Which compact up to £400, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panny etc

petrolhead

petrolhead

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Having now got the 7D and I after a walkabout holday compact thats good quality and my girfriend can use. My budget is up to £400 max.

I seem to keep looking at the Nikon P7000 which gets goods reviews (Trusted Reviews and PhotoBLOG). What I like is the high resolution LCD (Like my 7D), zoom range. high ISO quality.

Other alternatives seem to be the Canon G12, Olympus Pen, Panny LX5. Also the NEX5 Sony gets rave reviews but I think it is out of my price rance. Money no objuct the new Fuji X100 is getting talked about with excellent near SLR quaility High ISO

So has anyone got any views and if someone with the Nikon can comment re the speed of the P7000 whuich is my only concern.
 
Have you had a look at the new Olympus XZ-1, it's in the same category as the P series Nikon and the S series Canons.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/

Lots of proper manual controls, like a ring on the lens for example. This is also the first ever compact from Olympus to carry the Zuiko name, which is a bit of a statement in its self.

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Have you checked out the Canon S90 or S95 (latter has HD movie mode)? You'd have a bit of spare change in your pocket too ;)
 
How important is a big zoom range and HD movie mode to you?
 
petrolhead said:
So has anyone got any views and if someone with the Nikon can comment re the speed of the P7000 whuich is my only concern.
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I can thoroughly recommend the P7000. I bought one at launch and struggled with the old firmware issues. The latest firmware successfully addressed these and now the camera is superb as it should be.
My Dad liked mine so much he ditched his Panasonix Lumix FZ100 to buy one, he loves it too, and he is as fussy as they come!
It feels good and solid and IQ is great. I dont think its speed is much of an issue, it certainly isnt much slower than the competition and when you consider the zoom range and IQ, there is nothing to touch it. It also has a viewfinder and although it is pretty basic, it does a good job and makes the camera useable in all condition.
I eventually sold mine to help fund a leica X1. Now theres a camera!!!!!
You could look at an X100, but with a fixed 35mm lens and over 3 times the cost of the Nikon, still with tweaking to be done, I think your best bet is the P7000
Go for it.
Allan
 
Another vote for the Canon S90/95 here, handily smaller than the G series and cheaper, but with the same sensor.
 
I would go for a S95 if you need something small, or a LX5 or G12 if you don't mind the size.

That new Olympus XZ1 does look rather nice.
 
Thanks for the feedback

Had a look at the DP review as linked above but unimpressed with high ISO resolution compared to an Olympus EPL1, even the P7000 looses out to that.

HD Video not important. 5x is ok and ISO more importantthe larger zoom

Popped into Jesops as I needed a bag for the 7D and had a look at the Nikon P7000 and G12 and I preferred the Canon but I am still not convinced so still looking.

As I will use this mainly for pub/night time shots and when I go on holiday high ISOP ability is important.

I currently have a Fuji F200EXR and wonder if I should just stick with it or pass on to the girlfriend and treat myself :)

Edit: Just had a look at the Sony NEX 5 on PhotoBLAG, its ISO performance looks brill, yes I know its out my price range :(
 
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petrolhead said:
... unimpressed with high ISO resolution compared to an Olympus EPL1, even the P7000 looses out to that....
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Yeah but unless you're buying a £200 pancake lens for it it isn't going to be a 'compact', neither would the Sony NEX.
Their kit lenses make them seriously larger than the real compact options, ... but you would have an excellent alternative to your big camera.
 
Just got the S95 - stunning quality and nice and girly sized. Should qualify that by saying that I bought it for me as a 'pocketable' walk-about.......... and the wife's nicked it:thumbsdown:
 
Ulfric M Douglas said:
Yeah but unless you're buying a £200 pancake lens for it it isn't going to be a 'compact', neither would the Sony NEX.
Their kit lenses make them seriously larger than the real compact options, ... but you would have an excellent alternative to your big camera.
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Thanks for reining me in, you are, of course very right. I am starting to miss my own point ie somit thats not an slr with all its lenses.

So will look are more infor on the G12, which I still fancy, and the S95 which may be more practical
 
IMVHO compact cameras can't compete with MFT for image quality, doubly so at higher ISO but as you know you need a bigger pocket for a MFT... but maybe not significantly bigger than for a G12 or similar which seem to be quite large despite having a tiny sensor.
 
Sorry, Micro Four Thirds...

Panasonic GF1,2, Olympus Pen etc.
 
S95 is nice, but I prefer the extra bulk of the G12. I have to hold the S95 like I do the iPhone, but the G12 I use like a chimney finder held at waist height, with the dials looking up at me. I get way better handholding speeds as a result.
 
s95 or g12 - prob g12

although the g10 and the lx3 just as good I reckon
 
davidch99 said:
s95 or g12 - prob g12

although the g10 and the lx3 just as good I reckon
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The 10 was not as good as the 11/12 dies to it dence sensor

Rmacleod90 said:
What about the Sony nex-3 If you are so taken witty the 5 but concerned about price?
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Yes but I think Ulfric made me think hard and I decided I just want a compact and not fussing about with lenses.

So the G12 and S95 although I pref the look of the G12 and I already have a Fuji 200 small, in your pocket compact that my girlfirend will use

I can also get the G12 for £335 so that may swing things
 
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dd1989 said:
Have you had a look at the new Olympus XZ-1, it's in the same category as the P series Nikon and the S series Canons.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusXZ1/

Lots of proper manual controls, like a ring on the lens for example. This is also the first ever compact from Olympus to carry the Zuiko name, which is a bit of a statement in its self.
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Nice. I'll have to check that out, actually the Olympus trip 35 had a zuiko lens, I suppose that qualifies as a compact ;-)

And the best part is its full frame lol.

I'm actually running some film through one at the moment, such a fun little camera and I picked it up in a charity shop for 50p a few years back while on holiday in the UK. The selenium meter and everything else still works fine, not bad for a 40 year old camera.
 
Not a fan of Nikon compacts, but the new P300 is really nice.
Alternatively, the G12/S95 is a good option, and the Olympus is good too, very similar to the P300.

If you want a compact with a long zoom and decent quality the new Nikon S9100 will do it, but it's not as good as the P300 image quality
 
Another vote for the S90 here. Mine has been sat on, dropped many times, been ran over by a bicycle, got covered in sand, got wet, and cracked the LCD screen a little but it's still going strong :).
 
Imaging Resource (Click here) tested the Olympus XZ-1:

“Olympus has entered the flagship digicam fight with a winner. It’s learned from its competitors, avoiding the brick in favor of an almost too svelte box, adding a manual control with the lens ring, including a pop-up flash and a hot shoe, avoiding the noise of a 14-megapixel sensor for the sanity of a 10-megapixel sensor, delivering a versatile zoom range that starts wide enough, and concentrating on optical performance.”
 
I ended up getting a g12 and so far very pleased

Thanks for all the input :)
 
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