Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Compact Digital Cameras
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Digital SLR Cameras
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:03 am    Post subject: Compact Digital Cameras Reply with quote
Has anyone got one? I've been toying with the idea of getting one, just to keep in my jacket pocket - my Olympus XA2 is dying and I am missing shots because the shutter button sometimes does not work Sad

So I was thinking, maybe a Ricoh GX100 (my local shop has them on offer right now), or a Panasonic LX2 - basically I want a RAW shooter with a zoom which is small. Any recommendations?


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
No way Smile use a phone Laughing


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The Canon G9 seems to be popular if you need RAW. I shot with a Nikon Coolpix P4 for a couple of months before I picked up the D200 and it's very capable (although without Raw) but since I got the D200 I haven't used it - actually if you're interested I can offer a good deal on a nr mint boxed one...


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes ,the G series from Canon looks a good one but I like more the G6 seeing its capabilities and features you can not find on the G9, like the multiangle LCD screen and the top LCD (like the dSLRs have) and more important, the faster lens (+1 f stop)!
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong6/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/
I'd like one for street shooting . The only problem could be the shutter lag (which is a problem in the case of compact digital cameras) .


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
A phone, Atilla? I hate phones - I would rather not take pictures than have someone calling me all the time. Ugh... Smile


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I would buy a Ricoh GX100. It's little and has a 24mm wideangle zoom! And it's made for serious photographers, not simple night party snapshooters. Jesito has one and he is very happy with it.

I like more the photos of the Canon G9, but it's bulky and heavy, certainly not suitable for carrying always with oneself. And the zooms starts on 35mm.

The Panasonic LX2 would be my second choice. 28mm wideangle, but good quality only at lower ISO levels.

Buy whatever you like and enjoy it! Very Happy


PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Dennis,

I got a Caplio GX100 and I'm in love with it. Light, robust and with a nice features set. It's not specially cheap, but it is what I needed from a compact camera. I got some others previously, and in short time I was thinking it was not the one. I got a Lumix LX50, a canon Powershot A540, a Nikon one...
I've owned the Caplio for more than one year, and it will be with forever.
The other contender in the selection was the Canon G7.
I didn't choose it because the defective sealing that allowed dust going into the lens, but was a nice one as well.

Jes.


PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've always like this guy's work with the Ricoh GR-D:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

I think this is an older model to the GX100(?) Really like his BW
conversions. Check the Bangkok, Tokyo, etc, for the GR-D pics.

Bill


PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Katastrofo wrote:
I've always like this guy's work with the Ricoh GR-D:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/

I think this is an older model to the GX100(?) Really like his BW
conversions. Check the Bangkok, Tokyo, etc, for the GR-D pics.

Bill


Hi Bill. The GR-D and the GX100 are different beasts, all share in common a weigthleigt titanium similar body, but the GR-D has a fixed length lens and the GX-100 has a 24-70 zoom instead. The GR-D is a digital version of the well reputated film camera GR.
Recently Ricoh has launched the GR-D II an improved version of the GR-D, still with fixed length lens.

I tried the GR-D before buying the GX100 and found too limitted (to me) only using a fixed lenght lens of 28mm, but otherwise excellent.
The sensor is 8mpx instead of the 10mpx one in the GX100 and has an automatic lens covering system. (In the GX100 you have to take the lens cover on/off).

The new GR-D II has the same sensor than the GX100 (10mpix) and a bigger LCD screen. If one can work only with a focal lenght of 28mm this is a wonderful camera.

Jes.


PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
The above mentioned Ricoh cams are pretty nice as secondary cams for SLR shooters like us.
I have always liked the results of Kodak digital cams, especially if you do not want to / plan to post-produce the pics. They are "ready" when you get them out of the cam. The same is true for Sony cams and these are even quicker.
A very small and still versatile cam is the Ricoh Caplio R8.

The new Sigma DP-1 compact cam offers an "28"mm lens and a 14 MPix APS-C size sensor! I think this is a very interesting cam!


PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
The above mentioned Ricoh cams are pretty nice as secondary cams for SLR shooters like us.
I have always liked the results of Kodak digital cams, especially if you do not want to / plan to post-produce the pics. They are "ready" when you get them out of the cam. The same is true for Sony cams and these are even quicker.
A very small and still versatile cam is the Ricoh Caplio R8.

The new Sigma DP-1 compact cam offers an "28"mm lens and a 14 MPix APS-C size sensor! I think this is a very interesting cam!


Yes, it is. Is quite like the Caplio.
After your comment I notice I forgot to mention the GX100 is able of shooting RAW as well, it provides standard Adobe DNG files.

Jes.


PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If I get a compact at all, it will be the GX100 I think. Jes, do you use the electronic viewfinder attachment? Wondering whether it's worth the extra money....

BUT I'm ALSO still wondering whether I would take different/more pictures with a compact. Today, I was in town to see a friend for coffee and there was a protest about budget cuts for the fire brigade (the people who put the fires out). So, I just pulled a camera out - Olympus E-400, Nikkor 180mm f2.8 ED - and took a few pictures, thinking I could send them to the organisers later and, also, to one of the local politicans who was there too. It wasn't till I was back home that I realised I had taken an SLR and a couple of lenses with me!



Some people are devoted compact users - I respect that. But I am wondering whether I'm a natural small SLR user who just wants a new toy to play with!??


PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well, you can't take a DSlr always in your pocket as you can do with the digicam. The digicam is just a complement, not a substitute to the DSlr. I can tell you, I have both, but when I can, I use the DSlr without a shadow of a doubt.

Pictures are quite different, the DOF is much longer that with the DSlr. Noise is an issue in low light and the colors are not that good, but you can take very good and sharpen images with the digicam. I have some put on 30x40 frames, and very happy with them.

If you prefer the DSlr, just go for the new Olympus 2,8/25 Pancake lens. It's really little.





PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
The new Sigma DP-1 compact cam offers an "28"mm lens and a 14 MPix APS-C size sensor! I think this is a very interesting cam!


The image size and the real resolution is 4.7Mp -- that 14 Mp is the product of counting each pixel site three times to account for the three colors at exactly the same spot. This is mostly just a marketing gimmick, but also connected to the color resolution loss of the competing Bayer matrix sensors. Depending on the subject, the average real IQ is probably equivalent to an about 9 Mp Bayer matrix camera.

Veijo


PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
vilva wrote:
The image size and the real resolution is 4.7Mp -- that 14 Mp is the product of counting each pixel site three times to account for the three colors at exactly the same spot. This is mostly just a marketing gimmick, but also connected to the color resolution loss of the competing Bayer matrix sensors.

That's true. But the key is "interpolation". You can easily get a picture out of a 4.7 MPix Foveon that equals my 350D.

vilva wrote:
Depending on the subject, the average real IQ is probably equivalent to an about 9 Mp Bayer matrix camera.

Ah, ok. Agreed. So, what's the point? Isn't that enough?
Effective 9 MPix APS will be much better than any 10 or 12 MPix compact CCD. Wink

Actually, I have stopped to care about Megapixels after the 350D. These 8 MPix have always been enough. That is one of the reasons why I am not at all concerned that the 10 MPix of the 40D might not be enough of an improvement compared to my 350D. I don't need more. Very Happy


PostPosted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 10:17 pm    Post subject: More on the Caplio Reply with quote
One of the things that I like more on the Caplio GX100 is his "stepped zoom mode" that allows working in a very MFL way.
You can choose two zoom modes: continuous, or stepped. In the last mode, at any time you press the zoom-in button, the camera skips to the next zoom step: 24, 28, 35, 50 and 72 mm. (the same back pressing the zoom-out button).
Adding this to the excellent manual focusing mode, one can work with the Caplio in the same way you work with a dSLR and a MF lens.

Jes.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:

That's true. But the key is "interpolation". You can easily get a picture out of a 4.7 MPix Foveon that equals my 350D.

vilva wrote:
Depending on the subject, the average real IQ is probably equivalent to an about 9 Mp Bayer matrix camera.

Ah, ok. Agreed. So, what's the point? Isn't that enough?
Effective 9 MPix APS will be much better than any 10 or 12 MPix compact CCD. Wink

Actually, I have stopped to care about Megapixels after the 350D. These 8 MPix have always been enough. That is one of the reasons why I am not at all concerned that the 10 MPix of the 40D might not be enough of an improvement compared to my 350D. I don't need more. Very Happy


I agree, but many people go for the Mpix and that 14 Mpix claim is quite misleading. Of course, also the Bayer matrix pixel counts are a bit misleading, there are losses due to the filtering even if you convert to B&W.

Veijo


PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I remember the first Fuji digi-cams (not SLRs) that were advertised as being 6 Mpix but it was only when you read the spec properly that it emerged that the cameras were actually 3.2 Mpix and achieved 6 Mpix through interpolation.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Juanma wrote:

If you prefer the DSlr, just go for the new Olympus 2,8/25 Pancake lens. It's really little.


Yes, it looks to be about the same size as my D40 with Ultron 40mm f/2 Smile



The Canon G series was mentioned; my first digital camera was a Canon G1. It had its good points, like a constant f/2 zoom lens, but was terribly noisy and brick-like rather than svelte. I got it at the time because dSLR were really expensive then, and the G1 gave me PSAM modes, exposure compensation, raw files.


PostPosted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Oh by the way the noise in the G1 was due to the wierd four colour sensor, CMYG. In theory that would be better but in practice, it was not. They went to a Bayer RGGB from the G2 onwards and noise reduced.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
vilva wrote:
I agree, but many people go for the Mpix and that 14 Mpix claim is quite misleading...


Very true. And I appreciate Nikons courage to come out with the D3, a full frame sensor with "only" 12 MPix. It seems that Nikon, at least on this cam level, does not want to participate in the ridiculous Megapixel rat race.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
LucisPictor wrote:
And I appreciate Nikons courage to come out with the D3, a full frame sensor with "only" 12 MPix. It seems that Nikon, at least on this cam level, does not want to participate in the ridiculous Megapixel rat race.


Agreed. The D300 has 12Mpix. The D3 has 12 MPix, but better IQ. Good for them, rather than saying 'Canon has 25 so we better have 30'.


PostPosted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Nikon has only 12mb because the 25mb Sony chip was not ready Mr. Green


PostPosted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If i choose 1 compact digital, i will go for the a shock & water resistant Olympus. It would be helpful for some place i dont want to risk my SLR, such as beaches, mountains or rainy days.
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Digital SLR Cameras
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2