cameras. The grade for the automatic image in this class went to the final grade with 40 percent weighting, the image with manual settings with 10 percent. According to Stiftung Warentest, the sub-grades have been comparable between the different classes since 2016.

For the final grade, the examiners also considered: video (10 percent), viewfinder and monitor (10 percent), handling (30 percent).

Buying a compact camera: Questions that may still be asked

Below are a few background information and tips for beginners who want to buy a compact camera:

Which memory card do I need?

Most compact cameras use SD cards or micro SD cards. Very good, large and fast memory cards are now available for less than 30 euros, like this SanDisk Extreme (micro SD with SD adapter).

SanDisk Extreme microSDXC 128GB + SD adapter

Now from € 23.90 at Amazon price can now be higher. Price from 27.07.2020 00:48 a.m.

What criteria should I pay attention to when buying a compact camera?

If you want to dig deeper into camera research yourself, consider the following criteria, among others:

• Image quality: The number of megapixels is not clearly meaningful, a large number of pixels on the sensor can even have a negative effect on the quality. Rather, it is based on tests or our recommendations.
• Lens: Do you want to be able to zoom and / or have a decent wide angle? Is the lens bright, i.e. the f-number as small as possible (e.g. f / 2.0)?
• Design: You choose a compact camera mainly because of its compact size. The housing design can therefore be a decisive criterion.
• Special features: If you want a robust and waterproof camera, choose an outdoor camera. If you want to manually edit the pictures a lot, pay attention to RAW support. If you want to share your pictures immediately, take a model with a WLAN module.

Do compact cameras offer the best value for money among cameras?

In my opinion: No. If you primarily value a very good image quality, it is best to use an entry-level SLR camera. With similar quality, it costs half as much as a high-quality compact (see the X100V above). Disadvantage: The SLR camera does not fit in your jacket pocket. More on this in purchasing advice: compact camera, system camera or SLR camera?

On the subject:

• The best mirrorless system cameras
• The best SLR cameras

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Maybe the mobile phone is enough for me?

A good photo cell phone is always in your pocket and it often takes just as good or even better pictures than a cheap compact camera. With smartphones, the software gets a lot out of the mini sensor. If you have a good camera smartphone, you'd better not buy a compact camera than a cheap compact camera - my recommendation. However, higher quality compact cameras with a larger sensor exceed the image quality of smartphones. In addition, the larger lenses of the compact cameras and an optical zoom ensure better photos.

In my opinion, compact cameras are not generally worthwhile, but only specialists (e.g. outdoor cameras) or high-quality compact cameras if you need or want to save space in your pocket.