digital camera with viewfinder and lcd screen manufacturer

A lot of camera manufacturers have started to move away from including or even making EVFs. There are lots of reasons why. Some of these reasons presumably range from:

I have always used an EVF when shooting and I always will. I still find it the best way to judge exposure, focus, and composition. My eyes are not as good as they once were and I can not use a small-sized LCD screen that comes on a lot of cameras.

EVF choices are extremely limited. If you compare monitors to EVFs there are lots of options to choose from. With an EVF you either have to buy a proprietary model that only works with one or a couple of cameras from that same manufacturer, or you choose an EVF that can be used on any camera that has an HDMI or SDI output.

Proprietary EVFs tend to be expensive, but on the flip side, they have been specifically designed to work with a particular camera or cameras from that manufacturer. They are also a one-stop-shop where power and the video signal are sent over one cable. With a lot of these EVFs, you can also control operational aspects of the camera directly from that EVF.

What you need to be aware of is that with a lot of these third-party EVFs is that you need to be able to power them and run either an HDMI or SDI input.

A lot of mirrorless cameras come standard with a built-in EVF. While this is great they are almost always fixed and therefore their usefulness is limited. You can only really use these types of EVFs if you are hand-holding the camera and have it right up against your eye. This makes it virtually useless when trying to shoot at a low angle or when you are using a camera on a tripod.

A lot of smaller-sized digital cinema cameras and camcorders, at least up until recently, came with a rear-mounted EVF. With this type of design, you could normally move the EVF up, but not down. Again this severely limits its usability and if you wanted to use a rear in-built EVF like this you were forced to use the camera in a certain way or place it at a certain height on a tripod.

With cameras such as the C200B, Panasonic EVA1, Canon C70, Sony FX6, Sony FX3, and all of the BMPCC offerings there is no EVF. The main reason for this is that manufacturers will tell you that from their own market research people weren’t using rear EVFs. The main reason for this is probably because of where they were positioned and their lack of movement or adjustability.

The problem with almost all of these cameras that don’t have an in-built EVF is that their LCD screens are not nearly bright enough to be seen correctly outdoors. They are also so small in size that you can’t see anything in any real detail.

I have tried so many cameras that didn’t have an EVF of any kind and found them all to be completely unusable outdoors in a lot of situations. Everything from focus, to exposure, to composition, to color, has to be judged by what you are monitoring with. I personally can’t understand how so many people seem to be ok with getting all of this correct by looking at a tiny LCD monitor that you can’t see correctly outdoors when it is sunny. Are people actually ok with working this way or is that just what they are used to dining and they have become accustomed to working that way? I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts in the comment section.

Well, as I previously mentioned in this article there are lots of reasons why this can be just as problematic as not using an EVF. The small size of a lot of cameras has made it harder to utilize a proper EVF that can be moved around positioned correctly depending on how you are shooting.

It isn’t necessarily a problem with the EVF itself, it is a problem with mounting it, powering it, and sending a video signal to it. By the time you do all of these things, you start down the frankenrig path. I am sure there are a lot of shooters out there who would gladly buy an EVF if it was easy to mount, didn’t take up too much space, and didn’t cost a small fortune.

I have always used EVFs with cameras, and that has presented its challenges over the years when using certain cameras. The first digital cinema camera I ever owned was the Sony F3 and I bought the Kinotehnic LCDVFe in 2012 to use with that camera. I also used it with the Sony FS700 as well. I loved using this EVF because it came with a clever mounting solution and you could power it with AA batteries. This meant you only had to hook up one cable to use it.

Now, both of the F3 and FS700 were mid-sized cameras so an EVF this size actually worked reasonably well, however, it wouldn’t work with a smaller sized camera.

The next EVF I bought was the Zacuto Gratical. I used this with the Sony F3, Panasonic EVA1, and Kinefinity MAVO 6K, but I haven’t used it with any other camera since. I still have it, but it doesn’t come out of the box that often.

The gratical is a really nice EVF with a lot of features, but it is large, you need to power it from either a Canon battery or a dummy battery, you have to run either an HDMI or SDI cable to it, and it can be tricky to mount on some cameras. Above you can see how I had to mount it to a Panasonic EVA1.

Zacuto eventually replaced this EVF with the Gratical Eye and the Kameleon Pro EVF. These were physically a lot smaller, but they required you to run an external power source which a lot of smaller-sized cameras are not capable of providing. The Gratical Eye was also only SDI so you couldn’t use it with a lot of cameras.

Recently we have seen Portkeys come out with a range of more affordable EVFs and these are arguably your best option if you are in the market for a third-part EVF, but can’t afford a Zacuto.

Two EVFs made by camera manufacturers that can be used on other cameras are the Z CAM 2.89″ EVF101 Electronic Viewfinder and the Blackmagic Design URSA Viewfinder. Now, you need to be aware that technically both viewfinders can be used on other cameras, but neither solution is ideal. The Z CAM option is not a bad one, but you do need to be able to power it via a 2-pin LEMO power input. Again this makes using it problematic with some cameras.

The Blackmagic URSA Viewfinder does have an SDI input so you can technically send a feed and use it, however, it requires a 4-pin 12V power input, and good luck mounting it on any other camera other than an URSA.

There is a reason that most of the good EFVs are proprietary. This is mainly due to the fact that they only utilize one cable that sends power, the video signal, and all the necessary camera information without tying up any of the camera’s outputs. They are also purposely designed for a particular camera so you don’t have to frankenrig up anything to use one.

When I owned a Sony F55 I used the DVF-EL100 .7″ OLED Viewfinder. this was a great viewfinder, but it was expensive. I saying that for me personally, it was worth every cent.

When I bought an ARRI Amira that camera came with a very good EVF. This is what I almost always use with the Amira unless I am indoors doing long interviews and then I hook up a monitor.

I have used proprietary EVFs with the Panasonic Varicam LT and the Kinefinity MAVO LF. Both of these options were also excellent choices for both respective cameras.

The new ARRI ALEXA Electronic Viewfinder EVF-2 is the best EVF I have ever used, but it is expensive and it only currently works with the ALEXA Mini LF. If I could buy it for my Amira I would do so in a heartbeat. To me personally, a good EVF is worth its weight in gold.

That totally depends on you. While an EVF may be a requirement for one person, another person may have no need for one at all. What your requirements are will depend on how you like to operate, what type of work you are doing, and what camera you are using.

You may not like using an EVF and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. There is no wrong or right solution when it comes to equipment because if that equipment works for you then it is the right choice.

If you just work indoors under controlled conditions then I can see why people may not want or need to use an EVF, but from my experience, if you are outdoors you really do need an EVF with most cameras. I often come across a lot of vision that was shot handheld where someone was just using a camera’s in-built small LCD screen where a lot of the material is out of focus. If you are using fast lenses and shooting at higher resolutions then good luck trying to nail focus from a small LCD screen outdoors.

Looking into a crystal ball it is hard to see anything changing when it comes to EVFs. We will still see proprietary EVFs for more expensive cameras, but it is unlikely that smaller-sized digital cinema cameras will come with anything more than an LCD screen. When it comes to mirrorless hybrids, there really isn’t that much more you can do other than to include a built-in EVF. Their small size makes it problematic to add anything else and if you were to use an EVF with a camera like that you almost have to go down that Frankenrig path. While there is nothing wrong with doing that, in my personal opinion, it defeats the purpose of buying a small camera in the first place.

I definitely believe there is a market for an affordable, good quality EVF that works well with smaller-sized cameras, but the question is, who will make one? Making an EVF that is suitable for use with a wide variety of cameras is not an easy task.

I would love to hear our readers thoughts on EVFs in general. Do you use one? Why don’t you use one? What would you like to see manufacturers come up with as a solution? Let us know in the comments section below.

Digital cameras work very much like film cameras. The quality of the image depends on the quality of the lens and the sensor chips in the camera (which convert the light into a digital signal).

The more manual control enhancements the camera has, the higher the price tag. The least expensive models have fixed settings for all controls (shutter speed, aperture, focus, etc.).

Some models have a built-in zoom lens, which is limited to an optical zoom factor of about 3 times (approx. 38 mm to 114 mm). But some can go as high as 10 times (approx. 38 mm to 380 mm). Zoom amounts can be enhanced with digital zoom technology.

Some higher-end models are just camera back and accept interchangeable lenses. Others have the capability to use screw mount lenses used on video cameras. These options allow for close-up portraits and wide-angle shots. Close-up lenses are also available for some models.

Most cameras come with a built-in flash. The higher-end models have a hot shoe for an attachable flash unit, allowing for better lighting options. Some models have adjustable f-stops (aperture settings). The lower the f-stop setting, the better your image will be in low-light settings. Shutter speeds are also a consideration. Moving images require a faster shutter speed. 1/60 of a second is the lowest shutter speed for hand-held, stop-motion photography.

Many of the higher-end models allow you to shoot short movies. The duration of these movies are dependent upon your memory card size. The quality of these movies varies greatly from camera to camera. If this is an important feature to you, be sure to test the camera in the store before you decide which to purchase.

Digital cameras vary in how many images they shoot, and how they store them. How you will (in the studio or in the field) and what you will be shooting (still lives or race horses), will be a major factor when deciding what type of camera you purchase.

Consumer and mid-range digital cameras can now store up to 100s of images at a time. There are a number of different types of storage options, memory cards, sticks, and CDs. Memory options are available in many different sizes, the larger the storage device the more images it can hold. Many cameras now come with both memory card and stick slots available.

The cards range from 2MB to 128MB+ storage capacity. How many shots you can store depends on the resolution and compression quality of the image and the size of the card. These cards are reusable but can be a bit expensive. If you will be in the field shooting, larger cards or a camera that saves to an external disk may be the option for you.

Be aware that most cameras have two or more image quality settings (or may use interchangeable memory cards for extra storage space). Images can be set to standard, high quality, and beyond. Standard can range from 320x240 pixels to 640x480 pixels. High quality images can run from 480x240 pixels to 1,024x768 pixels or more. Check each camera manual to see what the manufacturer describes as its camera’s “standard” and “best” resolution. Compare these details before you buy a camera.

Many of the consumer level point-and-shoot cameras use optical viewfinders on their cameras. This means that they have a separate viewfinder that works with the lens but is independent. What this means to you is that what you see in the viewfinder is not what you get in your image. This situation is especially true when you zoom in on an area. Many manufacturers include little bracket lines in the viewfinder to help compose the image. This is why many people who use optical viewfinder often use their LCD screen to compose their shots. Some camera makers have discontinued viewfinders altogether and have bigger LCD screens.

Most cameras have an LCD screen attached to the camera body, which allows you to compose and view your shot instantly. This feature allows you to preview your shots and helps you decide whether to keep it or erase it and shoot it again, without downloading it to your computer first. Some LCDs can swivel, which improves your chances of good shots in tight situations. The problem with LCDs is that you may not get an accurate rendering of the image: the image may look bad on the LCD, but it could be salvageable after it is downloaded. You may find the LCD hard to view in bright sunlight, and LCDs vary in size and brightness. If you will be using the LCD for setting up your shots, look for big bright LCDs. While in the store, look at the LCD in bright sunlight if possible.

Many cameras come with EVF, which acts like a traditional camera viewfinder. It allows you to bypass the LCD screen and see what the camera sees along with the camera settings. Often, when you snap the shutter, a small version of the image will appear in the viewfinder. You also have the added benefit of viewing menu options in it, bypassing the need to use the LCD screen. Both the EVF and LCD use battery power to display the preview image.

Sometimes these EVFs have trouble viewing the shot in dimly lit situations, a night shot, etc. Some models come with illuminated EVFs to try to alleviate this problem.

Single shot cameras use a technique called "striped area array." Basically, RGB filters work with a sensor in the camera called a CCD (charge-coupled device). Each element in the array captures red, green, or blue information for a single pixel. The software included with the camera interpolates the color information for the other channels from neighboring pixels to create a whole image.

Image quality varies from camera to camera, depending upon the size and quality of the CCD, the filter placements, and the interpolation software. The lower the image resolution the higher the likelihood of color fringing on the edges of objects in your image and artifacts appearing in the shadows.

Chromatic aberrations, most often known by its more descriptive name “purple fringing”, can appear on images where high contrast areas meet dark and sometimes mid-tone areas (i.e., a bright sky meets dark mountains, or the side of a brightly lit building meets one in shadow, thin tree branches against sky).

In general, if you"re reducing these images before printing, some or most of the purple fringe will not be noticeable. If on the other hand, you are enlarging the image, the dreaded purple fringe can become very noticeable.

Some cameras handle this problem better than others. The problem is not just with inexpensive models--even the best SLRs (single lens reflex) can suffer from purple fringing.

Basically, 4 types of digital cameras are available to choose from today. Web cams, point-and-shoot, midrange, and digital SLRs. Like traditional photography, it is important to buy a camera that meets your needs and skill level. Do not spend extra money on features you don’t need or will never use.

Point-and-Shoot cameras are available in a wide range of resolutions but are noted for their ease of use. They are usually fully automatic. They often have a range of scene presets to choose from, with few or no manual controls. These cameras are best suited for those who wish to take images with out fussing with controls. If you are considering a point-and-shoot camera, if it is optical, be sure it has a large and bright viewfinder and LCD display.

Midrange cameras come in a wide range of resolutions and offer more features, including scene presets and auto and manual override settings. Some also offer a few more film ASA (American Standards Association) speed options. They usually offer a larger range of image sizes, formats, and compression options than the point-and-shoot models. In most cases, these cameras have accessories that can extend or enhance their performance such as telephoto and macro lens extension kits, the ability to accept an optional flash unit, professional filters, etc. These cameras are for those who are comfortable with photography and who want to have the freedom to override the auto settings. They’re also for those who want to advance their photography skills or move up from point-and-shoot.

Digital SLR cameras are most like traditional professional cameras and feature through-the-lens viewing. What you see in the window is what appears on the picture. They are usually digital camera bodies, and the lens comes separately. The good news is they usually come with one general-purpose lens. They are available in only higher resolutions, offer scene presets, auto settings and lots of manual overrides, and more film ASA options. They also have many options for saving and compressing images. Most often, they have an internal hard drive to store images or the option to attach one. These cameras are not for the point-and-shoot user, and they may be more than the average midrange camera user needs. This camera is aimed at the professional photographer who is making the move to digital or the midrange user who is (or has become) more serious about digital photography.

Digital cameras measure their digital image output in megapixels, which is the total number of pixels in the image. How the pixels are arranged will determine the final size and quality of your final printed image.

For example, I took a picture with my 2.1 megapixel camera. I opened the image in Photoshop and saw that it was 1600 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high. The print dimensions were 22.222 inches wide and 16.667 inches high with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch. My printer works best with print resolutions of 260 or 280 pixels per inch. So, I need to rearrange the pixels to get the best output.

When I change the image resolution in Photoshop to 280 pixels per inch in the resolution control box, the image height and width change to 5.717 inches by 4.286 inches. The total number of pixels stays the same but are now reorganized based on the desired output.

With the 2.1 megapixel camera, I am limited to the optimal output size of approximately 5x7 inches. I could print the image at its original large 22 x 16 inch, 72 dpi state, but the quality of the print would not be very good. Noticeable pixilation would start to appear.

Your printer’s resolution and the size images you want to print are important factors to keep in mind when deciding on pixels. The more pixels you have to work with, the larger and crisper the images you can create. When larger output is your most important consideration, in most cases, the more pixels you can afford the better. If you don’t print larger format prints, or if you only use your images for online distribution, a less expensive model with fewer pixels may make better sense for you.

More pixels also come in handy if you crop your images using computer software. With a larger number of pixels, you can crop out some of the image and still have enough pixels for a large printout. You may not be able to get a full size print of the original image before your edit, but depending on the amount of your crop, you could get pretty close.

When reading the manufacturer’s information about their cameras, you will often see “optical” and “digital zoom” listed in the features. Often the optical zoom will be a lower number and than the digital zoom.

The difference between optical and digital is really very simple: It’s just what it says it is. Optical zoom is the base level of zoom that the lens can zoom in and out. With digital zoom, the camera tries to increase zoom range by cropping the image previewed in the viewfinder. Once cropped, it blows that area up as if you zoomed in closer. It is a bit like interpolation on scanners. While the extra zoom possibilities seem great, the images employing this feature usually come out soft (blurry) and can become very grainy.

If a large zoom range is important to you, when faced with a zoom choice, always choose the camera with the higher optical feature over the digital zoom feature.

Digital cameras devour batteries. Some companies package recharger kits with the cameras, others offer them as an extra purchase. In the long run, you would do well to invest in the recharger kit and purchase three sets of rechargeable batteries. This set up allows you to have a set in the charger, a set in the camera, and a replacement set charged and ready to go.

Sometimes the camera manufacturer uses its own specialized batteries, which only work in that particular camera. It would be a good idea to get yourself at least one backup.

Always use the factory recommend battery type in your camera. Some cameras can accept any type of batteries, others have more specific requirements. Using the wrong type of batteries in your camera can harm it. If you see any corrosion appear on the tops of your batteries, discard them. Leaking batteries will damage your camera.

You can save your battery life by taking photos and selecting the camera’s options setting using menu options through the viewfinder, not the LCD monitor. Another good habit to get into is not to rely on battery power to download your images to your computer. Use your power adapter when downloading images to your computer whenever possible, or better yet, use a card reader.

Most cameras come with software and connections for both Macintosh and Intel-based computers. Most cameras save in JPEG or TIFF format, or its downloading software will convert the image to your favorite format.

Digital cameras save files in either an uncompressed or compressed format. How the image is compressed (or not compressed), is generally set by the user. Most digital images are very large, without compression very few images would fit on the average memory card.

Generally the options are TIFF for uncompressed files and various degrees of JPG compression. These settings are referred to as normal, fine, superfine, and good, better, or best. The more compression applied, the smaller the file size; therefore, more photos can be stored on a card. With high compression, digital artifacts and lost details can occur. When less compression is applied, fewer images can be stored on the card, but there are fewer JPG artifacts in the image.

Most manufacturers use a middle of the road setting of “better” or “fine.” Unfortunately these terms are not standardized. What is better on one camera may be good or best on another. Be sure to research these differences before buying a camera.

Many of the newer model cameras are able to use two or more types of memory cards. This is a very nice feature that some camera companies are using as an enticement to switch camera makers. This set up enables you to use your older style memory cards preferred by the other camera maker (and that you have lots of money invested into), in your new camera. Some of the higher-end cameras come with a small hard drive or can accommodate one. Some cameras also burn files directly to CD storage.

To make downloading easier, you can purchase a handy device to read your memory cards. You insert your memory card into the device and it is reads the files like an external hard drive. Some of these devices come with the ability to accept multiple types of cards. These units are very handy when you have more than one camera type in a household or office environment.

Older models of card readers came in the shape of floppy disk. You inserted your memory disks into the reader. The reader then was inserted into the computer’s floppy drive and appeared on the desktop just like a disk.

A number of printers on the market are made specifically for digital camera output. Some come with card readers built in. The best for photo quality images at this point in time are inkjet and dye sub technologies. Sometimes the camera manufacturer will recommend an appropriate printer for the camera.

There are printers with inks sets ranging from 4 to 8 color ink cartridges. Some of the colors are packaged in one cartridge and others come packaged individually. Six or more color inks will give you optimal color reproduction. Additionally, the higher the resolution of the printer, the more photo-real the printed image can appear. Of course if your image is a large image, with a 72-pixel resolution, then higher printer resolution will probably be wasted, and the image will appear dotty and pixilated.

Some companies have made archival inks available which are waterproof, and according to the manufacturers, can last as long as 100 years on the right paper and under the right lighting conditions. These inks usually need to be used with higher-end papers, which are sometimes referred to as professional papers. If used with lesser quality papers, they may not be waterproof, or light safe, and the colors may be inferior and contain colorcasts.

Dye sub printers are very different from inkjet printers. The ink is joined to the paper in a sublimation process, and become one. This technique usually an expensive option, as you have to use a paper that the special inks can be sublimated to. The paper and inks are not easily available in stores. But, the output can be very good when the image resolution is matched to the printer.

Always remember that in most cases the printer will NOT be able to accurately reproduce on paper the colors on your screen. Monitors and inks have an altogether different range of colors, known as color gamut. Please study this very important issue before you spend lots of time, ink, paper and money, only to end up frustrated with your image output. That said, many of the newer model printers are doing a great job fixing gamut problems with their software. It is important to read the manual to set up the printer for the best possible output. Always take notes about your settings if you change them. If you’re happy with the image, and you want to reproduce it a month or two later, you’ll know what settings you used.

Keep in mind that if you are just buying a photo printer exclusively for your digital images, and will not be printing 8x10 or larger images, or if your camera can’t create acceptable output at those sizes, you don’t need to buy an 8x10 or larger format printer.

The great news about photo printers is that they are getting cheaper every day. The replacement inks and paper supplies are another matter altogether.

I love the convenience of having a pocket camera, ready to capture a high-quality image of anything I come across. I also find myself using them more at home, around the kids.

Whether that’s the ability to shoot in RAW, longer zooms, faster operation, better low-light capabilities, or simply better ergonomics, there are still plenty of good reasons to invest in one of the best compact cameras on this list.

To keep things simple, we’ve chosen 5 amazing fixed-lens compact cameras (as opposed to those with interchangeable lenses, which tend to be bulkier), that will help you get stunning photos in all conditions.

All the options are over $500 – spending less isn’t recommended if you want better images than your current phone can take. That said, we include one budget compact camera in our recommendations too.

This small digital camera is the one that started my craze for fixed-lens compact cameras… and I’m guessing that’s true for a lot of photographers out there.

As with past iterations of the X100 series, the X100V fixed 23mm f/2 makes an excellent travel lens, and thanks to a broad range of improvements, its capabilities put it up there with the Fuji flagship models.

For those of you who still haven’t heard about this remarkable X-Series camera, let’s have a closer look at why it’s still my favourite pocket camera of the year.

Image quality should be top of the list when researching cameras. If the final image doesn’t look notably better than a photo taken with your smartphone, there’s little point in wasting your money on a dedicated camera.

Thankfully the images out of the Fujifilm X100V are nothing short of incredible, regardless of if you are shooting RAW or JPEG. The X100V is the most aesthetically beautiful camera I’ve ever used – it pains me to say it, but if you can’t afford a Leica and want something just as beautiful, get one of these…

I’ve shot many different cameras over my years as a photographer, but the ones that really resonate with me are the ones that produce images with a certain something else – that ‘X’ factor (pun not intended!)

With the Fujifilm X100V, a combination of Fujifilm’s legendary imaging know-how, the unique and new f/2 23mm version 2 (35mm equivalent) lens, and the latest 26.1MP X-Trans sensor deliver rich, contrasty images with excellent skin-tones.

When shot wide open at f/2, bokeh is beautiful, with subject separation normally only reserved for cameras with much larger sensors (and lenses) – the sensor in this camera is APS-C, but you’d be forgiven for assuming you’re shooting full frame – the image quality really is that impressive.

Thanks to the 17 Fuji film simulations, as well as new colour chrome and colour chrome blue effects, you can create punchy, contrasty images that look like they’ve been taken on your favourite Fujifilm film stock with a 35mm film camera.

The film simulations are all way better than any other small camera system on the market. Fujifilm’s film stock know-how has clearly come into play here, with film simulation that’s simply unrivalled… and a whole lot of fun.

If you’re tired of having to edit countless RAW images in front of your computer, the X100V is like a breath of fresh air – simply shoot regular JPEGs or choose one of the film simulations… and you’re done!

As an additional time-saving workflow hack, you can mark your favourite images during playback, and have them automatically transfer, wirelessly, when you next pair your smartphone or tablet – all via the free Fujifilm app.

As for shooting RAW, it’s nice to know that the RAWs contain enough data to push/pull every spare pixel and really get the most out of the dynamic range.

Aside from its gorgeous retro design which begs to be picked up, the manual dials and minimal layout encourage fast muscle memory – you quickly develop a kinship with this camera.

Further to this, it drives a love of photography and being able to control every aspect of your photographic experience. The hybrid optical + electronic viewfinder really is unique, and a whole lot of fun to use.

The tactile, silky smooth click-click of every knob, dial and button on the Fujifilm X100V adds to the whole experience too – I love customising the rear dial to exposure compensation and leaving the rest to the camera (with auto ISO, auto WB and aperture priority taking care of it all).

I owned previous models of the X100 series and will be the first to admit that AF performance was terrible, even for an expensive point and shoot camera.

The Fujifilm X100V digital compact camera, however, now delivers exceptionally fast autofocus performance combined with the coveted, flagship-standard eye and face detect feature.

Another nice update is the LCD tilting touch screen, which allows you to compose low angle shots without bending down, and take over-head shots with ease.

The tilting touchscreen implementation is excellent and much better than any Sony cyber-shot camera that exists. You can flick through photos during playback, pinch/double-tap to zoom, and even focus and shoot using any of the AF modes.

Using face/eye-detect, there’s really no need to use the new joystick AF point selector at all – you simply point the camera at your scene, and let it recognise any people, or just tap on the screen wherever you want it to focus and/or shoot.

I would have loved it if Fujifilm had taken a leaf out of Leica’s book with their rubberised fronts – the look would remain the same, but the camera would be much easier to grip one-handed.

Of course, to amp up the retro style and look you can pair it with the Fujifilm half leather case that provides a significant amount of extra grip – see my article on the best accessories for Fuji cameras.

A key change in this model is the movie performance as it now supports 4k video at 30p. While this will never be a video camera, it does have a surprisingly good output which is more than enough for capturing your holidays.

In fact, it now shoots 4k video in both DCI (4,096 x 2,160) and Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) resolutions at 24 or 30fps, with a bit rate of 200 megabits per second. It can even output 10-bit 4:2:2 video over HDMI into an external recorder!

The hugely popular Canon Powershot series attracts many photographers of all standards, due mainly to the promise of great image quality, those fabled Canon colours, and useful features trickled down from their pro-line, all for at attractive prices.

With the Canon Powershot G7X Mark II, Canon has made a big improvement over the first iteration, with a host of great features, and still managed to keep the price nice and low – that’s why it’s still our choice as the best budget compact camera of the year.

The design remains largely unchanged from its predecessor, with the most notable addition (at least for me, with my large hands and clumsy fingers!), is the new grip, which is moulded, tactile and perfectly placed on the front and rear of the body.

Due to the pocketable dimensions of the Canon G7X Mark II, the grip is a welcome addition and makes for a comfortable shooting experience, not to mention a lot more security when holding it with one hand for long periods.

The LCD screen can now also be articulated downward by a full 45 degrees, allowing you to hold the camera above your head and compose for an interesting viewpoint.

The screen still faces the front and does so in one quick and simple action which you can perform with one hand. Face detection does a fine job for the all-important selfie!

The touchscreen itself is a joy to use – responsive, fast and full-featured – far better than the crippled Sony touchscreen offering. Being able to tap any menu item seems logical in 2022, and is an enjoyable way to navigate the camera.

This allows for a practical and enjoyable shooting experience, with one hand controlling the shutter button and the other left to support the camera and adjust the lens ring.

Image quality is excellent, as we have come to expect from the world leader in camera imaging technology. Colour rendition is excellent, with skin tones having that warm, slightly-reddish tone to them, typical of Canon files.

When the light begins to drop, you have two options with the Canon G7X Mark II – use the pop-up flash, or crank up that ISO dial (which is either within the menu or assigned to the lens ring).

Thankfully, there’s still a decent amount of image data in the RAWs, so if you know what you’re doing with post-production, it’s pretty easy to salvage even a noisy image – the one below was taken at ISO10,000, but with a quick tweak in Lightroom using the ‘Texture’ slider, the black & white edit looks fine!

Autofocus performance is good, with face-tracking working ok during testing. Don’t underestimate the importance of this feature – trying to chase a subject around the screen with a single AF point is a painful experience!

A couple of caveats here, though – tracking doesn’t seem to work while using burst mode, and it takes a while for the buffer to clear, during which time the camera’s playback or settings mode is frozen.

It should be remembered, however, that the maximum aperture of f/1.8 can only be used before zooming the lens (i.e. at 24mm) – this is the sacrifice with most zoom lenses found on small digital cameras, with the plus side being just how small the camera can be when the lens is retracted – the Canon G7X Mark II is the smallest camera on the test, and only marginally heavier than the next smallest option from Ricoh.

Controlling the camera with the Canon Camera Connect App was painless, and worked well for controlling the camera from a distance, or simply transferring JPEGs to my iPhone.

Overall, I found the G7X Mark II enjoyable and intuitive to shoot, with the biggest pluses for me being its overall responsiveness and the impressive image quality.

It’s the kind of camera that packs enough performance to warrant using it over your smartphone but still retains the dimensions to ensure it’s always in your pocket.

As such, it’s a camera you can slip into a coat pocket that offers unrivalled image quality – beautifully creamy shallow depth of field, great dynamic range for expanded latitude when post-processing, great high ISO performance… basically amazing image quality that’s superior to 99% of other cameras in its size class.

You do pay a pretty price for the Sony RX1 RII, though. Squeezing a big sensor into a small camera body evidently still costs a lot for manufacturers, and due to the nature of the sensor size, the lens needs to be a certain size to accommodate – while small, this isn’t a camera for your jeans pocket.

You can buy a more feature-rich, versatile full-frame interchangeable lens camera like the Sony a7III for the price of the RX1 RII, and still have some change in your pocket for a new lens… so why would you invest in this one?

After spending a few weeks road testing the Sony RX1 RII, it was clear to me that this is a very unique camera. Sure, you could buy something more versatile and with better value for money, but that would be missing the point. The Sony RX1 RII is by far the most enjoyable, most involved, and most tactile Sony mirrorless camera I’ve ever used. It’s more like… dare I say it… a Fujifilm than a Sony!

Investing this much money into the RX1 RII is like trying to explain why to buy a Ferrari over a Tesla S – both get you from A to B really fast, but ask any Ferrari driver how it feels to drive. The same can be said for this camera.

With a fixed 35mm Carl Zeiss Sonnar f/2 lens, this camera is arguably all you’d ever need as an everyday camera – this is why it’s perfect for professionals, who are no doubt sick and tired of carrying multiple lenses with their ‘work’ mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

The Sony RX1 RII offers most of the functions of a high-end Sony camera that you’d expect – tilting LCD screen (though no touchscreen), good WiFi/NFC connectivity, decent electronic viewfinder (that retracts into the body when not in use), customisable dials/buttons and a dedicated exposure compensation dial.

Everything feels amazing – the build is great, and the manual controls are reassuring solid-feeling The on/off switch is reminiscent of an old range-finder, and far more satisfying than pushing a button, which is the usual way to fire up most cameras.

Start-up time is a little sluggish though, as is usability in general. Zooming in 1:1 is a painful experience, but then there are 42.4 Mega Pixels, so that’s understandable. Buttons feel slightly mushy and unresponsive at times too.

Auto Focus is good and includes Sony’s enviable Eye AF, which is akin to black magic at finding the eye of your subject (though not nearly as good as the latest Sony a7/a9 series cameras).

I shot the Sony RX1 RII on auto white balance, and skin tones looked great. I actually prefer the colours to other high-end Sony MILCs – this might be something to do with its amazing low pass filter, which helps deliver such stellar image quality.

I love being able to control the aperture on the lens ring like a rangefinder, and the macro mode is similarly located. The lens in general just feels great – the movement of the rings is reassuring and fun to operate. I’d go as far to say that this is the first Sony I’ve ever used that doesn’t feel like a mini-computer, and for that, I love it! It feels like an old-fashioned camera body, despite housing some incredible, modern technology.

The Sony RX1 RII doesn’t make much sense on paper, nor when you try and explain it to your peers after splurging so much on something when there are many better value options… but it’s still an endearing camera that will bring you joy every time you pick it up, not to mention whenever you view the gorgeous high-resolution files on your computer screen.

In summary, I’d confidently recommend the Sony RX1 RII to any professional photographer, no matter what brand they usually shoot with. It’s a Sony camera like no other Sony camera – truly unique in the lineup.

If you’re in a line-up of one of the most popular compact camera series of all time, you have a lot to live up to… fortunately, the Sony RX100 VII doesn’t disappoint.

I spent a few weeks shooting this powerful little camera for a full Sony RX100 VII review, and have decided to name it the top compact camera for travel.

I also love the fact that LCD displays the optical zoom focal length as you’re zooming, so you can set it to 35mm for example, and leave it there if that’s your preference when shooting primes – this is what I found myself doing since I rarely shoot at 24mm.

There are a confusing amount of AF options and modes, but after you find the one you want and set up a button to control Eye AF, it’s pretty hard to actually miss a moment.

Taking photos of our fast-moving kids is a cinch – just point the Sony RX100 VII in their general direction, hold down the Eye AF button for one of the 357 phase and 425 contrast AF points to lock onto the nearest face, and fire away – at a frankly ridiculous 90fps, nothing can escape your shutter! This is a huge step up from the Sony RX100 VI which had 315 phase AF points, 25 contrast AF points and a maximum burst mode of 24fps.

I actually switched the mode from high to medium, as found I was taking too many photos! Sony’s Real Time Eye AF means the Sony RX100 VII is constantly tracking faces and eyes, even before you press the shutter button – it makes capturing a subject almost too easy…

Image quality is great, whether shooting JPEG or RAW. The lens is sharp across its frame, and dynamic range is decent too – shooting at low ISOs and underexposing the image allows you to bring back a good amount of shadow data later in Lightroom.

High ISO performance is decent, with clean images up to 1600, then quickly degrading after 2000 – as is expected on a camera with a 1-inch CMOS sensor.

Start-up time is fast, as is the zoom speed. I also love the ability to set the lens ring up as a custom function – I had mine as exposure compensation, so shooting in Aperture Priority was intuitive and fun.

The Sony RX100 VII offers a tilting touchscreen, albeit a limited one. You’re able to touch to change AF points, focus, and then shoot – is a really handy feature for capturing candid travel moments, especially when combined with the tilting display. On the VI the tilt is 90 degrees down and 180 degrees up, making it perfect for vlogging.

The VII also offers fast AF, a new 4K video HDR mode, 4 -stop image stabilisation, Active Steady Shot for video recording and a larger buffer – 233 vs the V’s already impressive 150.

The shot below was one of about 30 in quick succession – my son was actually sprinting along the rope bridge, and the RX100 VII didn’t miss a beat with the focus.

It really is incredible having such range at your disposal, and as long as you’re in decent light, shooting at 200mm (and f/4.5) yields some great bokeh. Image stabilization also helps a lot too.

I’m not even a big fan of zoom lenses, preferring normally to ‘zoom with my feet, but I found myself constantly zooming in and out with this fun little camera, often just to see ‘how far I could see’! It’s convenient being able to zoom in to 200mm on some distant action before your subject has noticed your presence, and having such range on a compact camera is a huge plus while traveling, since it’s not always possible to physically move closer.

Why on earth Sony would design such an incredible camera and make it have all the ergonomics of a pane of glass is beyond me! The first thing I’d recommend you do is purchase this grip – at least it’s cheap!

Then there’s the battery life, which is pretty poor at around 260 shots or 30 minutes 4k video per charge. On the plus side, you can charge the camera via micro-USB, and spare batteries are affordable.

The pop-up LCD is good in bright sunlight and I’m glad they included it, but I didn’t find myself using it much otherwise – it’s a little cramped, as is to be expected on a camera of this size.

Whether you’re a fan of video or not, the 960fps incredible High Frame Rate mode will leave your jaw on the floor, and make you want to film everything to see how it looks when played back slowly.

Overall, the Sony RX100 VII is a helluva lot of pocket camera squeezed into something the size of a deck of playing cards. The zoom range is astounding, auto-focus performance mind-boggling, and frame rate is something that none of the other best compact cameras on this list can match.

If you’re looking for a feature-packed compact camera for travel with incredible stills and 4k video performance, that’s so small that you can have it in your pocket every day and not even notice it’s there, look no further. This is it.

I feel a little bit sorry for Ricoh’s photography division. Despite Ricoh being a large, successful company, their cameras are still relatively unheard of… at least, to the uninitiated.

Ask any street photographer worth their salt to name two camera brands synonymous with capturing some up-close pavement action, and their answers will include: one expensive German brand… and Ricoh. Not Ricoh in general, either, but the Ricoh GR series.

A few years ago I tried a previous generation of this camera. I was quite impressed by the image quality coming out of this little compact but the sluggish auto-focus annoyed me a bit too much to invest in it. The Ricoh GRIII Ricoh is much improved and things are much snappier.

Speaking of ‘snap’, there’s a focus option on the GRIII (and other Ricohs) called ‘Snap Focus’, which basically forces the camera to immediately focus on a specified distance, increasing in 50cm increments from 1m to 5m, then to infinity.

You can set up the camera to ‘snap’ to the pre-defined focal distance when you fully press the shutter (as opposed to half-pressing it, which would engage the regular focusing).

This is one of the features that make the Ricoh GRIII so well-suited to street photography. Sure, you can ‘zone focus’ using any camera, but with this one, you essentially have a zone-focusing system and a regular auto-focusing system in one shutter button – ingenious!

The autofocus isn’t the only improvement over the GRII. The Ricoh GRIII boosts just about every critical feature. The sensor is now up to 24MP, the lens much sharper and now with macro capabilities, and the battery life is much improved. There’s even image stabilisation and a touchscreen.

The 3-axis sensor stabilisation is a welcome addition – in practice, I was able to blur motion without the use of a tripod with shots as slow as 1/2 second. See Kai Wong’s video above for an example of how this could be used in the street.

The touchscreen on the Ricoh GRIII is snappy and responsive, with that all-important tap-to-focus-and-shoot function, allowing for the most inconspicuous photos – perfect for incognito street photography.

I keep mentioning how this is the best small digital camera for street photography, but the reality is, I didn’t actually get to test it out on ‘the street’!

Image quality is fantastic for a compact of this size, especially the Jpegs. I shot in Vivid with the contrast increased for some additional punch, but there are plenty of nice-looking B&W filters to choose from too – another nod to classic street portraiture, with contrasty, gritty B&W options aplenty!

Raw image quality is also quite impressive, with a decent amount of dynamic range from the GRIII’s new APS-C sensor. It’s definitely a step up from the GRII, as the 8 additional megapixels not only make the images sharper, they give you additional cropping ability as well.

The lens width remains the same – 18.3mm (28mm equivalent), and I’m happy about that. A 28mm focal length is fun and easy to shoot. It gives you a unique perspective that immerses the viewer into the shot, without overdoing it and becoming too wide or adding in too much distortion.

As for the design and ergonomics, I love that the Ricoh GRIII is the most ‘stealth’ camera I’ve ever come across. The exterior has minimal branding, the rubberized grip conforms perfectly to the hand, and the buttons blend nicely into the camera body.

It’s not easy to be one of the smallest and lightest digital cameras out there while maintaining excellent ergonomics, but the Ricoh GRIII manages to pull it off.

It’s grippy enough to be used one-handed all day long and can slide inside a shirt pocket. Yes, you read that right, shirtpocket. This is truly a miniature marvel of a camera.

So what don’t I like about it? Well, the battery life could be better (I got 280 shots per charge), and I do wish the touchscreen flipped… but then again, that would probably ruin the overall design.

It’s also not the best at focusing in low light, and the LCD, despite being beautifully sharp, tends to reflect a lot in bright sunlight – since there’s no viewfinder, this can sometimes be annoying. There’s also no pop-up flash, but no one needs one of those for street photography anyway.

Also, the camera seems to take a split second to render images on the LCD during playback – it’s barely perceptible at first, but once you see it, it’s hard not to notice it again.

All in all, though, I’m struggling to find bigger reasons not to love this camera. Trust me, the Ricoh GRIII is a truly unique compact that deserves a lot more attention than it’s been receiving. It’s well worth checking it out, and if you have a bigger budget, look more to the newer GR IIIx.

I was in two minds about whether to include the Leica Q2 in this list – not because of its price (we’ll come to that in a minute), but because it’s not exactly ‘compact’ in its dimensions. It does, however, have a fixed lens, so let’s run with it…

Jokes aside, after shooting portraits and landscapes solidly with the Q2 for a week, I’ve now had a taste of that delicious Leica Koolaid, and have decided that this camera-come-work-of-art is actually worth the money. Yep, I know – crazy, right?!

The coldness and heft of the solid metal body, the reassuringly solid feedback of the dials and buttons, the ingenious rubber grip that blends into the facade, even the curiously addictive electronic shutter sound… all this adds up to an experience that’s unlike any other camera I’ve ever used.

Other unique design details include a diopter adjustment dial which retracts when not in use; lens measurements that appear and disappear with macro mode; a perfectly-sized thumb-grip indent; a solid-metal memory card door; a contrasting silver battery release lever… even the way that the battery has no cover and needs to be tapped to be released – this is master craftsmanship that you simply can’t find elsewhere. Describing the minute design details of the Lecia Q2 may sound insignificant and fanciful on paper, but in use it’s practical, elegant and utterly sublime, with huge RAW files that show every detail in your landscape photos.

I don’t think I’ve written so many paragraphs on how a camera looks and feels before, so I’ll move on… how does the Q2 perform when you actually switch it on?!

Well, as you’d expect from a 47.3MP full-frame sensor combined with a 28mm f/1.7 Summilux stabilised lens, the image quality is nothing short of mind-blowing.

In the image above when viewed on my 27″ monitor, I could zoom in even further than 100% and make out the faces of all the people in the reflection of the sunglasses, with everything remaining sharp.

Stopped down, the lens continues its reign of tack sharpness, although it’s way too tempting to try and shoot this thing wide open all day long – I found myself taking photos of random objects, just to see how amazing they’d look at f/1.7!

Macro mode is easily accessed with a firm twist and satisfying click of the lens ring, as is manual mode, which is engaged in a similar way, with focusing aided via peaking and magnification – every movement on the camera seems meaningful and engaging. It all adds up to a thoroughly enjoyable handling experience.

It’s wrong to try and compare the Sony RX1 RII with the Leica Q2, just because they’re both small-ish full-frame cameras. They’re completely different beasts.

‘X factor’ image quality aside, the Leica Q2 is a reassuringly powerful camera to shoot with. 10fps may not sound so impressive next to the other cameras in this article, but considering the Maestro II image processor is pushing such enormous 47.3MP files around, this is no mean feat.

Autofocus is apparently better than the original Q, but it definitely can’t keep up with the Sonys of this world. Whether you’ll be wanting this camera to shoot fast-moving action, though, is unlikely.

I also found continuous AF to constantly ‘flutter’ back and forth (annoying, but apparently all digital Leicas do this until the subject actually moves), and in really low light, the AF occasionally struggled to lock on to subjects.

High ISO performance is acceptable for a full-frame sensor – not amazing, but no slouch either. I’d be comfortable shooting it up to ISO3200, and any higher than that, I’m not too bothered about the noise creeping in, since the files look great with a sneaky black and white edit.

Dynamic range is fine too – nothing outstanding for a full-frame sensor, but enough latitude to underexpose by 4 stops and return a clean file at lower ISOs. Shooting landscapes in low light with this camera results in beautiful files – the compressed JPEG below doesn’t really do it justice.

The LCD touchscreen is amazing – sharp and responsive with a matte finish – I wish all cameras offered this. The EVF is similarly excellent – one of the best I’ve used. Startup time is great too.

One unique feature of the Leica Q2 is the in-camera frame cropping options, which allows you to shoot with a 35mm, 50mm and 75mm frame ‘outline’, which results in 30, 14,7 and 6.6MP images respectively.

If you shot a whole succession of in-camera crops, it could get rather annoying during post-production with all the ‘duplicates’, but I guess this feature is intended for the ‘odd shot’, rather than regular use.

I also found it a little odd trying to compose with the cropped frame outline within the original 28mm viewfinder – I definitely prefer the APS-C crop mode implementation on other mirrorless cameras, which zooms the actual viewfinder display.

I also wasn’t a fan of the placement of the rear dial, which seemed a bit too close to the edge of the camera for my liking. I’m sure I’d get used to it, though.

I was, however, a big fan of the placement of the macro mode dial, and how you engage manual focus via an indented knob on the lens ring – this combined with focus peaking and viewfinder magnification makes manual focusing simple and a lot of fun.

To conclude, I’ve decided to call the Leica Q2 excels for any type of photography, but the style encourages you to slow down, making it perfect for shooting landscapes.

Why don’t I recommend it as the top compact camera for professionals? Well, even though pros will be looking for the best image quality out of a camera of this size, I think they’d also be looking for a slight size/weight saving on their main ‘workhorse’ body… and the Leica Q2 is of comparable dimensions to most full frame MILCs.

Then, of course, there’s the question of whether the average pro would be comfortable carrying a camera that’s probably more expensive than their main camera, just as an everyday/holiday camera. I know I wouldn’t, despite thoroughly enjoying my time with the Q2.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time shooting all the cameras used in this guide. There’s something about having a camera that’s small/light enough to have on you every day that I find endearing – I love the feeling of having a capable device to capture all of life’s precious moments.

Buying a compact camera is an investment, but rightfully so – without spending appropriately, you’ll only be left with something that’s as good as, or potentially worse at capturing an image than your smartphone.

All the cameras in this guide are able to produce stellar images. A larger sensor will yield more pleasing bokeh and low light performance, but the flip side is usually a larger camera body too.

Decide what’s most important for you – do you need something pocketable with lightning-fast auto-focus? Or are you able to neglect those features in favour of the absolute best image quality and bokeh that can rival a much larger camera?

An articulating or vari-angle LCD – commonly called a flip screen – is a useful addition to a camera. The screen is mounted on a swivel, allowing you to flip the screen away from the camera body and rotate the LCD 360 degrees.

Flip screens have traditionally been useful for taking photos at unusual angles. For instance, framing a bug’s-eye view from ground level used to mean setting your camera down low and awkwardly trying to see through the optical viewfinder. There was usually a lot of guesswork involved.

With a vari-angle, or flip screen, you can now set the camera up at ground level and angle the articulating LCD up towards you and frame the scene in live view.

Likewise, a flip screen allows you to shoot overhead by swivelling the screen down. Street photographers might also appreciate a swivel screen because it can let you shoot more discreetly. Shooting from the hip is a lot easier with a flip screen and gives you more control. Hold the camera against your body and angle the swivel screen upwards so you can frame your shot, then shoot discreetly.

Despite all these advantages for shooting stills, it’s probably the rise of vlogging that has seen the popularity of cameras with flip screens soar. Like shooting self-portraiture, vlogging requires placing yourself on the other side of the camera, and before flip screens were a thing this required a lot of careful setup and trial and error.

But swivel LCD touchscreens mean you can now place your camera in front of you, frame your shot accordingly and simply tap the screen to take a picture or start recording. If you have even modest ambitions to post videos on YouTube, a camera with an articulating screen will undoubtedly be the best option for you. In this guide we’ll round up the best cameras with flip screens.

Metering: 384-zone metering with Evaluative metering (linked to All AF points), Partial metering (approx. 6.1% of viewfinder at centre), Spot metering: Centre spot metering (approx. 3.1% viewfinder at centre), Centre weighted average metering

Autofocus: Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with Advanced Animal AF (recognising dogs, cats and birds) supported in all video modes with 100% coverage and up to 1053 "AF segments"

The Canon EOS R5 leaves little doubt that Canon is now serious about the mirrorless camera market. It has phenomenal specification with features like a 45Mp full-frame sensor, phase detection autofocusing that covers the whole frame, eye AF for humans and animals that works in video and stills mode and a class-leading viewfinder paired with a vari-angle touchscreen.

The Canon EOS R5 is built to a similar standard to the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and has a magnesium alloy construction along with weatherproof seals. Its handling is also similar, but the control arrangement has changed to accommodate the vari-angle screen.

It’s great to have a vari-angle screen on the EOS R5. It makes it much easier to shoot video from above or below head-height while keeping the kit size and weight down. Also, as the screen is touch-sensitive you can control the camera with a few taps.

Autofocus: Dual Pixel CMOS AF II with Advanced Animal AF (recognising dogs, cats and birds) supported in all video modes with 100% coverage and up to 1053 "AF segments"

While the R6’s viewfinder is the same size as the R5’s (it’s a 0.5-inch type), its resolution is lower at 3.69million dots instead of 5.76million. That’s the same as in the EOS R and on par with the electronic viewfinders in the Sony A9 and Nikon Z7. It’s a great EVF specification for a camera of this level.

There’s also a 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen with 1.62million dots. We’re a fan of vari-angle screens because they make shooting portrait or landscape format images from above or below head-height much easier than a fixed screen. And a tilting screen is only of help with landscape format images.

Both the viewfinder and the screen provide an accurate preview of the image as it will be captured. Overall, Canon’s control arrangement on the R6 and use of touch control is excellent and the vari-angle screen is a real asset.

Autofocus system: Hybrid AF with 759 phase detection points and 425 contrast detection points, Still images: Human (Right/Left Eye Select) / Animal (Right/Left Eye Select) / Bird, Movie: Human (Right/Left Eye Select), sensitive down to -4EV

After we reviewed the Sony A7 III, a flip-out touchscreen was at the top of our wishlist for improvements we’d like to see on the next iteration of Sony’s full-frame all-rounder. Sure enough, Sony has given the A7 IV a vari-angle screen that can be flipped face forward or be angled to help compose low- or high-level shots in either landscape of portrait orientation.

What’s more, the A7 IV’s 3-inch 1,036,800-dot screen is touch-sensitive and users