Need new compact digital!

Avotius

Avotius

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Ok the day has finally come, actually the day came yesterday. My beloved Ricoh GRD is dead as a doornail. It no longer recognizes SD cards, it shuts itself off without warning all the time and new this week photos saved end up corrupted one in every four or five shots. Not to mention the black paint is very worn and the rubber grip stuff has not fit right since I got it. All this after only a year and a half of use! That said I have put 19000 photos on its clocks as well...

Anyway...new camera time! I got my thoughts on the Panasonic LX3 but hate the Panasonic menu and operating system and the zoom is a wee bit short. The Fuji f200 EXR but wonder because I have never had a fuji camera and it is an awfully ugly camera and the whole thing doesn't thrill me. Of course the Canon G10 but I think its huge. The Nikon P6000 is a great feeling body, Nikon really know how to make a camera that feels like it belongs in your hand and it has a viewfinder (however small) but the image quality and high ISO sucks. Sure another GRD (2) but I want a zoom now. GX200?

Oh and to make this just that bit more ridiculous I even took a hard look at a Canon 100 IS which I thought was a great little camera, but the lens is a 33 not a 28 and not an f2.8 plus Canon's menu and operating system on its compacts sucks as much as Panasonic's does and it doesn't let you tweak much, not even contrast, but it is awfully small and handy.


Ok so I got no idea what to do, I always have to have a compact on me and since Olympus seems like it would be a good idea to keep giving us this bs by the time it comes out and becomes affordable/available it will be too late for me.

I do have one other alternative here, the old man needs a digital camera too, I can get a simpler cheaper one (which though, there are millions) that has a 28mm wide and a lot of telephoto zoom for him, screw with that for a little bit then get something better later for myself and give said cheapo camera to him.

Many of you have the cameras I have mentioned, I am most interested in high iso and speed, I dont like waiting for the camera while its singing about writing stuff to card.
 
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I have a Panasonic LX3. It is a nice little compact camera but I agree it's a little too short on the zoom. I am not much of a wide angle shooter but this camera serves its purpose well. I would love it if the GX200 has a nice high ISO performance but it doesn't. My ideal camera would be a GX200 with the Panasonic LX3 f2.0 lens and high ISO performance.
 
Thirded on the LX3 being great, but the lens rather short and the menu lousy. But I'm big on wides.

You could get the LX3 and the telephoto attachment? Extra money and bulk, though.

My friend's Canon G10 is really quite nice, and very comfortable to hold. Plus it has the ISO dial--a great touch.
 
I seem to recall you sold your panasonic G1. Are you having regrets? It seems it satisfied most of you requirements above (ok, not as smal as a compact but...)
 
Gaspar said:
I seem to recall you sold your panasonic G1. Are you having regrets? It seems it satisfied most of you requirements above (ok, not as smal as a compact but...)
Click to expand...


Not a single regret, it just was not small and compact enough to do my bidding.

Canon G10 was/is high on my list, but I cant get over the feeling that it is so large and heavy that it kind of defeats the purpose of compact cameras.
 
I ***had*** the same dilemma between the G10 and the LX3...

I went the G10 option as it would integrate into my existing flash and my previous G7/9 experiences have also been positive. I just love the bulk of the G series.

After a couple of months, I had to change G10 bodies ***TWO*** times. First, there was a screen flicker problem. Second, the power button was not responsive. 2 weeks ago, I had to send my third G10 back to Canon to get fluff out of the inside of the lens (despite only having had it for only about 2 weeks).

Being without a compact P&S, I got tempted by the LX3 again. The thing that sold me was the "dynamic B&W" film mode and the high-quality JPEGs that could be obtained from the camera. That F2 lens in 16:9 format was also tempting. I bit the bullet.

This is a snapshot in that "dynamic B&W" mode:

090507_DMC-LX3_00079.JPG


The handling of the LX3 could be better, but I think I'm going to get used to it. The programable settings (C1, C2-1 to C2-3... 4 all together) makes the mode selection a breeze once you've worked out the settings that you use most).

Now... just a matter of deciding whether I can justify the "one for my wife, and one for me" excuse... or will I have to let go of one 🙂
 
I had the same dilemma recently. I needed a compact digital for the wife and for the occasional one-off shot.

I liked the D-Lux4/LX-3's f/2.0 lens and wide 24mm lens, but I was initially put off by lack of zoom. So I started considering the G-10, but was apprehensive about the size. It almost defeats the purpose of a compact.

However, I ended up thinking:
a. how often do I use a longer focal length?
b. when have I ever gotten a good zoom picture from a digital p&s anyway?
c. Even a good zoom picture on a P&S isn't going to have any bokeh because of a lack of dof.

I ended up getting the D-Lux 4, mostly because the LX-3 was out of stock everywhere. I like the camera and glad I got it. I still have "digital zoom".

Among the things I like about it:
--Easy to switch to full manual.
--Ability to limit ISO to 400, because there is a quality dropoff after that.
--Automatic bracketing - you pick the 1/3, 2/3 or 1 stop
--Red dot
 
You're a rangefinder shooter and looking for a digital compact? Don't agonize over it. High ISO performance trumps all. Manual controls meaningless - use exposure control to indirectly control shutter speed. No need to spend a lot - my vote would be for a used Fuji F20. Amazing (for a compact digital) high ISO performance, small, good battery life, good macro mode, good movie mode, and a feature I've come to appreciate, "IQ" flash which does a great job powering the flash up/down - as appropriate, based on subject distance - and powerful (21 feet), good battery life. I got mine in VG condition with all the cables, box, SW for $80 on the auction site. Downsides - no optical VF, no true image stabilization, no zoom in movie mode.

They give up the ghost - then they're done. They're disposable items like razors, these compact digitals... what spend the bling? Get another in a couple years.
|
 
You can probably find a fairly clean and extremely compact Olympus Pen for reasonable money Having a camera crap out on me after only 18 months or so of use would leave me a bit antsy about trusting the technology. A forty year old Pen should be good to go for another forty years.
 
If you want a truly compact digital that can take anything from night time fireworks shots to bright sunshine beach shots plus do movies, get a Canon Elph - I have a SD 750 as a "backup" or for taking places I either can't or won't take my M's, and it's been very easy to use and reliable. It's smaller than a wallet, battery lasts a long time, and it can take pretty good size memory cards.
 
DP2 ? I believe it is very close to a compact M. First compact that can blur backgrounds ... shot taken at F2.8, 2 meters, ISO800 with camera JPG

3512877010_3ba6e8cb1b_o.jpg
 
I would get the lx-3 if you decide you can't wait. The controls are very P&S orientated which is annoying but I'm sure you could find a way to work around it and use it.

The G10 is super nice ergos and image quality at base iso but otherwise meh. Lens is too slow, high iso pretty shoddy.

But seriously, buy a cheaper superzoom for your old man, and wait for something better. The whole game is about to be changed with the m4/3rds olympus camera, which I believe will be worth the wait. It's going to have current DSLR quality in a tiny, well built package with interchangeable lenses of superb quality (knowing zuikos) and really.... you can't ask for much more than that. Mid June announcement and they'll probably start shipping soon afterwards.
 
GX200 - step zoom mode problem solved.

LX3 as an alternative if you want a faster lens and widescreen

I think the Canon G series are too big.

Mike
 
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