Need film P&S with good short telephoto lens

[David Hughes]

One of the irritations of all of them is not being able to control the flash as in "turn off permanently". You just have to switch on and start clicking away... Trouble is they discharge the battery. One of those I've mentioned does remember the flash setting but I can't remember which one it is.

Regards, David

 

[ZeissFan]

It's the nature of the beast, so to speak, to have somewhat slow lenses and limited functions, especially when it comes to the flash. And most will power down after a few minutes.

The Rollei QZ 35 cameras were much more advanced, but are significantly larger than what the person here seeks. That camera has a stop speed of 1/8000, a separate "potato masher"-style flash and a reasonably fast f/2.8-f/5.6 lens.

If you want an inexpensive, pocketable camera with a zoom, you usually have to accept the limitations that come with it.

 

[micromoogman]

As a sworn enemy to zoom cameras and lenses, I advise you to buy either Leica AF-C1 or Minolta AF-Tele Super. It is the same camera. $100 between. It has a dual lens system, 38mm and 80mm. Really sharp pictures, even in corners, great and fast AF. It is a bit ugly-cute and has plastic housing, but good ergonomics and quality feel. T3 can stay home too.

Leica AF-C1, Tri-X

Minolta AF-Tele, Tri-X

 

[sleepyhead]

Micromoogman, nice photo! And thanks for pointing out the AF-C1. 40/80mm combo would do quite well for me. But I recently bought a Contax TVS III to go with my T3. It arrived today. It's a bit larger than i expected. But the T3 spoils one with it's tiny size. I'm looking forwards to shooting with the TVS III. It's zoom settings of 30, 37.5, 45, 52.5 and 60mm may be a bit more versatile for me than 40/80mm due to the wider end of the spectrum. I wish the TVS III went out to 70mm...

...it's difficult to have it all...

 

[sleepyhead]

Been shooting with the Contax TVS III for the last week or so. So far (I haven't developed any film yet), I like the handling of the camera. The manual focus wheel is much better than I expected to use. It's better than the Contax T3 where you have to push a button a bunch of times and then twiddle a tiny knob some, and then push a button again.

I also like the TVS III custom function in which it remembers the previous flash, zoom, and exposure settings (programmed Auto or Aperture-priority Auto) when turned on. I have the camera set up with permanent flash off, and I close it down at the 45mm zoom setting with programmed Auto - so when i turn it on, those are the settings ready to shoot. I can then zoom down to 30mm or up to 60mm quickly if I want to. Neat.