10 High-end Compact Cameras for Street Photography

Why would an already professional photographer or be an aspiring photographer need a compact camera rather than a DSLR. This is of course the most sorted question when you want to go for a compact camera, the boredom of always traveling around with 3-4 lenses, a huge camera bag and the lame luxury of losing some precious time in changing lenses, after a period of time once you start to appreciate certain complex things with an unique vision you slowly start to realize its better to have a compact camera rather than a dslr, which trumpets your arrival as a photographer. Especially for street and travel photographers this compact mechanism works like charm.

In this post of ours, we have shortlisted some of the most wanted and rocking compact cameras, take a look and decide for yourself. Be it the RAW factor, shutter speed or some stunning depth of focus these cameras doesn’t let you down, believe me sometimes they are even better than your dslr.

Leica M9-P 18 MP Digital Rangefinder Camera

The LEICA M9, a camera that carries the legend of Leica M cameras into the digital age. It is the smallest full-format digital system camera the world has ever seen. In a nutshell: it is a contemporary tool for all who demand the highest standards in image quality and love freedom of composition.

Features:

• Display glass made of Sapphire Glass
• Vulcanite leatherette covering for better grip and longer lasting life.
• Pure Leica look without Lieca logo and M9 lettering on the front side
• Classical “Leica” engraving on the top cover
• Available in classic Black paint or silver chrome

Fujifilm X100S 16 MP Digital Camera

Leading the way to the ultimate image quality, the X100s features the new APS-C 16M X-Trans CMOS II Sensor & EXR Processor II. X-Trans CMOS II incorporates an original color filter array with a highly random pattern, eliminating the need for an optical low-pass filter (OLPF). These filters are used in conventional systems to inhibit moiré at the expense of resolution.

Features:

• APS-C 16M X-Trans CMOS II sensor with OLPF-less architecture
• Fujinon 23mm F2 fixed focal length lens for quality without compromise
• Newly developed Hybrid Viewfinder
• Digital Split Image Manual Focus System
• Full HD movies

Olympus XZ-2 Digital Camera

12MP Resolution BSI 1/1.63 CMOS Sensor: The XZ-2 uses a large 1/1.63 12MP resolution BSI-CMOS image sensor that provides enhanced low light performance and image quality over its predecessor 24-96mm f/1.8-2.5 i.ZUIKO DIGITAL Lens (35mm Equivalent): The i.ZUIKO DIGITAL lens is a compact version of the Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL interchangeable lenses and is designed specifically for compact cameras like the XZ-2 3.0 Swivel Touch Screen LCD Display.

Features:

• 4X iZUIKO Zoom Lens – 4x wide-angle optical zoom and 4x digital zoom with a fast F1.8 Lens
• iHS Technology – Powerful TruePic VI, SLR-quality Image Processor and a cutting edge BSI CMOS sensor improve image quality with spectacular low-light performance and blazing autofocus speed
• 12MP HS BSI CMOS Sensor – Amazing 12 million pixels in the High-Sensitivity, High-Speed BSI CMOS sensor deliver unmatched image quality at low-light situations
• Hi-res 3 LCD with High Quality User Interface – New design of the XZ-2’s interface takes full advantage of the 3-in., 920,000-pixel VGA display

Fujifilm X20 12 MP Digital Camera

New Intelligent Hybrid AF system instantly switches between Phase detection and Contrast AF.
Full HD movies @ 60fps.
Bright, advanced optical viewfinder with “Real Time” shooting data display.

Features:

• New Intelligent Hybrid AF system instantly switches between Phase detection and Contrast AF
• Full HD movies @ 60fps
• Bright, advanced optical viewfinder with “Real Time” shooting data display

Sony DSC-RX100M II Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera

When beautiful scenery inspires the artist within, capture every exquisite detail with the compact Cyber-shot RX100 II. You’ll enjoy extraordinary light sensitivity, breathtaking image quality and beautiful background defocusing thanks to a newly developed 1.0-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor and F1.8 lens.

Features:

• 1-Inch 20.2 MP Exmor R sensor for extreme low-light shots
• Bright F1.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens w/3.6x zoom
• Simple connectivity to smartphones via Wi-Fi or NFC
• Recording Media Types: PRO Duo™ / Pro-HG Duo™ media Memory Stick, SD, SDHC and SDXC Memory Card

Canon PowerShot S110 12MP Digital Camera

The PowerShot S110 packs a world of advancements into its sleek, pocket-sized body. While the camera makes it easy enough for any user to achieve beautiful image quality, it gives serious photographers the tools they need to take their creative expression to the highest level, including a 12.1 Megapixel High-Sensitivity CMOS sensor and DIGIC 5 Image Processor that create the exclusive Canon HS SYSTEM, and 12-bit multi aspect RAW+JPEG.

Features:

• Built-in WiFi for Image Transfer to Social Sites, PC, IOS and Android Devices
• 5x Optical Zoom with 24mm Wide-Angle Lens and 3″ capacitive touch screen
• 1080p Full HD Video With a Dedicated Movie Button,12-bit Multi Aspect Recording in RAW + JPEG
• High-speed AF, High-speed Burst HQ for a maximum of 10 frames
• NB-5L Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack, 3.7VDC, 1120mAh
• Built-in WiFi for Image Transfer to Social Sites, PC, IOS and Android Devices
• 5x Optical Zoom with 24mm Wide-Angle Lens and 3″ capacitive touch screen
• 1080p Full HD Video With a Dedicated Movie Button
• High-speed AF, High-speed Burst HQ for a maximum of 10 frames
• 12-bit Multi Aspect Recording in RAW + JPEG

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX7K 10.1 MP Digital Camera

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX7 10.1 MP Digital Camera comes with a newly developed 24mm ultra-wide angle LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMILUX lens that boasts a F1.4 brightness at wide-end and F2.3 at tele-end. Pictures will be sharp and blur-free, even in poorly lit environments.

Features:

• 7.5x Intelligent zoom, less ghost with Nano Surface Coating Lens
• 10MP new high sensitivity MOS sensor
• F1.4-2.3 Leica DC vario SUMMILUX 24mm Wide Angle
• 60p Full HD Video Recording with Stereo Microphone in AVCHD Progressive /MP4,
• 9fps High Speed Continuous Shooting

Ricoh GR DIGITAL IV US 10 MP Digital Camera

The GR DIGITAL IV employs a hybrid autofocus system that combines an external auto focus with a conventional contrast autofocus system. It is newly equipped with an external autofocus sensor developed in-house that allows for high-speed, high-precision distance calculations for up to 190 points. The camera needs as little as 0.2 seconds for the autofocus to adjust, approximately half the time for the GR DIGITAL III.

Features:

• 28mm equiv.
• 10.0 M Pixels
• 3.0 inch LCD screen

Sigma DP2 14MP FOVEON CMOS Sensor Digital Camera

Implementing a large sensor presented all sorts of problems: the cost of the sensor, the difficulty of designing the lens, the high processing capacity required for the image-processing engine, enlarging the circuit board, increasing the memory capacity, and so on. Until these problems could be overcome, it was generally accepted that DSLRs used large sensors, and compacts used small ones. Eventually, these problems were effectively solved, allowing sensors to be made smaller. However, this involved a trade-off: reduced image quality.

Features:

• SLR-sized, 14-megapixel Foveon X3 direct image CMOS sensor
• 24.2mm f2.8 standard-range lens (35mm equivalent focal length: 41mm)
• 2.5-inch TFT LCD screen
• Capture images to SD Card/SDHC/Multi Media Card (not included)

Canon PowerShot G15 12MP Digital Camera

Reaching new heights in speed, agility and creative possibilities, the PowerShot G15 gives photographers plenty of reasons to be delighted over. The excitement starts with the newly developed 5x Optical Zoom with 28mm Wide-Angle, bright f/1.8(W) – f/2.8 (T) lens that performs beautifully across the entire zoom range, even in low light, and can create dramatic soft backgrounds with shallow depth-of-field.

Features:

• Bright 3-inch LCD with 922,000 dots enables easy viewing
• 12.1 megapixel high-sensitivity CMOS sensor
• DIGIC 5 image processor
• 5x optical zoom (28mm-140mm)
• Capture stunning 1080p Full HD video in stereo sound with a dedicated movie button

Please check our previous related articles here:

• 5 Budget DSLR’s To Grab For Beginners
• Top 3 Prime Lenses Every Photographer Should Have
• 10 Hot Lenses Worth The Money For Your DSLR
• Top Reasons For You To Grab A Canon 70D
• Top Reasons For You To Grab A 35mm Lens