Point-and-shoot 35mm camera with the fastest autofocus speed?

PhotoPham · Oct 21, 2022

While shopping for a Point and shoot camera, I realized there is one thing reviews that don't tackle, it's autofocus speed.
In everyone's experience of point-and-shoots, which had the best focus speed, especially in lower-light situations? Primes or zooms, it doesn't matter, it's all about speed.

Answers that don't work:
Some people will tell me Contax G1/2 but that can't fit in my pocket so keep to a portable size.
I understand people will say Olympus XA/XA2 but there's no autofocus.
Lomography cameras, there's no autofocus and many are too bulky to put into a pocket and I don't like plastic lenses.
Strangely enough, people tell me an EOS camera with pancake but no way to fit a fat SLR in my pocket haha.

Sirius Glass · Oct 21, 2022

PhotoPham said:
While shopping for a Point and shoot camera, I realized there is one thing reviews that don't tackle, it's autofocus speed.
In everyone's experience of point-and-shoots, which had the best focus speed, especially in lower-light situations? Primes or zooms, it doesn't matter, it's all about speed.

Answers that don't work:
Some people will tell me Contax G1/2 but that can't fit in my pocket so keep to a portable size.
I understand people will say Olympus XA/XA2 but there's no autofocus.
Lomography cameras, there's no autofocus and many are too bulky to put into a pocket and I don't like plastic lenses.
Strangely enough, people tell me an EOS camera with pancake but no way to fit a fat SLR in my pocket haha.

With any camera, the choice of lens with effect the focus speed. A newer model lens will often focus faster than and older lens of the the same manufacturer. That is why you will not have reviews that write about focusing speed very often.

cramej · Oct 21, 2022

If you're interested in low light performance, any of the cameras with an IR focus system will work. As for speed, many of them focus during the shutter button press so it's nearly instantaneous.

pentaxuser · Oct 21, 2022

I only have one P&S camera that fits the small pocketable description and that's the Mju II but frankly one of its drawbacks is its slow autofocus for close fast action as opposed to far. OK if you can focus on the point in advance but otherwise it's somewhat problematical IMO

pentaxuser

Huss · Oct 21, 2022

A couple of p&s cameras have a ‘snap focus’ function. Some from Ricoh and Rollei. Those are meant to focus quickly.
My Fuji Klasse W is super, but has slowwwww focus.
My Fuji Work Record seems speedy.

Cholentpot · Oct 21, 2022

PhotoPham said:
While shopping for a Point and shoot camera, I realized there is one thing reviews that don't tackle, it's autofocus speed.
In everyone's experience of point-and-shoots, which had the best focus speed, especially in lower-light situations? Primes or zooms, it doesn't matter, it's all about speed.

Answers that don't work:
Some people will tell me Contax G1/2 but that can't fit in my pocket so keep to a portable size.
I understand people will say Olympus XA/XA2 but there's no autofocus.
Lomography cameras, there's no autofocus and many are too bulky to put into a pocket and I don't like plastic lenses.
Strangely enough, people tell me an EOS camera with pancake but no way to fit a fat SLR in my pocket haha.

My issue with P&S is the lag. Many of them will lag between hitting the button and taking the shot. Or give no indication of taking that shot. My Sureshot 130u is tiny and fast. Only downside is it has a pretty slow lens.

Huss · Oct 21, 2022

I hated my Olympus Mju - the first version - because the lag was awful. I’d keep mashing on the shutter button waiting for it to take a pic.

Cholentpot · Oct 21, 2022

Huss said:
I hated my Olympus Mju - the first version - because the lag was awful. I’d keep mashing on the shutter button waiting for it to take a pic.

I love mine. Only wish it would hit focus a little better.

gone · Oct 21, 2022

Just as important is shutter lag. When shopping for a small camera for the wife, that's what I was focused on. Some are just too long, others have no appreciable lag. It doesn't do any good to have fast AF if it has shutter lag. Reading camera reviews until your eyes bulge out is the only way I know to find out about this stuff.

Paul Howell · Oct 21, 2022

Although I don't have any high end point and shoot I did have a box of enter level to mid level point and shoots. I have sold most off, I had Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, Canon, Konica, Olympus, and Chinon. I keep a Pentax WR, a Konica Z up with 28 to 50, and a Chinon with fixed lens 35mm 2.8. In general my experience was that the longer and slower the zoom the slower the AF and longish shutter delay. The Pentax 38 to 70 and Olympus stylist with a semiwide to just over normal had pretty good AF speed. These are the most pocketable. The Konica Zup with 28 to 50 and the Pentax WR are fairly fast, but not really pocketable. First generation AF with fixed and somewhat fast lens, Canon Auto Boy, Chinon, Nikon are in my experience slow.

Point-and-shoot 35mm camera with the fastest autofocus speed?

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