Which digital P&S?

[chilohm]

Hi.

I have sadly decided that I will be retiring my Contax G2 and its wonderful lenses... It's too expensive to run and I have a Rollei 2.8 which I prefer if I'm doing important stuff and want film.

I want a digital camera that meets the following specs:

• High quality zoom lens
• Small and ergonomical
• output in RAW
• good in low-light
• Robust

Any ideas? I like the look of the Ricoh GR stuff, but want a zoom - this camera is for convenience and quick shots!

Thanks.

 

[Bobfrance]

Fuji X10 is probably the best contender, but it's not a G2 by a long way.

 

[chilohm]

Thanks Bob. Anyone used the Canon G1x? Ugly as hell, but good specs by the looks of things.

 

[Bobfrance]

Happy to help Jack. 🙂
From my experience (tried but not owned) the Canon G1x is similar but the viewfinder and general handling of the X10 is better. Tilt screen on the Canon is useful though.

Kuvvy has owned both and will be able to give you good insight.
Ricoh GXR is tempting also.

 

[back alley]

panasonic lx5...

 

[netoga]

Take a look at the Samsung NX series. They are P&S with APS-C sensor and interchangable lenses. That makes a huge difference.

 

[Bruno Gracia]

Canon s100, leica dlux 5, no so little: fuji x10.

 

[helen.HH]

Oh hey Jack ... Hello !!

I have been thinking about this too ... More for fun and late night play
And personally would prefer the camera to have its Own ONE lens

Narrowed it down to the small sensor Fuji X10 / loved some shots 'Kuvvy'' has done
Or the bigger sensor Leica X1/ X2

 

[wafflecakee]

If you need a zoom go with the s100. Otherwise GRD4!

 

[Don Parsons]

Panny LX5. I have one and I love it. That f2/3.3 Leica lens, a 24-90 zoom, great camera.

 

[f16sunshine]

If looking at the Fuji X10 for my mother who is a old fashion "Film" Photographer as she says it. The images I've seen so far have been super. I had an LX3 for a project a couple years ago. Certainly I would consider the LX5 as well since it's an update. The Fuji bug has bitten though. I'm very happy with the X series camera I have now.

 

[schaki]

The Fujifilm X10 seems to be a nice camera even though it have problem with Orbs. Fujifilm can replace that sensor within warranty if the camera is being sent in for service. GRDIV is good too but is like the Olympus XZ-1 and Samsung EX1 very much a raw-only compact because of the slightly heavy handed noise reduction. And NR off is not real off as for GRDII and GRDIII.

 

[River Dog]

For true pocketability, the S95 or S100. The LX5 will not fit in trouser/pants pocket and the lens hood drove me nuts.

 

[jmkelly]

+1 on the Panasonic LX5. Always in my briefbag. Love the GUI.

 

[Dogman]

I agree with the LX5 folks. The big plus for me is the zoom range (equiv. 24-90) and lens speed. Image quality is surprisingly good and it can be fitted with a useable EVF for eyelevel shooting. All the small sensor cameras are weak at higher ISOs so you have to consider that a compromise. I still love my older Canon G10 due to its outstanding image quality at low ISOs but it lags behind at the higher ISOs and the viewfinder pretty much sucks. The G1X reviews I've seen indicate it performs well at low and high ISOs but it's saddled with a slow lens (on the telephoto end where it's needed most) and Canon still can't provide a good optical viewfinder for their Powershots. I wanted to love the Fuji X10 but I owned one less than 24 hours before returning it. It was simply not a good fit for me despite all its good points.

 

[chilohm]

Thank you all for your ideas and views. Still undecided! Lots of love for the Panasonic, the Canon s100 sounds interesting, mixed views on the X10, some other interesting suggestions (particularly the Ricoh GR range - I'd be interested in views on this, although I know it is fixed focal length). What to do?!

Think I've decided against the Canon G1X - too big and clunky, although I do like the control and the IQ.

Thanks again...

 

[River Dog]

As I said, I had the LX5 and it just didn't go out enough. Canon S95 is flat in my pocket, goes everywhere and no lens cap to fiddle with. Job done.

 

[chilohm]

As I said, I had the LX5 and it just didn't go out enough. Canon S95 is flat in my pocket, goes everywhere and no lens cap to fiddle with. Job done.

Great shot! The light's beautiful. I really like the look of the S100. Might try to have a go with it over the weekend...

 

[River Dog]

Great shot! The light's beautiful. I really like the look of the S100. Might try to have a go with it over the weekend...

Thanks. The S95 is £50 cheaper on Amazon and just as good.

 

[bigeye]

Jack:

I travel a lot and went with a S100. I like it very much for what it is; a very good image producer in a tiny package - about the size of a deck of cards. Image is really good to about 8x10.

The 24mm @ f2 is very nice as is, deceptively, build quality. It holds up to pocket abuse well, but doesn't look like much.

It's basically replaced the D90 for impromptu snaps (for anything premeditated, the 'blad or 4x5 get unlimbered). It's thoughtless to carry, draws zero attention and you don't feel unarmed if you run into something interesting.

Cons: Your Rollei will not feel threatened by its images, but they are surprisingly good. Follow-up shots are boggy, but the fire-5 (spray & pray) mode helps with that. I hate not having a viewfinder, but its a price of its size.

You can shoot RAW with it, but I've not been able to improve on the jpegs for most shots. I'm not the greatest PS person, but I can usually improve a RAW image. I thought I would have to spend a lot of time on the computer with its images, but there is some really good math going on inside.

I think a lot of the same can be said for most small cameras today. The main distinction of the S100 is its tiny size.

- Charlie