Compact cameras are making a comeback of sorts. Models that were popular in at the turn of the millennium are being searched and sourced (possibly by Gen Z). Eyecatching as they might be, I don’t think many of those cameras would make for serious street photography today. We’ve rounded up a handful that you can seriously rely on for getting you great shots while you’re out and about
How We Test and Choose the Best Compact Cameras For Street Photography
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed in these roundups.
If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. You can read more about our ethics on this on our Disclaimer page.
When we test products we’ve got various things in mind. First off, we consider who might want to buy the product and what they might do with it. With that in mind, we try to tackle at least three genres of photography with that product in a variety of situations. For example, if a lens has weather resistance, then we’ll test it accordingly with a weather-resistant camera. We also test the autofocus of the lens in continuous mode, single mode, with exposure preview effects, without those effects, and then with all the major image quality parameters. These days, no one really makes a bad lens — but some are far better than others. And that’s what we’re trying to find in our reviews.
In all of our roundups, we’re basing our findings on the reviews that we’ve done. We’re choosing a favorite, but we’re also giving photographers a bunch of others that they might like, depending on how they shoot.
Our Choice Amongst the Best Street Photography Cameras You Can Buy In 2024: Fujifilm X100V
You might be surprised to find that our top choice is the older Fujifilm X100V and not the brand-spanking new Fujifilm X100VI. Our reasons for that are manifold. We’ve listed out 7 reasons here why we feel Fujifilm shortchanged its users and fans with the latest release. Honestly, for a camera this hyped (to be fair, almost every X100 model is before release), the results didn’t match our expectations. On the other hand, the Fujifilm X100V was the closest to a perfect compact camera we’ve seen in recent times.
Tech Specs
26.1 MP APS-C X Trans Sensor
Single SDXC UHS1 card slot
14 Bit RAW files
23mm f2 lens (revamped)
3inch LCD screen
3.69MP dot EVF
Same EVF/OVF as the X Pro 3
USB-C
Pretty much the same size as the predecessor
What We Think
We had high praise for this camera’s colors and autofocus performance. In our review, we said:
It’s got great autofocus capabilities, wonderful image quality, weather sealing, a revamped lens, and a simple interface. The Fujifilm X100V proves to us that you don’t need full frame to compete despite more and more advancements centered around it.
Edited
For Some Photographers, these Might Be The Best Compact Cameras For Street Photography To Choose From
Fujifilm isn’t the only one making great compact cameras. Here are some of our favorites from other brands.
Leica Q3
One of the best compact cameras you can get today, the high price factor might place the Leica Q3 out of reach for some of us. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful-looking camera with top-notch image quality, even if it’s not the fastest to autofocus on our list. It even comes with wireless charging capabilities. In our review, we said:
“The Leica Q3 is for the photographer who values ergonomics and image quality inside a compact, simple body. Photographers from street to lifestyle portrait artists will love the mix of sharpness and bokeh — and of course, the colors. The Leica Q3 is a joy to use and is likely even more loved than the Q2.”
Sony Rx1r II
The Sony Rx1r II is a tech powerhouse. It’s got a top-notch Zeiss 35mm f2 lens, a whopping 42MP full-frame sensor, a neat pop-up EVF, and WiFi built right in. Surprisingly, its high ISO performance holds up well, even with all those megapixels. Read our review for more on this:
The Sony Rx1r II is a camera that crams a lot into a small package. You’ve got a 35mm f2 lens, a 42MP full frame sensor, a beautiful EVF and WiFi built in. What more do you need? On paper: you need nothing more. In reality, you’ll need a bit better ergonomics. Holding the camera can be tough due to there not being a lot of an area to hold onto.
Ricoh GR IIIx
This camera might be the most compact of the lot, but don’t let its size deceive you into thinking it’s short on features. We love the performance the Ricoh GR IIIx gives you. I personally know of a very qualified photojournalist who shoots a lot of her assignments on this camera. In our review, we noted:
The camera is compact and inconspicuous, yet it packs a large sensor and sharp lens, creating swoon-worthy images. The camera is a quick and lightweight way of snapping street, landscape, and travel. That’s made even more so by the built-in stabilization and ND filter, meaning accessories can often be left behind.
Using This Guide to the Best Compact Cameras For Street Photography To Buy In 2024
If you’re considering purchasing anything from this list, consider the following:
All the product images and sample photos in these roundups are shot by our staff. In fact, we don’t talk about products at length in roundups like this unless we’ve done full reviews of them. But you can surely know that we’ve done all the research ourselves.
Old as it might be, the Nikon J5 is one of my favorite walkabout cameras. But slow AF tracking and a small sensor prevent me from adding it to this list
We’d never recommend a product to you that we haven’t tested or that we really didn’t like. You can reference our linked reviews, for more information on this.
Picking the Right One For You
If you’re still a bit confused about the best compact camera for you, here are some questions to ask yourself
What’s your budget?
How will you use the product?
What lighting situations are you in, and how will that affect what you’re doing? Our reviews hyperlinked in this article can help with that.
Are you traveling a lot with it?
Will you be using it in a situation that’s a bit rougher?
Who else uses this product? How are they using it?
What’s so appealing about this product that I can’t get from what I have already or something else?
When will I really have time to use this product?
Where will I bring this product?
How will this product help bring me joy and joy in my photography?
