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Comment by WalterBright | Hacker News Reader

> makes it harder to justify bringing a real camera along to regular day-to-day activities.

Back in the film days, pretty much nobody lugged around a camera to regular activities, it was only brought out for special events and the trip to Disneyland. This persisted even with digital cameras.

But the phone camera changed everything.

The worst photos are the ones you never took because you didn't bring the camera.

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I kept my Olympus XA in my baggy jeans pocket almost all the time.

I tended to have a camera with me for years too--though I really slowed down after I no longer had easy access to a B&W darkroom. But that wasn't the mainstream case.

To Americans, the Japanese taking snapshots at every opportunity (including business meetings--OK we mostly don't do that) was notably odd behavior. Today, I'm sure just about any random nationality takes far more.

I have lots of dedicated camera equipment but most of that is for event, travel, or dedicated photography of some sort. If I know I'm going to be on a trip where I'm going to just be taking random memory pictures, I mostly just bring my phone.

What's the closest to a digital equivalent of the Olympus XA, i.e., a compact rangefinger, maybe with the same sort of clamshell design?

Nothing that's a rangefinder AFAIK. There's something like a Fujifilm X-E3 with the pancake lens. So more like a Leica form factor than an Olympus XA. There are also the high-end P&Ss. But I haven't run across anything that gives you both the control and the pocketability of an Olympus XA.

The FUJIFILM X100 probably comes closest to rangefinder translated to digital with a fixed lens. But a bit bigger again. And it's IMO a whole lot of money for a specialized camera.

Well any kind of random consumer point and shoot like a PowerShot will give you equivalent image quality to the XA in an even smaller package. But the design elegance and "coolness" of the XA you will not find in digital. The self-timer lever acts as a little "foot" that stabilizes the camera when you're resting it somewhere for a self-timer picture!

For a rangefinder style, there's the Fuji X100 series (the latest being X100V). They are not really pocketable though. But for a big sensor compact that is truly pocketable, nothing beats the Ricoh GR series with its APS-C sensor (the latest being the Ricoh GR III). The older model (GR II) can still be had for under $400, which is a screaming value.

The Sony RX1R II and Leica Q2 are better, but rather expensive.

Probably an Olympus XZ? I'm not sure if they ever made a successor to it, but still it's a great camera if you're cool not having a touchscreen.

There's also a category called pocket cameras these days.

The good ones are still somewhat expensive (i.e, Sony RX100 series) and they are chunky enough that you want or need bigger pockets.

I have the RX100 M5, and I love it[1]. I can fit it in my pocket if I'm wearing loose pants, but the lens sticks out 1 cm from the body and it's just a little bit too bulky to be comfortable, even in a jacket pocket.

But I got a neck strap for it, and the camera is light enough that I can barely tell it's there. That's how I'll use it on a hiking trip, and sometimes I'll even take photos by looking down at the flip-up screen.

[1] I don't love the menu-driven UI though, or the digital lens ring control. But however much of a compromise the pop-up digital viewfinder is, it works great in bright sunlight when the screen gets washed out, or when I need to hold the camera close to me for a steady shot.

I used to be big on viewfinders... until I had to get reading glasses. Even though my cameras with VFs have diopters, I find myself just looking over my regular glasses and touching the screen to focus and shoot.

> (i.e, Sony RX100 series)

they have been around long time enough that you can easily buy used ones in good condition for 200 USD or less. (up to the 3rd version)

Yes, I carried around a Minox. But the picture quality was poor and film + development was slow and expensive, so I rarely bothered.

The security folks at the airport were quite bemused by it :-)

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