Reasonable digital P&S - Fuji?

Just bought a Ricoh GRD III 2 weeks ago so I can share some thoughts.
For those past 2 weeks it was the best camera in the world - that is the one that I have with me ;)
The user interface is really great, you can customize it to fit your needs and when using it in full manual it's damn fast (mf focus in snap mode). Having 3 "my settings" at your disposal means you can be ready for (almost) every light conditions in a second - you just twist the knob & there it is.

So here go pros:
- fast fast fast!
- customisable
- decent flash
- user interface
- fast wide prime lens
- shots RAW

As for cons:
- price (costs 2x entry level dslr!)
- wide prime lens
- goes down only to f9

Can't comment on the picture quality though as I havent had much time to develop my RAWs.
It took me a couple of months to convince myself to pay that much for a p&s but feel quite happy that i finally did.
Bottom line: I still have to go to that point where I feel bad about buying this camera
 
ampguy said:
The LX5 preview shots on dpreview look impressive at 800 with good exposure, but pretty bad at 1600.
However, much better than the LX3, IMHO.
I think a late model u4/3 or NEX might better the LX5 at high ISO, but that's just my guess.
On the other hand, the LX5 looks stellar at ISO 80, and 100.
Click to expand...

Your remark about m43 took me back to the OP. He said :-
"1. Small - pocketable
2. Simple - so that my wife could use it for snapshots of our boy (and soon his sister also) - this means NO micro4/3 with interchangeable lenses, but only a tool to grab and take pictures.
3. with some reasonable image quality
4. with at least some options for manual operation
5. cheap. I mean, if it is cheaper than the Canon G11/S90 for example, I'd be happy. "

LX5:-
Small - smaller than any m43, especially with a zoom.
Simple
No m43
Reasonable image quality
Some options for manual
Cheap - well, it won't be available second hand for a while, I guess.

And probably there are Fuji models that match the criteria - I'm just not familiar with them now although an earlier Fuji APS camera I still have was very good. The think I like about the LX5 (compared to the LX3) is the ability to fit an EVF, if that's important. For me it is.
 
Really cheap could be a Powershot A590 - daylight shots are excellent (low light not that good), fully automatic, fully manual and anything in between. Low weight, standard AA batteries. And a viewfinder ;)

Edit: And combine it with one of Canons slave flash units made for the small Powershots - great combo.
 
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yes they do

yes they do

My Fuji F70EXR equals, maybe exceeds my F30 at 800, 1600, 3200, but you have to go into the EXR menu and select the hi-iso mode, and I think instead of 10Mpix, you get 5 or 6 (which is fine for me).

The SuperCCD technology is still there, but it's not just there automatically like it was in the older Fujis, you have to dial it in, and consciously think about it.

So for a family/easy to use p&s, it gets a negative there. Also, F70/F72 sensor size is a bit smaller than 1/1.7", probably in order to squeak in the 10x zoom from wide (35mm equivalent 28mm).

Canon P&S's have easier UIs, and 90% of the performance, the Fujis are still for those wanting the extra 10%, and willing to read the manual, experiment and remember the arcane menu button sequences.

btgc said:
Don't EXR models come close to old F30?
Click to expand...
 
konicaman said:
Really cheap could be a Powershot A590 - daylight shots are excellent (low light not that good), fully automatic, fully manual and anything in between. Low weight, standard AA batteries. And a viewfinder ;)

Edit: And combine it with one of Canons slave flash units made for the small Powershots - great combo.
Click to expand...

i did not know about slave flash units...you must send us a pic and what situation requires one. very interesting to newbie here.

I have one of those it replaced my nikon L11 which was stolen. I then went crazy and started buying antique film cameras, you know yashica GSn, argus C-3 matchmatic..then SLRs and and ...


taken with the A590 ( i paid 110 or 120 last year thru Abes with discount)
not sure how it will look using attachement limit of 600 x 600 which equates to 53.kb in my system. But anyway, haven't been too disappointed with it.
 

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I have no interest in using digital for anything important, usually just to email friends and I had pretty much the same criteria as you. I ended up buying a Pentax H90. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/673640-REG/Pentax_16501_Optio_H90_Digital_Camera.html It does everything well enough, not too great looking at 100% on the computer but prints look fine at 8x12. The in-camera filters also mean sort-of-not-really film-esque photos. It's really small and light too.
 
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Grabbed that F20 off ebay for less than $80, thanks for the link Nick.

We'll see if it goes any better than my other forays into digital. Going to try it out and maybe do a demo of Alien Skin Exposure to see if I can get some digital photos I actually like.
 
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