Compact

Had a play with something interesting? Got something that we all covet? Found a real lemon? Write a few lines about it, and share your experiences.

Moderator: Moderators

Forum rules
Please ensure that you have a meaningful location included in your profile. Please refer to the FAQ for details of what "meaningful" is.

Compact

Postby bettyfly on Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:40 am

Although this is the place for DLSR Users, I suppose most of you guys do own one or more digital compacts. I'm thinking about buying a serious compact for occasions where a SLR is just to big and awkward to handle.

Today I read this story and it really wetted my appetite!

So what are your favorite tiny toys?

Betty
User avatar
bettyfly
Newbie
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:17 am
Location: Stirling, VA

Re: Compact

Postby aim54x on Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:35 am

My compact companion is the Fujifilm FinePix F100fd (great image quality but no manual features), but many of the people on the forum own Canon G9/G10's. Also have a look at the Panasonic LX-3 (Leica D-Lux 4's Panasonic clone).
Cameron
Nikon F/Nikon 1 | Hasselblad V/XPAN| Leica M/LTM |Sony α/FE/E/Maxxum/M42
Wishlist Nikkor 24/85 f/1.4| Fuji Natura Black
Scout-Images | Flickr | 365Project
User avatar
aim54x
Senior Member
 
Posts: 7305
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:13 pm
Location: Penshurst, Sydney

Re: Compact

Postby radar on Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:45 am

Betty,

when looking for a compact camera, I had it narrowed down to three:

-Panasonic LX3 (similar to Leica D-Lux 4 which is much more expensive)
-Canon G10
-Nikon P6000

They all have their pro/cons and all of them are in a similar price range. For me, it was a requirement that it did RAW.

See these good reviews below:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/revie ... hips.shtml
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/revie ... /lx3.shtml

In the end, I ended up not getting the Nikon because its RAW format is not supported on the Mac (bad bad Nikon :evil: )

Left me with either the G10 or LX3. The size of the the LX3 is smaller, better lens and a bit wider, 24 instead of 28. The availability of the LX3 (none in Newcastle at the time and hard to get elsewhere) tipped me to get the G10. I needed the camera prior to going on a trip. I didn't need the extra pixels on such a small sensor that the Canon gave me (15Mb instead of 10 Mb for LX3) but in the end, I'm very happy. The camera feels very good in the hand, it is very fast for a P&S and if you don't go for the higher ISO, the quality of the photos is tops. It can be used in full manual mode and the controls are easy to use.

Also, you can get an underwater housing for the Canon G10, which I may look at getting as I've got some kayaking trips planned for this year.

The P6000 is still a very nice camera, a bit smaller in size then the G10, has the bonus of built in GPS and network connectivity, so don't discount it if you are processing your photos on a PC.

Cheers,

André
Photography, as a powerful medium of expression and communications, offers an infinite variety of perception, interpretation and execution. Ansel Adams

(misc Nikon stuff)
User avatar
radar
Senior Member
 
Posts: 2823
Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:18 am
Location: Lake Macquarie (Newcastle) - D700, D7000

Re: Compact

Postby aim54x on Tue Jan 20, 2009 10:03 am

Great idea Andre!

When I was looking (mid last year) I considered:

-Leica D-Lux 3 (cost was too high)
-Canon G9 (Too big for my liking)
-Ricoh GX100 (not bad, but not perfect)
-Nikon P5100 (no RAW, macro mode was not as good as I expected)

How did I end up with the F100fd? It was cheaper, had a wider zoom range (28mm wide, 5x zoom) and had really good high ISO performance to boot. But I did sacrifice the manual features and RAW capability, but the extra cost of the Leica and bulk (+ cost) of the G9 could not be justified for my uses.

So consider what you need the camera for? What are key features that you require?
-size
-zoom range (wide angle?)
-manual features?
-RAW?
Cameron
Nikon F/Nikon 1 | Hasselblad V/XPAN| Leica M/LTM |Sony α/FE/E/Maxxum/M42
Wishlist Nikkor 24/85 f/1.4| Fuji Natura Black
Scout-Images | Flickr | 365Project
User avatar
aim54x
Senior Member
 
Posts: 7305
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:13 pm
Location: Penshurst, Sydney

Re: Compact

Postby Grev on Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:53 pm

I have done some noise test for compacts, LX3, G10, IXUS 980, Nikon s600, Fuji J120, Fuji F100, Fuji J10...

The best of the bunch is suprisingly the J120 and LX3.
Blog: http://grevgrev.blogspot.com
Deviantart: http://grebbin.deviantart.com

Nikon: D700 / D70 / AiS 28mm f2 / AiS 35mm f1.4 / AiS 50mm f1.2 / AiS 180mm f2.8 ED / AFD 85mm f1.4 / Sigma 50mm f1.4 / Sigma 24-70 f2.8 macro / Mamiya 80mm f1.9 x2 /Mamiya 120mm f4 macro
User avatar
Grev
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1025
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 4:10 pm
Location: 4109, Brisbane.


Return to Equipment Reviews

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 44 guests