Compact recommendations

Flashman

Flashman

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,388
Name
Keith
Edit My Images
No
I know I should really research this myself but am hampered by the fact that I'm a lazy git so thought I'd ask you lot first!

I'm going with the family to see Mickey in Florida next month and don't fancy lugging the DSLR around so am looking for a good compact.

Features that matter to me:
Slim and easily pocketable;
Decent optical zoom range;
Good high ISO performance;
Short shutter lag;
Splashproof;
Battery life;
Relatively decent built in flash.

Not bothered about:
Loads of pixels (I won't be enlarging any shots much);
Brand (I don't care if it's Nikon, Canon or anything else);
Budget (No figure in mind, I'd rather pay a bit more for the right camera);
Colour choice (as long as it's not pink!);

Any suggestions?

TIA, Flashy
 
I spend ages choosing a compact and in the end there was only one choice. Canon G9. I've had one for about 4 months now and absolutely love the thing. Its got an f2.8 lens, ISO 1600, RAW and the full range of auto and manual settings that you'd expect from a decent spec SLR.

I can't think of any more I'd want from a compact.

and...

I've just been up the the Lakes for the weekend and my G9 got soaked. It seemed to have survived all fine and dandy so it looks like it's got a reasonable level of weather proofing too. A great camera by all standards I think.
 
I would suggest the G9 as well but i seem to remember you thinking it was too big ( might be wrong on that) In which case i would suggest the ixus. :)
 
Toothie said:
I would suggest the G9 as well but i seem to remember you thinking it was too big ( might be wrong on that) In which case i would suggest the ixus. :)
Click to expand...

I suppose the G9 is a bit bigger than a few other compacts but I'd say that it's worth evey millimetre.
 
I believe Olympus is what you would be looking for as they make some of the best splash-proof cameras, sorry but I am not sure of the exact model / type at the moment.
 
Mate of mine has just got a Panasonic Lumix TZ5 and it's a very nice bit of kit. 28mm Leica glass with 10x optical zoom. Cant comment on ISO performance as its been surprisingly sunny today in Somerset, but well worth trying one out to see if it suits you.
 
yup, the olympus is known to be very rugged although its more of a point and shoot I believe,
 
Thanks for all the ideas. The G9 recommended by Badger and Toothie looks like a contender, certainly tops for quality, I just need to decide if I want something more compact. I'll have a look at the Panasonic too, Chewy, thanks. A search of Wail's suggestion of the Olympus models brought up their SW range of mju's which will go completely underwater to a depth of a few feet... as xplosion points out, the quality won't be as good as the high end compacts but they are small and might be perfect for the 'swimming with dolphins' thing! Anybody have any experience of these?

Flashy
 
Flashman said:
Thanks for all the ideas. The G9 recommended by Badger and Toothie looks like a contender, certainly tops for quality, I just need to decide if I want something more compact. I'll have a look at the Panasonic too, Chewy, thanks. A search of Wail's suggestion of the Olympus models brought up their SW range of mju's which will go completely underwater to a depth of a few feet... as xplosion points out, the quality won't be as good as the high end compacts but they are small and might be perfect for the 'swimming with dolphins' thing! Anybody have any experience of these?

Flashy
Click to expand...

My work colleague who is quite action orientated takes it kayaking with him and just leaves it at the bottom of the kayak and it looks like its taken a beating but is in complete full working order, and he loves it
 
I opted for convenience over quality in the end and bought an Oly 1030 SW which arrived yesterday. I'm pleasantly surprised at the quality of the images, much better than I was expecting. Being able to get it as wet as I like, even taking it underwater if I need to, was the USP that sold it to me in the end though. Thanks for all the advice......... Flashy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top