Fast AF film P&S

[v_roma]

Hi,

I'm looking for a compact film p&s with fast auto-focus and 35-50mm focal length. Is anyone aware of a camera that would fit that bill?

I familiar with the Hexar AF but I'm looking for something more compact and, especially, cheaper. I'm also familiar with the Fuji Klasse line but found the AF to be too slow for what I need. Something with the Klasse size and Hexar AF speed would be ideal 😀

Thanks in advance!
Roma

 

[pesphoto]

Check out nikon L35AF 35mm 2.8 lens...and cheap

 

[Jamie123]

The Olympus Mju-II's (Stylus Epic) AF is fairly quick and it's cheap. There's still a bit of a shutter lag but I found it to be better than most.

 

[Paul T.]

I don't own one, but the COntax T2 is well regarded, good lens, pretty fast autofocus, and far more compact than the Hexar.


Edit:I notice a couple of other people have mentioned the Minilix. I've tried one in a shop and wasn't impressed by the focus speed - no quicker than an Olympus Mju II, really. And they do have a habit of dying. From when I was checking out autofocus cameras (I ended up with a Hexar, as you know!) the T2 seemed to be better regarded than the T3.

The original Olympus XAs (liek the zone focus XA2) and Mju give great results, too.

 

[jsrockit]

Leica Minilux
Contax T3
Minolta TC1
Nikon 35ti

 

[v_roma]

pesphoto: thanks for the suggestion. I read that L35AF doesn't actually move the lens until the shutter is fully pressed, which introduces lag. Is that right?
jamie123: thanks as well but from what I read, I think the lag would not work for me.

What about the Canon AF35MII? Any experience with this camera with regard to AF speed and shutter lag?

EDIT: Ok, a couple more responses while I was typing this. Thanks everyone.

 

[Jamie123]

Leica Minilux
Contax T3
Minolta TC1
Nikon 35ti

Don't know about the rest but I can say for sure that the Nikon 35Ti is very slow. The AF might be quite accurate but it does have considerable lag.

 

[v_roma]

Contax T2 looks promising... 🙂

 

[Paul T.]

The Yashica T4 also seems to be well-liked. It has a slightly slower lens than, say, the T2, at f/3.5, but it's cheaper than the Contax and I would suspect has quite a lot in common, as they were both built by Kyocera. I'm only guessing, but with a slower lens it might even focus quicker. The T2 isn't much cheaper than the Hexar.

 

[v_roma]

Thanks again, Paul. Based on some quick research over lunch, it looks like both the Yashica T4 and the Contax T2 both have some (non-trivial) shutter lag. The Contax T3 seems to fare better in that department but is also considerably more expensive.

Back to the Canon AF35MII, any experience with AF speed and shutter lag on these?

 

[OlliL]

I found the Minilux (Zoom and fixed) very slow, when it comes to focussing.

The Ricoh GR line is in my experience faster, but not really, compared to the Klasse.

 

[sevo]

Some of my P&S had snapshot modes that have no AF delay - the Mju::V and Ricoh R1 had a landscape (no telling whether infinity or hyperfocal) mode, and the Fuji Silvi has a arms length portrait and a landscape mode.

Sevo

 

[FalseDigital]

Another vote for Olympus Mju II (aka stylus epic)

 

[OlliL]

Agreed, the Epic is really fast.

 

[thegman]

I had a Klasse S, and found the AF very fast, easy fast enough for me. I always liked the look of the Natura line too, there is the Natura S:

http://www.cameraquest.com/fujinaturaS.htm

and also the Natura Classica, the Classica is easier to come by as it's a current product, and less "cult". I've never used one, but always like the look of it:

http://microsites.lomography.com/fujinatura/about

Look at it at Lomography, but buy from one of the Japanese importers on eBay for a decent deal.

The Klasse and Natura have the advantage of being available new, under warranty, if that is an issue for you.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi v roma,

I apologize for coming a bit out of your interest... Maybe not?

It's not easy to get a camera that's compact, has reliable AF and no shutter lag... Unless we talk about the Hexar AF, it's hard to really know, before hitting the shutter, if we focused where we wanted to: easy and ultrafast with the Hexar AF... As it's not usual to focus with AF at infinity, I've found the most accurate way of shooting, with the minimum shutter lag, is stopping down and prefocusing at 8 feet if 35mm/28mm lenses are fine for you... Not that easy with a 50mm because there's a lot less DOF and some focusing is required depending on subject's distance...

Then, a great "AF" compact camera, that can't fail focus, is the XA... Or any other 35 that you might consider compact enough, can be prefocused, stopped down, and then be easily used for shooting from 1m to close to infinity... And I'm talking especially about perfect close/mid focus always, and zero shutter lag always. Lots of great options in different sizes and prices... None as compact, though -with AE and aperture control- as the XA... A Bessa or ZI with the flat CV28 are superb gear, and pure street.

Cheers,

Juan

 

[kuvvy]

Roma, this is just one of those questions that gets asked here and you end up with numerous different answers. Apart from the Klasse I've used all the cameras here at some time or other. The Contax T2 was a favourite. Probably because I found I wasn't shooting much film, but I preferred it over the Nikon 335Ti.
I still don't shoot much film but I still have a number of compacts including, the Oly Mju-I and II, Nikon L35AF, Ricoh FF3AF Super, Pentax Espio Mini and the "poor mans T2" the Yashica T4.
All are good performers and prices are a consideration.

Here are links to images from some of them, if it helps you decide:

Yashica T4 http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=81526159@N00&q=yashica+t4&m=text

Pentax Mini http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=81526159@N00&q=espio&m=text

Contax T2 http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=81526159@N00&q=t2&m=text

Nikon 35Ti http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=81526159@N00&q=35ti&m=text

 

[valdas]

I owned Yashica T4, still shoot with Contax T2, Mju II, Hexar AF. I agree that all of them except Hexar have shutter lag and also one cannot focus fast and accurately with those 3 P&S if focus point is not in the center of the frame. Basically, those cameras are fine for casual snapshots but not for true street photography (but maybe that is what you need). IMHO nothing beats zone focusing cameras for street action. XA2 is the ideal street shooter if you load it with fast film.

 

[v_roma]

Fair enough, everyone. I realize something has to give (price, size, speed...) but was hoping I had missed some magical compact p&s out there 🙂 The Contax T3 comes close, it seems, but boy are they expensive. I'm really just looking for something to carry around casually so something too expensive or too large won't do. I have other cameras for that!

 

[sniki]

Despite no autofocus capability, I strike a blow for Olympus XA4 macro.