Best point and shoot

[dvbear]

I'm looking to buy a camera to lug around when traveling with my girlfriend. I already have a DSLR but I find it tiring to carry around, so usually I leave it at home.

I'm looking at the Canon G9 and the Panasonic LX3.

Seen some good reviews on both but I was wondering if anyone else had an opinion.

[DannyRaphael]

Panasonic LX3 gets super reviews; it's on my short list too. But note fairly short zoom. According to info I've read it's not ideal for "semi far away" shots; very good for close-ups and wide angle. Suitability depends on the nature of pix you'll be taking.

I'm a DSLR shooter, too. One thing that took some "re-getting used to" for me: Delay between press of he shutter release button press until actual shot taken. Because of this delay one can miss a lot of action shots (or facial expressions) with a P/S that a DSLR will capture.

More "noise" than DSLR can be an issue, too = more post production cleanup using Noise Ninja, Topaz DeNoise or your plugin of choice.

FYI: I got a Fuji F100 (about $200 less than LX3 at the time; couldn't justify LX3). Fuji is O.K., not great. I know its limitations and can usually get around them.

Good luck on your hunt.

[dvbear]

Danny, sadly I understand all the things I will be missing out by not using my DSLR, the thing is I'd like a 24/7 camera and carrying my Canon XSi with two lenses around is just too cumbersome.

I'm thinking of using this to capture those special moments at non-special events. My main concern is low-light conditions and the compactness.

I was going to get the Canon G9 but I've heard it sucks in low light and its pretty big for a compact camera so now I'm looking at the LX3 and the Olympus EP-1.

[philbach]

Well I use a Canon PowerShot SX200. It has a nice 12x zoom which I use a lot and image stabilization. It takes excellent HDV movies too. 12 megapixels gives one plenty of cropping leeway. Macro is good and fun to use. What it also does is that it easily blows out the Highlights so if I am shooting an egret or some white object in bright sunlight I need to underexpose it by 2 stops. That is easy to do. At times it has a hard time focusing on objects that are fairly close. Like if you are focusing a flower blossom at times it might focus on the ground.

Enclosed is a photo I took two days ago with the camera of this egret from about 75 feet away in the bright sunlight. I set the camera at minus two stops.

Its a nice compact camera and I recommend it. Its quality is not as good as a SLR but its sure a nice size

[Quantum3]

I would go for the Canon, specially because itis able to shot in RAW!

[philbach]

My Camera Canon PowerShot SX200 that I was referring to does not shoot in Raw.

[Quantum3]

Originally Posted by philbach

My Camera Canon PowerShot SX200 that I was referring to does not shoot in Raw.

"I'm looking at the Canon G9 and the Panasonic LX3". The Canon shots in RAW.

[dvbear]

The Panasonic LX3 does shoot raw. And Quantum3 your online portfolio is sick. Do your pictures all come out like that? or do you do a lot of skillfull post processing?

Also, where do you go to find models to shoot?

[Quantum3]

Originally Posted by dvbear

The Panasonic LX3 does shoot raw. And Quantum3 your online portfolio is sick. Do your pictures all come out like that? or do you do a lot of skillfull post processing?

Also, where do you go to find models to shoot?

Lol... seems compact cameras are getting the lead of RAW... Don't know the panasonic one, but I f¡guess is compact. I would chosee the most manual-like among those 2 types of cameras, definitely.

Thanks for the comment about my port, shame I cannot show bigger pics there... It's all about post with the pics.

Mart

[pavel123]

I have Panasonic Lumix FZ30. Can't say I am entirely happy with the camera. The problem (which to the best of my knowledge is common to all Panasonic cameras) is that at higher ISO settings it generates quite a lot of noise. Pretty much any picture is noisy unless it is taken in a broad daylight and full sunshine.
Best place to check would be DPReviews. They have very detailed reviews for practically any model currently on the market.

[Quantum3]

Pavel nailed it.

Will write here some kind of "must know before buying" thing.

The most important paramater to keep in mind when buying a camera is the noise (besides the inclusion of RAW format), not the bigger amount of megapixels, all the opposite. The less amount of sensor pixels, the less static (noise). This is not a paradigm, but when the sensor size was built to hold X number of pixels, surpassing that amount overwhelms the pixels capacity to hold the electric discharge of the photons when these touch the sensor pixels, producing much more noise than needed. In few words: more pixels = more noise. Then: the more pixels the more bigger the sensor should be in order to keep the pixels size enough big to hold enough data without the pixels getting overwhelmed by the photons discharge = less noise. So, never buy a camera with tons of megapixels inside of pretty small sensors. There is a new technology, I haven't seen yet, which covers the sensor with a kind of gel (some silicon stuff) which diminishes the static quite a lot, but haven't seen nothing with that technology yet.

Now, what's the advantage of having the less noise possible?

The advantage is that you get more tonal values, which means having more useful data to play with. For example, a good width of tonal values produce more softer transitions, specially good for gray scaled (BW) images.

Hope this help,

Mart

[Nasturtium]

I have a smaller version of the Panasonic and yeah, I have to set the ISO at max 400 or it's too noisy. But I love the quick presets and the wide lens. It's great for travel. Add one of those tiny tripods and you're in business

There is a learning curve switching from Canon to Panasonic-as the bells and whistles (auto bracket, changing from face recognition to different focus areas) are in different places but ultimately the Panasonic controls are easier to access and more logical - to me anyway.

[Kraellin]

i'd choose one from this page: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/comp...age=1&remove=2

these are the point and shoot super-zooms or megazooms. the one thing you're going to miss most by not using the slr is telephoto. so, use a super-zoom. i think any one of these could be worn on the belt (in a proper case) and you'd always have it with you. you can have the best camera in the world, but if you dont have it with you... lost shots.

the super-zooms start at around 15x optical, though i always throw away those in side by side comparisons. i wouldnt get anything less than an 18x optical and there's now one with a 30x optical.

several of these do shoot in raw and all are 12 megapixels or above. ALL have manual focus. that is one thing you MUST have, for as philbach pointed out, the autofocus, especially on close-ups, sucks on all point and shoots. sorry, but they suck. it's quite hard to get that bee on the flower in focus with autofocus. so, that's a must for point and shoots. (trust me on this one. i've got dozens of wasted pics where the focus is just slightly off despite taking my time, being steady and all the rest)

one thing i do miss with point and shoots is that there's no manual zoom. i dont think any of them have it. the zooms on the compacts are electric. this wastes battery juice and is fairly inaccurate as the drives dont stop where you want them. there's always a little travel beyond where you remove your finger from the zoom trigger. this is a design flaw in all the point and shoots. i dont care if the lens collapses into the body. give me manual zoom for accuracy and save the battery!

RAW is not quite as important to me as some other things. yes, if you're going to do hdri get RAW, but with the sophistication of computer programs now, RAW has become a secondary issue with me. still, if you can get it, why not?

as for the noise issue, the folks have covered this pretty well already. i'll just add a note to this. if you like long shutter exposures, like at night and such, make sure you look at the minimum shutter times on those cameras. some are quite short and this may not be enough for night time shots. also, my little kodak does remarkably well at night, in the dark, no flash, just long exposures. i was quite surprised. so, +1 for kodak on this point.

frankly, i'd like to see cameras 'smartened' up again. right now, especially in the point and shoots, they've been dumbed down quite a bit. i like manual settings, not automatic. i'd like point and shoot that wasnt so much point and shoot but made you know how a camera works. what aperture setting, lighting, focus, zoom, good glass, good sensor and with a viewfinder. a lot of the lcd screens are unviewable in certain lighting situations.

i have yet to find the point and shoot that does all i'd like it to do. just a quick for instance, the new nikon offers time lapse capability. brilliant! but everyone else seems to have forgotten this wonderful photographic technique.

i'd also like to see shutter release cables brought back. i dont like using a timer for this. give me a manual cable that i can go 'click!' when i want!

lol. sorry, i'm writing a book again, arent i ok, maybe i'll start a camera wishlist thread

[Kraellin]

but here's my new favorite in the point and shoot super-zooms. it's not quite on the market yet, but coming in april, according to kodak. this puppy is HOT!

http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...specifications

there's a LOT of bang for the buck there and i'm probably going to get this one!

[Kraellin]

well, i ordered it from the kodak store online! hehe, i'll hate the wait, but i think i'm going to love the camera!

[Nasturtium]

Craig,

Congratulations! I really appreciate how much research you put into choosing your camera. And I am looking forward to the thread where you put it through it's paces and tell us all about it.

- Nancy

[Michael 4c]

I have a G 9 and love it.Have you considered a G 11, I hear they are better with low light.

[bobmata]

Panasonic Lumix FZ38 has a built -in Leica lens. I Considered it to be a superzoom LX3. It can record HD with stereo audio while zooming or adjusting exposures manually.

[Kraellin]

hi nancy,

yes, i'll most likely post a write-up on it once i get it in april. it's not going to ship till the 9th, so all i can do is drool for now

bobmata,

i looked at the panasonic fz18, fz28, and now the fz35(38) and i was VERY tempted. it's an 18x optical, isnt a dslr but does have interchangeable lenses, has a lens thread, which almost nobody else in this class has, shoots in raw, has manual focus, a good minimum shutter, and does the things which you stated. i almost went for it... until i saw the kodak z981

[Kraellin]

well, i got the kodak z981 today. i got two emails from kodak saying they were shipping earlier than the 9th and also gave me a tracking number and link on the UPS shipping site so i could follow where it was. arrived today a little after noon!

it's quite a bit bigger than my other little point and shoot, the kodak z885, but i think i'll still be able to rig something up on my belt. again, here's the link to the kodak site: http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsu...ctID.169236500 .

i've already tried out the 26x optical zoom. all i can say is SWEET! ok, that's not all i can say it's the equivalent of a 676mm telephoto lens. and the megapixels are 14. i did a quick test comparison by shooting a cat laying in the grass a good 50 yards from me. at the 26x zoomed all the way in, the cat comes up almost full frame! and zoomed out i can barely see him in the grass.

the camera will shoot in RAW, but havent figured all that out yet. it does have a complete manual shoot mode for setting iso, shutter speed and f-stop. very slick and a handy little 'jog wheel' for setting each of those. most of the other buttons i'm somewhat familiar with already, review, menu setup and so on.

one particularly nice feature is that you dont have to use the 3" lcd screen. you can push another button on the body and use the electronic viewfinder. this was almost a must for me since i shoot a lot outdoors and those lcd's become almost useless in bright light.

it has a popup flash with 3 different modes to it.

and it has the standard wheel for setting those preset settings like 'outdoors', 'sports', 'closeup' and so on. plus, it can shoot video in, i think it's 1080 x 720. great for youtube and that sort of thing.

kodak has also added a 'share' button to make it easier to directly upload from the camera to sites like facebook and youtube. i'm not real crazy about that since i tend to edit everything first, but it could be quite handy for some.

it also has another little button that took me a while to figure out. it's a second shutter release button, but this one is positioned on the body of the camera for vertical shooting, you know, holding the camera on edge and shooting that way. there is actually a second shutter release button for shooting that way. also not a big seller for me, but some may appreciate it.

all in all i havent really put it through its paces yet. most likely i'll do that tomorrow out at the farm. ah, those geese are going to suddenly get closer so, more on this later