Small Black Cameras

Southampton Sports Ground (Panasonic LX15)

I think many "serious" photographers affect a disdain for gearheads that is often more than a little disingenuous. Obviously, the kind of person whose main interest is serially comparing, discussing, and accumulating gear, rather than actually producing photographs, is into a different kind of activity than an actual, active photographer, but "comparative hardware studies" are, after all, something that can be done professionally. I mean, blimey, you can even earn a few quid and a following just by videoing yourself opening the boxes! Plus, photography being a gear-based enterprise, for any actual, active photographer not to have strong opinions about the gear they use would, frankly, be weird. These don't have to be a pixel-peeping fixation on costly, high-spec apparatus: I myself am a "kit zoom" kind of guy, prefer lower-end cameras, favour Fuji, and mainly buy my stuff second-hand, almost as a matter of principle. But that's a strong set of opinions in itself.

However, immune as I am to most gear-talk and gear-lust, one ridiculous obsession that I do have is with the "small black camera". I can't resist them. It all started with an Olympus Mju and an Olympus XA, back in the days of film, and has gone on from there: whenever I see a used, well-engineered black compact going for a good price, I struggle to pass it by. It's an especially ridiculous obsession, because I have little or no need for yet another such device, and usually end up selling them on. For a start, the image quality is rarely good enough, although the Fuji X20 and X70 are exceptional in this regard (and I have both, which is why I have little or no need for yet another such device).

Usually, I find that the handling characteristics of the more recent compacts are impossibly fiddly. Tiny cameras bristling with tinier buttons and dials (and, worst of all, with a touch-screen occupying most of the back) are prone to springing unwanted surprises in actual use by clumsy adult hands, such as switching the camera into movie mode, moving the focus point into a top corner, or kicking off some unknown and unwanted function such as "Beard Recognition", or "Apocalypse Emulation". Looking at many modern cameras, it can be hard to recall that, like the best breads and beers, a photograph is still just the product of three simple, traditional ingredients – aperture, shutter speed, and focus – plus the new-fangled novelty of variable ISO. Anything else is packaging.

Southampton Sports Ground skip (Panasonic LX15)

The latest specimen compact to pass through my hands – it followed me home, honest – is a Panasonic LX15 (or LX10 in the US). This is actually a really great little camera, unfairly maligned as "disappointing" by many of its initial reviewers when it appeared in 2016. I've been impressed by the quality of its raw files, and it handles very well: much better, IMHO, than that overpraised succession of Sony RX100 models, which I have found (yes, I've had a couple of those, too...) to be too-tiny booby-traps with buttons far too prone to fat-finger malfunctions. But, nice as the Panasonic is, I really have no practical use for this latest small black camera, so, as usual, having sated my curiosity, I'll be selling it on.

However, for a change, I thought I'd pass on the chance of a genuine bargain to a reader of this blog. Here's the deal. The camera is in excellent, unmarked condition (I suspect its previous owner was one of those serial gearheads, as it's barely been used), boxed with all its bits and pieces, and comes with the genuine, dedicated (and expensive!) Panasonic leather case (also boxed). It's yours for £250 plus P&P (probably about £10 within the UK; anywhere else, we'll have to see) [1]. If you're interested, email me (my address is in the "View My Complete Profile" section at top right). Save me from myself! [2]

Stress test: passed! ("contre jour", no lens hood...)

(Panasonic LX15)

1. If you don't think that's a bargain, check out the used prices for the camera and the case, both in top condition. 
2. I can change, I swear! However, if Fuji were ever to decide to launch a version of their APS-C sensor X70 with a modest zoom (say, 35-70mm equivalent, preferably a version of the novel, manual, twist-to-start-up pancake zoom on the small-sensor X20, which I love), then I might even consider buying one NEW... Has to be black, though. Silver (or, FFS, brown) compact cameras are just silly.