school me in the point and shoots (film)

nightfly said:
I've had the XA, the XA2, the GR1, the Contax T, Contax T2, and the Yashica t4. I got rid of both Contax (Contaxes?) and the XA. My highly subjective opinion:

Contax T- Don't like the barn door lens cover. Awkward. Couldn't get past that.
Contax t2- Heavy and bulky and I guess I don't like the rendering of Sonnar lenses or the 38mm focal length. Didn't work for me. Prefer the Yashica T4 in use despite the lack of controls.
Yashica T4- Brilliant lens for color film. Sometimes focuses on wrong thing (rarely) but light and water resistant. The Tessar lens has a really nice rendering to my eyes. A true point and shoot. Comes with me in wet, sandy places or when I want to shoot color in addition to black and white in my M or GR1.
Olympus XA- I think having a rangefinder with a tiny dim rangefinder patch in a tiny viewfinder is sorta dumb. I use the little lever to hyperfocus and the viewfinder just for framing. Otherwise great design. Lens has ugly flare and is over rated in my book.
Olympus XA2- Basically opening the lens prefocuses it about 4 feet away which is usually about right for the type of shooting I do. Like a mechanical snap mode. Quietest camera around. Small too. Also picked it up for $20 on eBay recently.
GR1- Great lens. Tiny. Love the snap mode. Better lens than almost anything else out there. Drawbacks are that it's slightly loud. This would be the last P&S I'd get rid of. The slimness of it makes it easy to bring with you without it being obvious or ruining the lines of nice clothes.
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any comments on shutter response? that is really the big issue for me.
 
Shutter lag for XA + XA2 = zero, or slightly less. The shutters are so sensitive that I've often taken photos a split second before I wanted to.

FWIW, I just got my Hexar AF in the mail, and would not really consider it part of the P&S category. In terms of size and shape, it's more like a Leica, but lighter and with autofocus. Oh, and it really is the quietest camera I've ever used outside of the iPhone. The shutter release is quieter than my Canon Elph, and the film advance is quieter than the Elph's zoom motor. It's way, way, WAY quieter than a Leica.

I think I'm going to sell my mint Epics and switch back to the XA for P&S purposes. The Epic has a (much) better lens, but the AF has broken my heart a couple times.
 
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In order of responsiveness:

XA, XA2, Contax T are instantaneous. As fast as a Leica maybe faster because shutter needs a very light press. Also no auto focus to worry about.

GR1 is fast in Snap mode which is the only way I use it. Not quite Leica fast but you won't miss a shot and it's not frustrating at all.

T4 is fairly fast but not instantaneous unless you do a half press first. Even skipping that though it's fairly quick. Not quite "decisive moment" fast.

Any of these are faster than a digital point and shoot which I can't really use due to the lag.

emraphoto said:
any comments on shutter response? that is really the big issue for me.
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The T2 ain't fast, but the image quality certainly makes it worth the "wait". And not terribly slow in my experience. Nothing like most digi P&S cameras. Of course 95% of my subjects haven't moved in years...

I shoot a T2, GRV1 and a Nikon 28Ti. The Ricoh is certainly the fastest of the bunch, and the ease of exposure compensation is way better than on the Nikon. Avoid the TvS if you're after big prints- both of the ones I had gave poor enlargements over 8x10- and it is a bigger as well.

The original Contax T may be your camera at the longer lens end. Can be scale or RF focussed and shutter is instant. Very nice little camera- quite pocketable.

Have you considered a Rollei 35?
 
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Drum roll folks.... Fuji klasse x 2!

1 s and 1 w.

I suppose it would be prudent to add my thoughts about it. as soon as they arrive and I can work on them a bit I will post a review of sorts.
 
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pretty much every film P&S has too many compromises, or costs too much to be realistic.

I love my Konica BiG mini's, and haven't paid more than $15 for one. 35mm f3.5 lens that kicks ass. Pretty quick to use, quiet enough, takes great pictures. Fits in a pocket.

I don't worry too much about the finder on cameras like this- none of them are good.
 
emraphoto said:
Drum roll folks.... Fuji klasse x 2!

1 s and 1 w.

I suppose it would be prudent to add my thoughts about it so as soon as they arrive and I can work on them a bit I will post a review of sorts.
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I knew you would - very keen to read a review! They seem like awesome little cameras.
 
Sold my Hexar AF, sold my Contax G1 & lenses. Still have the Yashica T4 Super I bought new in 1995 (I think). Interestingly, it's the only camera I own that would cost me more to buy at auction now than it did when I bought it new.

@emraphoto - I'm really interested to see how the Klasses work for you. "I'm done" - but still interested in the Klasse (or the FX100 :)).
 
emraphoto, congrats on your decision! Please post your impressions/photos once you've had some time with your new W + S. By the way where do you plan to buy them from?
 
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