Scrolling through X aka Twitter last night, I came in a post on social media by a VC in Silicon Valley Circle and a fairly recognizable name Sheel Mohanot. Mohanot’s question was: “I want a simple camera that defeats my iPhone.”

In fact. The question is not uncommon. Many people who have some interest in photography-but do not have much time or passion to plan thousands of dollars on full-frame system-one question. As a casual photography tool, the iPhone is unique. It is very good in terms of image or video quality, it depends on how much light its sensor can get, and with its image processing, its blazing speed and ease of use, it makes a fairly reliable shooter of casual moments. Pixel 9 Pro, Vivo X200 Pro or Oppo find X8 Ultra.

Nevertheless, there are moments where you need more. You may need a camera that is not only excellent in good light, such as iPhones and pixels, but also in low light where small camera sensors in the phone can not go beyond physics rules despite all AI wizardry. ,

You want a camera that lets you be a little creative how you click and what you click. A little more versatility, simply performing slightly more, some more photography characteristics than an iPhone. And you want it in a camera, where you do not need to spend a year to learn focus distance and pixel stacking and diffraction and bla -blown by dialing its various mode, and dial, and esoteric words. I mean you have ever seen a regular person taking a big camera and then struggled to focus!

The answer to Mohanot’s question is that it depends. You see, a chess has been opened in the way the use of cameras in the last 10 years. At one end you have a casual photographer, recording and clicking your weekend gateway in the hills for social media. These people used to buy compact cameras earlier. Now they all use iphones and pixels. Then there are people who either do photography for work – think about wedding photographers – or for passion, think of your normal wildlife or street photographers. These people use expensive and rather complex mirrorless and DSLR systems.

So, what are the options if you want something better than the iPhone for casual photography, but do not want the wholesale and complexity of Pro or Hobby cameras? Not much. But it has started changing, although the prices of these cameras are more than what I would like to see.

Fujifilm and Sony Lead, Sigma stole the show

What do you want in a camera that is better than the iPhone and yet designed for regular users and not the national geographic photographers three things: ease of use, portability aka pocket-ability and a delicious value. Not a single camera provides all three.

Instead, there are the best options as there. The charge has been led by Fujifilm in this category as it has some cameras that may not be the easiest to slip into the pocket of jeans, but who offer incredible photography features in compact form. The top of these is Fujifilm X100 VI. It comes with a certain – but extremely sharp – lens and image processing of Fujifilm, which is unique, it means that every time they use it to click the photo, users are likely to delight. However, it is also quite expensive at a market price of about Rs 1,70,000. Fujifilm also has other options. They range from Fujifilm X-M5 to only GFX100 RF, a medium-formal compact camera, which costs more than Rs 5 lakh.

While Fujifilm gives you retro looks, chic vibes, some cool film-simulation modes, and (mostly) the luxurious ex-technology sensors in your cameras, Sony is more practical with its compact offerings. The company sells several compact cameras-although, again compact words are doing some heavy-lifting here, given that none of these cameras are really populated. If I am picking up something from Sony, I will choose the RX100 VII. Its image sensor is very small for my choice, but due to its zoom lens it is a versatile option. The company also has RX1R M3, with a full-frame sensor coming soon, but it will be, I suspect, a camera of Rs 5 lakh.

Then there are some options from Panasonic (Lumix S9), Rico (GR III) and Lika (much but all of them abusively, as they do not seem luxury items and photography tools). In the middle, I understand that Nikon and Canon are also making large sensor compact cameras, given that there is some demand for it.

However, a camera that I think is closest to what we are seeing is Sigma BF. This is a great surprise. Earlier, when we got this camera for review here at Bharat Today Tech, we were not expecting it so much. My colleague reviewed the BF, but when I clicked the images with it, I had my jaw on the floor. Sigma BF became a camera that we could love. Sigma, because it is not a traditional camera-producer such as Fujifilm, Canon and Nikon, have no heritage goods. Instead, it is thinking of cameras with a new perspective, which reflects BF’s design and user interfaces. To make a little corn sound, BF is made with great love. With this, Sigma has tried to merge the Great camera hardware with the interface and design models after the top-end phone. For example, BF does not have any storage card slots. Instead, it has a huge internal storage, somewhat like a phone.

Certainly, BF has its own share of issues, for those who are more familiar with heritage cameras. But overall, as a camera you can poin somewhere and then click on a great photo, Sigma BF Excel. It also looks like a camera that Apple would have made if he had decided to make one.

More importantly, we found that Sigma BF is solid in its main functionality, which is clicking photos. Its full-frame sensor provides better loyalty than the compact cameras of Fujifilm and Sony Management. It also has a surprisingly strong auto-focus system with excellent eye focus that is great for the types of photos that would want to click with BF. The price of the entire kit is somewhat appropriate, although still expensive. BF was paired with a fast El Mount Lens – Sigma has some prime – comes for about 2.2 lakh rupees. This is certainly not cheap, but given that it can beat more expensive cameras, it makes a qualified contender.

Saying that, there is no correct option yet. Legacy camera companies are stuck in their brilliant past, and brands like Sigma have no bridges yet. Of course, it is also a matter of demand. While some people who have a passion for photography may be a bit outspoken in their desires, it is not yet certain that the market is yet to justify the big tricks for a compact and high -performing camera. The result is that for most people a high-end phone is a better value. And if it happens something like high-end phone iPhone, or Pixel, or Vivo X200 Pro and Oppo, the X8 is ultra, it will double as a more than the more and the best cameras for casual photography.