High end compact advice please.

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Aledafis

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Aled
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Hi, I'm considering buying a high end compact (P7000, G12, S95 etc) to carry with me and to complement/as a backup for my D300. I'd love a Leica, but they're way out of my budget!

My criteria for the compact is that I want excellent picture quality, rangefinder type handling (a viewfinder would be nice, but not essential) a decent zoom lens and it needs to be compact/pocketable. My budget is a max £400. I've done quite a bit of reading of reviews etc. but the more I read, the more confused I get. Can you guys advise me as to your experience with cameras in this category. At the moment, I think that the P7000 is slightly ahead, but I'm still not sure...

I'll (probably) be selling my Konica Hexar RF to fund this purchase. I really love my Hexar to bits, it exudes quality and craftsmanship (I take it off the shelf and fondle it almost daily), but unfortunately I find that it simply doesn't get used anywhere near enough for me to justify keeping it. I bought the Hexar about 6 months ago, and I'm ashamed to say that I've only put about 5 rolls of film through it, digital is just so much more convenient. I don't have enough posts here to sell in the classifieds, so I'd be most grateful if you could point me to a dealer that might be interested in buying my beloved rangefinder.

Many thanks
Aled
 
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would love to hear peoples thoughts on this, i have been toying with the idea of a G12, but friends are putting me off saying about sensor size & poor image quality on compacts & saying that these compact cams with interchangeable lens would be a better option like the Olympus pen for example
 
Yes I've considered a MFT camera, but once you fit a zoom lens they get fairly bulky. MTF cameras are out of my budget anyway, so not really an option for me, but from the images I've seen on here and elsewhere, the quality is superb.
 
Faced with the same situation (albeit a year or so ago so less choice) I wound up with an S90 as I thought that if I'm getting a compact, I may as well get a compact, not a mini-brick that the G12 is.

IQ wise it is great and with a fast f/2 lens and ok up to ISO 800 for normal sized prints I am delighted with it and I like to shoot with natural light.
 
When I wanted a decent compact, I went for an LX5. I don't like the controls on the G11 that my hubby has, I find then really fiddly and difficult. The LX5 has really intuitive controls in my opinion and is a good size. I wondered long and hard about a MFT, but knew then I'd be buying into another system and just buy more lens's!
 
Thanks for your comments. What's the shutter lag like on the smaller cameras? I understand that it's not too bad on the G12 and the P7000, but what about the S95, Lx5 and the XZ-1?
 
I have a G11 and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a high end compact. I wanted more of a zoom that was offered with the S90. The viewfinder on it is rubbish though, I dont know why they continue with it as it is no use to anyone!

To be honest the image quality on all of the above are really good. I use the G11 upto ISO800 without too much bother, although I try and keep it below ISO400 if I am going to make a larger print.
 
Aledafis said:
Thanks for your comments. What's the shutter lag like on the smaller cameras? I understand that it's not too bad on the G12 and the P7000, but what about the S95, Lx5 and the XZ-1?
Click to expand...
Shutter lag at full autofocus
Canon S95 - 0.64 sec for single shot
Panasonic LX5 - 0.32 sec for single shot
Olympus XZ- - 0.45 sec for single shot
 
There have been quite a few threads like this recently.

The G12 and S95 are very similar, it really depends on if you'd rather have a smaller (and cheaper) camera (S95) or bigger camera with a hotshoe and more zoom(G12).
 
adam_229 said:
Shutter lag at full autofocus
Canon S95 - 0.64 sec for single shot
Panasonic LX5 - 0.32 sec for single shot
Olympus XZ- - 0.45 sec for single shot
Click to expand...

Wow, over half a second, that's an age compared to my D300, however the S95 is the most pocketable by far, so it's still in the running. I'm beginning to think that the P7000/G12 may be a bit bulky for my liking...

The LX5 has quite good reviews as does it's Leica couterpart/twin. The Leica comes out very well indeed in the reviews I've read as I believe that it processes the pics differently in camera, but costs almost twice as much!

Why are decisions like this so difficult???
 
The times include metering and focus but once these things are done, or you do them for the camera, they work as soon as you push the button.

I'm on my second Panasonic LX camera and I don't belive that the Leica badged models are worth a single penny more.
 
I tried both the LX-5 and S95 in a shop recently. I preferred the panny for handling but image quality of the S95 was superb, beating the LX-5 in my opinion. The ZX-1 is meant to be useful too, but not tried. However, neither came close to what I wanted from a high end compact, so i am wondering if my expectations are too high. There are compromises everywhere.
 
I've been going down this road too.

Can anyone tell me if the LX5 lens retracts fully or not? [I have no shops near me :'(] My impression is that the S95 is the more "pocketable" of the two - am I correct?
 
The S95 is tiny! it will deff fit in normal trouser pocket. I think the XZ is similar in size.

I found the images from the S95 to be pretty good and in some cases as good as most DSLR's. Deff pretty amazing for the size of camera and sensor.
 
Norseman said:
Can anyone tell me if the LX5 lens retracts fully or not? [I have no shops near me :'(] My impression is that the S95 is the more "pocketable" of the two - am I correct?
Click to expand...

The LX5 lens does not fully retract into the body. The S95 is definately the more pocketable of the 2.
 
The S95 is the smallest by far, the lx5 and zx1 are positively chunky in comparison. None have any zoom so to speak, if you want zoom I think the G12 would be more suitable.

The s95 is a good low light camera, can produce some good pics in dark pubs, has a low light mode which compresses image size to eliminate noise, excellent manual control, and will slide into jeans/trouser pocket without effort.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. As I want it to be truly pocketable, I've decided to go for the S95 - otherwise I may as well stick with the DSLR.

All I need to do now is find a retailer with it actually in stock - not as easy as I expected it to be!

Danny_Two said
can produce some good pics in dark pubs
Click to expand...
Mmm ... sounds good! Must remember to try should I ever find myself in such a location :D
 
Popped into John Lewis for my s95 and they price matched warehouse expresss who were £30 cheaper.
 
That's good to know. However, I've already placed an order online elsewhere. I should have checked the supplier here first I fear so I may need the JL option yet!
 
I also succumbed to the S95 this morning, it's pocketability was the deciding factor in the end, that and the fact that so many of you recommended it for it's image quality. I can't wait to get my hands on it now.

The only reservation I have is that I ordered from Simply Electronics, before reading that they have a pretty poor history for customer service! I really hope that they come good with this transaction! ARRRGHHH!:cuckoo::shake::cuckoo:

Many thanks for your advice

Aled
 
Pocketability is the key - the MFT stuff is too bulky, if I was going to bother with that, I'd take the SLR instead.

Enjoy taking photos of just anything when you feel like it - I do!
 
I don't want to come across as too much of a MFT fanboy but a couple of points should be kept in mind...

MFT leave even high end compacts in the dust for IQ, useability in a range of shooting conditions, responsiveness and control and are beginning to eclipse even mid range DSLR's.

MFT are no bigger and probably more compact than the quality compact cameras and rangefinders many of us used to or indeed still use. For example my GF1+20mm f1.7 fits into my lightest jackets inside pocket and that's something that my Canonette or Bessa R couldn't manage.

A basic GF1+20mm f1.7 setup is very discrete and portable and even a GH2 with several lenses is much much much more compact than an equivalent DSLR setup.
 
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Agree with the above but the OP requested "a decent zoom lens" so to remain pocketable that put's all CSC's out the running.
 
Yes, I was replying to Kyedr's comments, not the op's.
 
LOL, "Kyedr" - there's a gag there somewhere...

But yes, the MFT's rapidly become bulky if you don't stick to the wide prime lenses, whereas the compacts give you zooms and pretty decent focal lengths.

Its swings and roundabouts really, but the first rule of photography is "be there", the rule before that presumably is "have a camera" and because of that IMHO a decent compact is the way forward.
 
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