Which smallest pocket camera to buy for stock photo and video shoot in 2023-24

[Saurabh]

Hello everyone,

This is Saurabh from India. I have been shooting photos and videos for stock sites from long back (including Alamy) i think i started in 2012 but then due to different reasons i stopped uploading images/videos  in Alamy and other sites from 2016 or so.. mainly due to being busy in my professional and personal life and also because it was cumbersome to take my dslr and lesnses + Tripods everywhere... but now i think i have been missing many great opportunities to capture many good subjects... 

so basically i want your suggestion if there is any smallest / pocket camera available these days in market which is acceptable as per Alamy standard also , a camera handy to carry in pocket, good image and video quality (even in low light/night), video stability ? Kindly provide me some insight...

Thanking you in advance :)

[Ed Rooney]

 

Most of my Alamy stock images have been captured with a Sony RX100/7.

 

Nice photos, Saurabh. But it would be best if you rethought your tagging. Do some research on what people are saying in this forum. 

 

Edo

[Saurabh]

11 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Most of my Alamy stock images have been captured with a Sony RX100/7.

 

Nice photos, Saurabh. But it would be best if you rethought your tagging. Do some research on what people are saying in this forum. 

 

Edo

Thanks Ed for replying. Yeah Sony RX100 have been a favourite since long back, i was wondering if anything new has come now.. searched online and found Sony alpha 7, do you have any idea if alpha 7 has better features than RX100... coz alpha 7 has triple the price than RX100 7..
and is it wise to get RX100 M3 than M7 ? .. it has half the price..

Thanks for complement for my images... yeah i should review their keywords... actually i deleted most of my images and left the few, these were uploaded when i just started uploading images... at that time some different keyword system was here in alamy if you remember ... some primary keywords and then secondary and tertiary level keywords... i have been lazy enough to review the keywords 😛

[Ed Rooney]

 

The Sony Alfa 7 is not a pocket camera. The 100/M3 has a reach of 24-70, the 100/M7 has 24-120, a one-step popup viewfinder, and faster better autofocus. 

 

You have a pic of a lens on page one. I don't see a tag saying what that lens is but you have lots of pointless unhelpful tags. 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Ed Rooney

[Alex Ramsay]

Still perfectly content with my RX100 II, bought new in 2013

 

Alex

[Ed Rooney]

Is that your main camera, Alex? 

 

I have 5 Sonys: RX10, a6000, RX100/5, 6, and 7 -- all good cameras. I used Nikons and Leicas for film and Nikon DSRs with digital at first. I haven't found that I need a large file for Alamy editorial stock. 

[Alex Ramsay]

33 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

Is that your main camera, Alex? 

 

I have 5 Sonys: RX10, a6000, RX100/5, 6, and 7 -- all good cameras. I used Nikons and Leicas for film and Nikon DSRs with digital at first. I haven't found that I need a large file for Alamy editorial stock. 

 

No, but it's a great little walk-around. I still do a bit of commissioned work, architectural and studio stuff, which is all shot on Nikon (D850 mainly). As you suggest, the enormous files are overkill for Alamy! I used to use a Mamiya RB67 for most things, but it hasn't come out of its case for the last few years, sadly

 

Alex

[NYCat]

Alamy doesn't take video files so no need to worry about that for this site.

 

Paulette

[Normspics]

My last few pages of content on Alamy were shot by a Sony RX100M5, it’s great for travel, everyone thinks you’re just a tourist. Discreet for supermarket products and restaurant meals and pocket sized!

[Saurabh]

40 minutes ago, Normspics said:

My last few pages of content on Alamy were shot by a Sony RX100M5, it’s great for travel, everyone thinks you’re just a tourist. Discreet for supermarket products and restaurant meals and pocket sizedyeah

Yeah.. This is what I want.. Otherwise everyone stares when you go to some public place with a dslr, feel bit embarrassing if that's not a tourist place haha

[Normspics]

30 minutes ago, Saurabh said:

Yeah.. This is what I want.. Otherwise everyone stares when you go to some public place with a dslr, feel bit embarrassing if that's not a tourist place haha

 

The Sony RX100M5 is also good for video as it has an in built ND filter, the later models of this camera don't have that.

[Saurabh]

16 minutes ago, Normspics said:

 

The Sony RX100M5 is also good for video as it has an in built ND filter, the later models of this camera don't have that.

Oh is that so.. I didn't know it. Thanks 

[Michael Ventura]

Love my Sony RX10 and RX100M4 for walk around stock.  Any of the Sony RX100 series cameras are great for a high end pocket camera.

[Cecile Marion]

I have the Sony RX100M4 and M6. They work just fine for me. I also have the RX10M4, which I absolutely adore! Unfortunately, it’s not a pocket camera. I continue to hope Sony will develop a slightly lighter and smaller version. 

[Mark Scheuern]

Ricoh GRiii or GRiiix are great little cameras. 

[Allan Bell]

33 minutes ago, Cecile Marion said:

I have the Sony RX100M4 and M6. They work just fine for me. I also have the RX10M4, which I absolutely adore! Unfortunately, it’s not a pocket camera. I continue to hope Sony will develop a slightly lighter and smaller version. 

 

Don't you find the RX10 a bit of a heavy lump.

 

When I looked at them thinking I might purchase one that is what I thought and did not bother.

 

Allan

 

[Cecile Marion]

2 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Don't you find the RX10 a bit of a heavy lump.

 

When I looked at them thinking I might purchase one that is what I thought and did not bother.

 

Allan

 

Heavy, absolutely, but I’ve been very happy with it otherwise. 

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

RX10's heavy??  I carry around neck all day.

Compared to DSLR's its nearly a feather...

 

To Edroo who owns RX10's & RX100's

& previously stated he had hand tremor,

if willing, how does tremor affect steadiness

of very light RX100's vs somewhat heavier RX10's?

Are you losing shots due to shake-motion...?

Are you setting RX100's minimum shutter speed

at, say, 1/100 sec?  Other?  Thanks in advance.

 

To Saurabh I say this without hesitation:

your photos of children activities are salable,

get as many as you can online as soon as you

can to see regular stock photo income --

like others say, they must be logically keyworded...

Edited November 14, 2023 by Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg

[Normspics]

The RX10 series is the forgotten child of Sony, long overdue for a refresh! I had the Sony RX10 M3 and loved it until the glue in the lens had a reaction and started peppering the interior of the the outside lens with tiny specs. Sold it to a fellow who didn’t care.

[Ed Rooney]

12 hours ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

 

Are you losing shots due to shake-motion...?

 

 

Jeff, I have no trouble handholding cameras. I thought I explained that. Maybe not.

 

My tremor gets going when I reach out from my body. But I  keep my cameras pressed against my face and lean slightly back so the camera is over my body. I hope that's clear. I used to play the guitar. Tremor prevented me from being able to use a pick. I played a classical fingerstyle, which allowed me to press the guitar against my body. For me, reaching out is a no-no. Most everything I shoot is handheld in available light. I'm a city boy now, have no car, and have no use for a long tele. 

 

My original RX10, 24-120, weighs just about 1.5 lbs. You have or had the 24-600 model, about a pound heavier. Still light compared to the Nikon D800. 

 

Good luck with your tremor, Jeff. 

[Ognyan Yosifov]

13 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Jeff, I have no trouble handholding cameras. I thought I explained that. Maybe not.

 

My tremor gets going when I reach out from my body. But I  keep my cameras pressed against my face and lean slightly back so the camera is over my body. I hope that's clear. I used to play the guitar. Tremor prevented me from being able to use a pick. I played a classical fingerstyle, which allowed me to press the guitar against my body. For me, reaching out is a no-no. Most everything I shoot is handheld in available light. I'm a city boy now, have no car, and have no use for a long tele. 

 

My original RX10, 24-120, weighs just about 1.5 lbs. You have or had the 24-600 model, about a pound heavier. Still light compared to the Nikon D800. 

 

Good luck with your tremor, Jeff. 

You rock again, Ed, my favourite forum buddy. Happy Birthday!

[Saurabh]

Oh.. Happy birthday Ed 💐  and thank you everyone for replying. I'm coming down to choose RX100M7 because I used my nikkor 55-200mm lense quite a bit, so the zoom feature would be perhaps more useful for me to frame correctly. Though I wud love to hv faster lens and ND filter of M5..