alan frost photography

Having fun with a compact – Street Art in Chichester

By alan frost on May 21, 2018

There are times when I think I take my photography a little too seriously. My recent ‘Still-Life’ images are a case in point. The light, the composition, the processing, are all very controlled and take quite a long time to get right.

For a while now I thought it would be a good idea to buy a compact camera. Something truly pocketable, that I could have with me most of the time but would still produce good quality images. A smartphone is great but it does have its limitations. Most of all this camera would have to be fun to use.

I attended a talk a recently by Charlie Waite, the well renowned landscape photographer. It was a charity event in aid of The Disabled Photographers Society. As part of the fund raising there was an auction of items donated by various organisations. One of the items was the Sony RX100 Mk3. Although an older model which has been superseded by the Mk4 and Mk5, these are more expensive and the main improvements are video related.  The lens and quality of the still images from all three models are very similar and the Mk3 has a better battery life. I took the plunge, kept raising my hand to bid and after a few minutes proved to be the successful bidder.

Yesterday I went into my home city of Chichester for an hour or two, to put the Sony through its paces and have a bit of fun. I concentrated on a some of ‘street art’ which can be found if you know where to look.

The SonyRX100 comfortably fits in the palm of my hand and will happily live in a trouser pocket. It feels very solid, has a 20.1megapixel sensor, the equivalent of a 24 to 70mm F1.8 to F2.8 lens, shoots RAW, has a pop up electronic viewfinder and flash (no hot shoe), and after taking a few shots an excellent dynamic range. Quality files, fun to use and all in a body which seems built to last. What’s not to like?

I really enjoyed wandering around the town, a small camera in hand, composing and taking a few photographs. I even like the fact that I have retained the colour and not been tempted to convert to black and white.

I have owned other compact cameras in the past, but this is the first one I have warmed to instantly. It just feels right. It came supplied with the rubber grip accessory which definitely improves handling, as well as a case for protection, neither of which add significantly to the overall size of the package.

At the talk Charlie Waite said that he also used the Sony RX100 as a ‘carry at all times’ camera. After this first experience I can see why. Charlie gave an enlightening, inspirational and entertaining talk and I was pleased to have bought a camera which will hopefully give me pleasure and the money I paid has gone to a good cause – The Disabled Photographer’s Society.  A win-win all round.

The Charlie Waite talk was very well organised and hosted by Middleton Camera Club. I would like to thank them for an excellent evening, as well as Sony UK for generously donating the camera which was supplied by London Camera Exchange in Chichester.