Cheap Cameras

[shadowfox]

I am usually not a Canon fan, I use digital but more crazy about film.

But this camera caught my attention and hold it. It's the redefinition of the word "sleek"

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS Digital ELPH

The size is unbelievably small even for digital P&S. Just make sure to get the black one, it's about $149 street price.

Having said that, I didn't go for it, I'd rather tinker with a 1936 Retina I that has been sitting on my desk, now that one is definitely pocketable 😀 😀

 

[xxloverxx]

I don't know about the price of an Olympus Pen but I was in Yodobashi Camera just days ago. Tried it out with a 40 1.4 Nokton on it (via adapter). Very compact & light, scarily sharp wide open even shot at ISO 6400.

If you don't mind film, one of the Rollei 35's sound good (haven't tried one but it's really small - no rangefinder though, you have to guess the distance which can be a problem. Also, fixed lens (which is a good thing IMO)). Or a Canon QL17 (40 1.7, friend of mine has one)

I find manual focus film cameras much faster than P&S' - personal experience. Take into account shutter lag, time taken for AF, time to turn on and time taken to change batteries (not to mention the trouble of carrying them in the first place)

 

[newspaperguy]

In the middle of shooting the county's annual Christmas parade, the (company owned) Canon DSLR 'locked up' for no apparent reason. I finished the shoot with my little A590IS that I had in my pocket. Most of the published frames came from the little pns.

Makes me wonder why I tote big gear? Hell, I'm getting paid... do I have to 'look' per-fessional,too?

Yeah, I guess so. I can tell you from 50+ years of doing this, that if you look professional, and have prof gear, entry to controlled situations is easy. Show up at a crime scene with a PNS and the cops will brand you as a 'lookee-loo' and shag your butt.

Note: small camera needs big credentials.

Most of the state and county guys know me, so I can get away with a grin and, "It's my back-up piece."

 

[NickTrop]

Forget everyone else's recommendation. I am correct in all matters. You want a pocketable affordable digital? The only choice is the Fuji Finepix F10, F11, F30, F31, or F20. This line is no longer produced, or should say IS produced but they changed the successful formula. Only pick up one of these used. The lens retracts so the camera is pocketable. The camera, including its proprietary 6 megapixel sensor, is designed for low-light shooting. It has the best/most accurate, almost magic flash that refuses to blow out close in objects. Image quality is outstanding (check out the Flickr group for samples). I have the F20 because the F30's and 31's have too many bidders. 30 and 31 have manual control and a very long battery capacity. 31 has face detection. F20 is strictly point and shoot, but has same lens, flash system, sensor, and is dirt cheap ($70-ish for mine, used/mint). Ignore all other recommendations. Get the Fuji Finepix F10, 11, 30, 31, or 20.

This camera has ISO 800 that looks like ISO 200 in other cameras. 1600 is fine with "light" noise reduction in post. You will use this camera 50% of the time, but will not tell people on this form or lie when they like a picture and tell people you took it with an expensive film rangefinder. It's okay - it's our little secret.

 

[Trius]

We had to wait quite a long time for Nick to arrive with his Fuji love-in. 😀

Every time he reminds me of those little jewels I check prices on the F30 and discover he is right. Guess I'll keep looking. 😉

 

[GoodPhotos]

Where do you get your red dots from???

Back when I had an M4-P I lost the dot. I emailed Leica in NJ and they sent me a few. There was a thread (on the LUG?) about the magickal properties of the 'red dot' so just for fun, I've put them on an M5, a IIIc, IIIf and then just to test the theory, I once even put one on a Bessa. Doesn't seem to have imparted any special Leica Glow(tm) image properties, but it did seem to really irk the L-Snobs. I still have a 'Leitz' red dot that fell off an M-Winder, but this last Leica dot fits the S90 better. I was saving this dot to put on an LX3 (which at least has Leica glass), but I decided I like the low ISO capabilities of the S90 better. 🙂
The only thing I preferred about the LX3 was the hotshoe for a possible aux VF, the slightly wider 24mm/2.0 and the better grip. I've got used to arms length composition again (which I hadn't done since my view camera days), I can live with 28/2.0 and as mentioned previously, I've ordered a grip for the s90.

 

[NickTrop]

We had to wait quite a long time for Nick to arrive with his Fuji love-in. 😀

Every time he reminds me of those little jewels I check prices on the F30 and discover he is right. Guess I'll keep looking. 😉

LOL... Hi, Trius. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year t'ya. Just get the F20. They're available and have fewer bidders. The F30's manual controls are of limited use on point-n-shoot digitals anyway, especially when the already limited aperture is restricted by the zoom and you can't get shallow DOF anyway in-camera because of the sensor size. Just underexpose a stop or two by using +/- exposure controls and "buy back" those stops in Photoshop using brightness control (not "auto adjust levels", manually go in an boost the brightness as needed...) Do this to get the shutter speed up a stop or two in low light to avoid motion blur or camera shake. These cameras don't have image stabilization. Wish they did, it would be a monster.

 

[GoodPhotos]

I must say that having payed with them in the shop (and sold quite a few) I've been very impressed with the image quality of the new Fuji EXR Super CCD cams as well. They are insanely fast to lock focus and shoot and their low light high ISO seems amazingly close to the S90/G11.

 

[NickTrop]

I'm loathe to post photos on websites, but here's a few samples of Fuji Finepix in low light. Before you say they're soft, I always soften portraits. The color was taken at a pretty low shutter speed.

 

[NickTrop]

One more... not bad, imo, for a camera that cost me around $70 bucks.

 

[NickTrop]

I must say that having payed with them in the shop (and sold quite a few) I've been very impressed with the image quality of the new Fuji EXR Super CCD cams as well. They are insanely fast to lock focus and shoot and their low light high ISO seems amazingly close to the S90/G11.

I really considered this camera based on the F20 but the EXR added more unnecessary megapixels and has a slower lens... 3.5 vs. 2.8, over their earlier Finepix Super CCD models. ...just my opinion.

 

[jmkelly]

I just got a Super Ikonta - that's supposed to be pocketable, right? 😉

I've tried out a bunch of digital p&s cameras and keep coming back to Panasonics. Picture quality is good enough and the controls just work for me. No matter what film camera I'm carrying on any day, I have an LX3 in my briefcase at all times. For truly pocketable we have a family FX37 - it's not all that much bigger than a box of Tic Tacs, and my 5- and 7-year old prefer using it to mom's iPhone.

 

[GoodPhotos]

I really considered this camera based on the F20 but the EXR added more unnecessary megapixels and has a slower lens... 3.5 vs. 2.8, over their earlier Finepix Super CCD models. ...just my opinion.

With Canon having success in reversing their MP count to get even better low light use, maybe it will be a trend and Fuji will reintroduce the faster lens with a more manual lower MP sensor using the EXR tech?
We live in a miraculous photo age and as the market learns that MP isn't the be all, end all, the companies are starting to pay attention.
🙂

 

[NickTrop]

I must say that having payed with them in the shop (and sold quite a few) I've been very impressed with the image quality of the new Fuji EXR Super CCD cams as well. They are insanely fast to lock focus and shoot and their low light high ISO seems amazingly close to the S90/G11.

I seriously considered buying on based on my experience with the F20 but decided it wasn't worth the price. 1. Slower lens F3.5 vs F2.8, and added unnecessary megapixels. They should have just added image stabilization and an optical viewfinder, Fuji would have had themselves a true gem. Fuji blew it with the EXR imo.

 

[NickTrop]

Note, meant to edit original reply to Goodphoto but ended up accidentally deleting my original post, which is how he responded to me before I replied in the thread - in case you were wondering 🙂