Anyone advise decent small compact for when you don't have your DSLR with you ?

DJW

DJW

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Unless your Jamey or Sean, most of us don't take our DSLR's with us everywhere.....& then you miss that shot you would loved to have captured :headshake

When I used to shoot film with an OM-1, I found an excellent compact to carry around......a Yashica T1...with a great Carl Zeiss lens. Results from this camera were great for the size & acceptable to normal SLR bods on 5x7 prints.

I am now after an equivalent (although smaller please) for Digital. Without reading tons of reviews (I know nothing of the ultra compacts these days) can anyone advise their best choice. Spec I am looking for is :-

1) decent lens (3x optical zoom if possible, but not at loss of PQ)
2) will only be used for Web photo's so I assume 3 Mega Pixel is OK
3) Size - the smaller the better (eg fits in shirt pocket), otherwise I won't take it out with me
4) Price - ideally under £200
5) For point 1) & 2) PQ is more important than function.

After having a Minolta Z3 a few years back, which I like the PQ from, I was hoping the new X1 ultra small / slim model would be just the job....but reviews look average, with lots of noise in photos.

So what do you say peeps ? :D

PS. Sorry to drag this site down to compact talk ;) ......I'll never mention them again.
 
Get a Billingham then you can take your DSLR and everything else :D
 
i have a casioCalculatorcam™ QVr40 and that works well enough
 
CT said:
It's more than you want to pay but Jan has a Panasonic FX9 and it's just superb, the size of a packet of fags and enough settings to satisfy a keen photographer.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicfx9/
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Oooh, I saw the word Leica & went a bit giddy :LOL: . From looking at your link I think PQ will be near the same for FX7 model, so might check fleabay prices ;)

Thanks for the other replies...will check reviews . As for Jamey & his Teenage Mutant Turtle bag ;) , I don't have the trendy enough sneekers to go with it :LOL:
 
I saw my 'Autumn' shot whilst cyling Monday..... no camera though.

Was a fleeting event so not repeatable...

So good idea - but I'd just forget to take it with me :(
 
The panny's are great cameras. Leica lens is fantastic. Others you may want to look at are the canon compacts. especially the ixus's (ixii?) very compact. I know the old a85 etc were great. my dad uses one.

also one to consider...fuji f810 Shoots raw so that might be handy, not the smallest but certainly great.

fuji f10 can also be had for around 200 notes and great low light capabilities!

Decisions decisions!
 
gandhi said:
fuji f10 can also be had for around 200 notes and great low light capabilities!
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ISO1600...good point...you forget the potential limitations of compacts. That would also be quite important as I hate to lose a shot due to light levels & detest flash normally....especially on compacts one guesses ;)
 
Let us know what you get DJW if anything I'm shopping for somthing similar the line in the review of the panny thats putting me off is "No manual control of shutter speed or aperture" thats something I'd like to have to be honsest ............ the search goes on :)
 
Just looking at review sample shots to compare :-

FX7

A85

F10

Albeit I've only spent 10 mins looking at comparisons, at the mo it looks like F10 & A85 ahead of FX7 (although FX9 may be better , out of price range) .

Must admit though the F10 & FX7 are asthetically very pleasing to the eye....especially the Fx7 in black & silver ...WOW (must not buy on looks...must not buy on looks ;) )
 
So far the F10 is looking best option, mainly down to low light capability, where even at ISO800 & 1600 the noise levels are acceptable. Now that would be great to be able to shoot indoors without the flash (which to be honest is going to be pathetic in most scenarios)
 
Sussed I can get the F10 for about £185 from Currys using Egg card for 5% cash back + 5% off using NHS247 code . Can't get em that low on EBAY or anywhere else to my knowledge.
 
Gemok said:
Let us know what you get DJW if anything I'm shopping for somthing similar the line in the review of the panny thats putting me off is "No manual control of shutter speed or aperture" thats something I'd like to have to be honsest ............ the search goes on :)
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The Fuji F11 may suit you as it now has .....

"the FinePix F11 Zoom adds aperture and shutter priority modes, a higher resolution LCD screen and improved macro performance"

Think that will probably be the nearest you'll get to what you after from an ultra-compact. Full spec here

Just waiting for them to hit the shops in the next week or so, for price check. Think this is the route I will go, as it still maintains that excellent ISO1600 + PQ was excellent vs the competition.
 
I've been scouring dpreview today for a new camera for the missus.

Looking like the FX8 is a real contender. The FX7 has really poor battery life (according to dpreview) and the FX9 is basically the same as the FX8 but with more resolution on the LCD screen, an extra megapixel on the sensor and a higher retail price.

The FX8 (silver) can be had for £216 on www.cameras2u.com and I'm finding it hard to argue with that price. You get an image-stabilised Leica lens. Very tempting.
 
What do your reckon to the PQ though from links a few posts up, albeit the FX7, vs the other 2 posted there ?
 
Dpreview did a head-to-head between the FX9 and the F10 and I have to say I can't spot a huge amount of difference. The F10 looks slightly sharper but it's a bigger camera. The F10's extra ISO range is nice but then again the FX9/FX8 have image stabilisation so you'd be able to get comparable results from lower ISOs (I'm guessing).

If it was me (and it looks like it will be as I've no idea what else to get the missus for xmas) I'd go for the FX8 as it looks nicer and it's smaller. But that decision would be based to some extent on the fact that I'm buying for my girlfriend who wants a camera she can take anywhere with her and she's not fussed about anything other than decent results from pointing and clicking. The fact that it looks nice will be a bonus though.
 
From the two sample images in that review I'd say the Fuji is cleaner sharper and has better colour balance.
 
Noise Levels look too high on the FX9 from the shots. I was interested in the Minolta X1 due to size, but that also had high noise :( . I noted on the DP review the following :- "(if you want really low noise the FinePix F10 is far better)". For me that is quite important , as with only a 3x zoom I expect to crop the shots quite severely to get some of the shots, where noise will become more evident.

Ref size the FX9 is :- 94 x 51 x 24 mm vs F10 :- 92 x 58.2 x 27.3mm, so yep a tad smaller.

Must admit the FX8/9 looks sexier though.....I think the black & silver looks the dogs danglies ;) Choices choices
 
They reckon my camera has similar amonts of noise. I think they were being silly, it's certainly not as bad as everybody makes out, and noise is a fact of life with smaller sensors. The only thing that makes it seem significantly less is some cameras is the old noise reduction software, and that just smudges all the fine detail. I'd rather have a slightly noisy out of cam shot and have to run it through noise ninja so I can dictate the level of smoothing and where it's apllied, than have the camera do it for me and lose all the resolution of the lens. Noise can be dealt with, lost detail can't be recovered!
 
Agree Spencer, although if 2 cameras have equivalent capture of detail then it's a plus to have less noise. Never played with Noise Ninja....have used Neat Image......will have to give it a go .

Just noticed the F11 is for sale around £250 cheapest. MMmmmm £50 more for manual control over F10 ......possibly important for people who use this as main camera, but for me as play/2nd camera I'm not sure.
 
Also have a look at Noiseware Professional by Imagenomic...I find that very good and it even works well on its auto settings. The other thing that this does is "learn" the noise profiles and patterns from your camera, the more pics you run it on the better it becomes at fine tuning itself allegidly.
 
We should actually do and article on this..several of the main Noise reduction packages run head to head with examples and results. That might be useful?
 
Without a doubt, plus good for the site, as I haven't seen it done elsewhere.
 
Steve said:
We should actually do and article on this..several of the main Noise reduction packages run head to head with examples and results. That might be useful?
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Thats a great idea even better if they're rated for ease of use as well as image performance for us noise noobs.
 
Takes note. Adds to the "to do" list and is then forgotten about completely ;) Seriously I will make a start on this and see what develops.

The costs vary depending on application but most can be downloaded as fully functioning free trials so for a review it should cost me nothing other than my time. If I come to a decisive conclusion then maybe that will save some of you some money too.
 
I'm actually starting to quite like noise, when justifiable (low light, extra DOF etc).

I used to be a fan of film grain (again, where justifiable) but I always believed that digital noise looked vastly inferior to grain. And while I still believe this to a lesser extant, I've not seen any results from noise-removal software that really made me feel ok about sacrificing the detail. I'd much rather keep the sharpness and live with the speckles at the moment.

But I eagerly await Steve's test to see if I spot something I think does a good job.
 
I personaly use noise ninja but I might have a look at noiseware pro if it is indeed a 'learning' app. I have profiled the fz30 for noise ninja and downloaded profile for neatimage as well, haven't really compared the two side by side yet.

Jamey, I haven't really suffered much loss of detail due to use of NR software, I only tend to use it on serious shadow areas and skies, as that is where it is mopst visible, I tend to mask and fine details areas such as hair/grass/fabrics etc.

If the program is profiled properly and you don't overuse the software then it will be fine!
 
P.s. if you need a hand with the test, then drop me a line and I'll see what I can do. I do have some time on my hands these days with not a great deal to acheve in the evenings. Plus kell is away all weekend so I wont have to fulfill any obligations there!
 
Popped in to a local Photo shop today & handled both the F10 & Minolta X1 for comparison. The F10 is small & a decent weight to it & the screen on the back is huge for camera....basically takes up the whole back. Overall seemed a nice bit of kit.
The X1 was slightly taller, but slimmer in depth, which would make it easier to carry around in a pocket. Still think I will go for F10/F11 though.....just want to see if I can get an F11 for nearer £200. Just fired note off to onestop-digital to see what they can do.
 
Well I've ordered the F10 from Currys, using discount code & Egg card, so price = £180 delivered. Couldn't justify the extra £70 for the F11 just for manual controls, whereby the pgm modes on F10 can produce 90% the same function.

Really came down to the picture quality, lack of noise plus that excellent ISO1600 funtion which I intend to test on lads night out next Sat in Bristol...if the camera arrives in time ;)
 
I've been looking for a new compact and can only spare around £150 and was looking at the F11 but amazingly I can't seem to beat the in store Jessops price of £150 on the net?

I was wondering if anyone knows if I can get it cheaper anywhere else?
 
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