New compact camera

ashatron

ashatron

ashatron

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Location
Sheffield
Hi all!

Firstly im very pleased to see such a large photography community on here! - some great photos in the gallery too!
i wasnt sure there would be many but it appears ocuk forums have everything!

So i am also interested in a new camera.

I find dSLR's are great, but im not encouraged to use them because they are the size of a house!

So perhaps a compact? not a tiny camera at all, just not the size of an SLR.
i just want a great camera that can produce professional images that i can carry round easily.
HD video would be great,
and HDR exposure ranges would be a bonus.

Questions! -
What would you suggest (For around £340 - however im willing to spend more if its worth it)?

Are the default lenses on compacts pretty sufficient for most photography ventures?
i dont really want to get into crazy expensive lens territory, not for now anyway, the option to do so later would be nice.

What limitations do compact compacts have over standard dSLR's, speaking generally (eg lumix LX3 vs canon 350D)?

Can you get good DOF like on an SLR with a compact?

Thanks, any advice welcome :D
hope your 2010 is starting well!​
 
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For £340 I'd like to recommend the Canon G11, its not exactly small but not DSLR sized either. Plenty of controls and features on the camera on the same level as DSLR.

Dont expect to have DSLR level of DoF control on a compact either. If the size of the camera is putting you off DSLR then why not look into the world of micro four third cameras such as the Olympus PEN or the Panasonic GF1? DSLR style handling but in a smaller body, you ll lose out on a viewfinder and will need to use live view to frame the shot but might be a worthy trade off if size is an issue for you.
 
On a normal compact shallow depth of field isn't really possible the sensor is small and therefore the lenses have short focal lenghts. BUT. Do not fear. Manufacturers are making these mirrorless SLR-sensored cameras. However they will be out of budget.

Olympus have the EP-1, Panasonic have the GF-1 and Sigma have a DP-2.

Sigma's camera includes the fixed lens and is cheapest, and it's actually not too shabby.

Panasonic's offering is good. Cheapest I can find is £550 including lens. Not my choice becuase...

...Olympus' EP-1 can be had for £520 with a lens. As with the panasonic the lenses are interchangeable. Olympus have a good selection of stuff including small DSLR's, granted they both use Micro 4/3rds mount, but I'm not sure if the GF-1 takes regular full-size 4/3rds - I think someone using Olympus' system would be better qualified to assist in terms of system building. :D
Whilst EP-1 performs about the same as the GF-1 IMO it looks a lot funkier and it's cheaper.
 
mcc49 said:
Dont expect to have DSLR level of DoF control on a compact either. If the size of the camera is putting you off DSLR then why not look into the world of micro four third cameras such as the Olympus PEN or the Panasonic GF1?
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p0ss3s3d said:
Olympus have the EP-1, Panasonic have the GF-1 and Sigma have a DP-2
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Thanks a lot mcc49 and possessed, your help is much appreciated!
I wish i could afford a GF1!! 30 fps HD video too...nice!

I think ive narrowed it down to the Lumix LX3, canon G9, G10, and G11.
Im not too sure between those 4, really torn.
The G series lack video, but how good is the video on the LX3? hmm i dunno.

The focal length on the Lx3 (60mm, 2.5 optical) isn't as great as the G10/11 (120mm, 5 optical) either.
But ive yet to see examples of the focal lengths in action, know of any?
Is the wide angle really that useful on the LX3? cant you achieve the same results by stitching and panoramas on the g9/10/11?

The G10 has 35mm over the G9 - 28mm - but what does this actually mean in the real world?
more of a wide angle shot? again i cant find examples!

What do you think?
 
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I know you say you don't want DSLR size but look at the E-420 thats really small. Like compact with pointy bit on top small. You'll get the creative DOF. You'll get a lens system. You get the kit with 14-42mm (or to compare with compacts 28-84mm) covered. £290. Viewfinder. Top notch IQ. Potential to use in really low light. Or the £380 kit includes two lenses to cover 14-150 (comparison to compact: 28-300mm).

As you know the longer the focal length the closer the subject will appear. A compact has a 6-18mm lens for example. But becuase the sensor is smaller we will see 28-84mm or whatever. SO when a compact says somthing in the range of 6mm it's actual if it's talking about 28mm or 150mm it's what we call a 35mm lenght. SO what the focal lenght to achieve the same shot would be on 35mm film.

Complex.

In short. I would want a lenght at <28mm for the widest and >80mm for long zoom.

Now I could argue against this and say yo could shoot with one focal length ect. I'm not.

Look at tamrons focal length tool. Click the film bit at the bottom. Enter the focal lengths. You will then understand focal lenghts.





So in short get to a shop try an E-420 -it's small, beats the compacts and has a viewfinder. Then buy it. Then take pictures. You will be happy. :D
 
TBH videos on a camera is just fluff on the side, what really matter is the ability to take photos, thats what you bought the camera for right? I can record at 1080p on my 5D but rarely use it as its very hard to keep stable and keep subject in focus and without an external mic the AF noise gets picked up by the onboard mic giving horrible sound quality.

From 35mm to 28mm is literally step back or forwards so nothing major but usually people want to go as wide as they can when picking lens as its easier to take a step forward than a step backward with your back up to a wall.

Edit- I am pretty sure the G11 does video though
 
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For 340 the Canon G11 is probably a good option. Maybe even a G10!

If you fancy spending a bit less and still getting a really nice camera though, the Sony WX1 is a great little compact. Very small and solid feeling, 5x optical zoom, a wide angle lens and lots of cool features, such as sweep panorama and 10fps shooting. Also does pretty good 720p video.

Or, Sony have recently announced a camera called the Sony HX5V which has the 10fps shooting, sweep panorama, 10x zoom and all that, but on top of this it records video at 1920x1080 :eek:!

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666077169
 
ghop said:
If you fancy spending a bit less and still getting a really nice camera though, the Sony WX1 is a great little compact. Very small and solid feeling, 5x optical zoom, a wide angle lens and lots of cool features, such as sweep panorama and 10fps shooting. Also does pretty good 720p video.

Or, Sony have recently announced a camera called the Sony HX5V which has the 10fps shooting, sweep panorama, 10x zoom and all that, but on top of this it records video at 1920x1080 :eek:!
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Sweeeet! ill have look, thanks dude :D

p0ss3s3d said:

So in short get to a shop try an E-420 -it's small, beats the compacts and has a viewfinder. Then buy it. Then take pictures. You will be happy. :D
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lol thanks for the help dude, ill check it out!

mcc49 said:
Edit- I am pretty sure the G11 does video though
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It does!!
i just did some reseach on the video filming on all 3 -
LX3 and the G10 and G11.

Sample videos found here -
LX3 -http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_panasonic_lumix_dmc_lx3.php
G10-http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_canon_powershot_g10_3.php
G11-http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/canon_powershot_g11_review/sample_images/

Bear in mind the LX3 films in 1280 x 720(24fps) and the G's in 640x480(30fps).
Surprisingly! I think personally prefer the lower resolution of the G series! the fps on the lumix 24 fps makes it quite jerky. The G series are much smoother to me.

However, on youtube i can find some LX3 vids that are nice and smooth and high res, but others which are as i have found previously, very jerky.

Smooth example-

jerky example -
**remember to press HD quality.

Obviously some post processing may be involved, and if so i wont mind the raw jerky footage as long as it can be processed to be a bit smoother.

I dont understand! i want to know if its jerky or smooth!!
Anyone shed some light on this?
Should 24fps look jerky? i didnt think so :/
 
24fps is the usual format for films so it is sought after by many DSLR filmers to get the 'movie like' feel. Most cameras comes with 20/30fps but only a few are capable of 24fps capture, one of these cameras is the new Canon 7D which is very popular amongst the DSLR filmer crowd mainly due to this functionality.
 
i still don't understand how some videos look great, some look choppy on the LX3.
annoying me now...
 
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Will you be using the video a lot if not the G and S90 and decent!

I have the S90 and photo are great , and very sharp. details captured is amazing
check out on fickr type in s90 see what you get. Very compact as good as the g11 very compact compared to the g11. I will say the g11 hsa got better grip du to the size.If you need something that just stick in your jean or small coa pocket the s0 is brill. cannot take my d9 everywhere. But maybe giving up my s90 as i cannot afford to continue on this great camera trip! But good luck in whichever you pick
 
Alfie786 said:
Will you be using the video a lot if not the G and S90 and decent!

I have the S90 and photo are great , and very sharp. details captured is amazing
check out on fickr type in s90 see what you get. Very compact as good as the g11 very compact compared to the g11. I will say the g11 hsa got better grip du to the size.If you need something that just stick in your jean or small coa pocket the s0 is brill. cannot take my d9 everywhere. But maybe giving up my s90 as i cannot afford to continue on this great camera trip! But good luck in whichever you pick
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Cheers mate!
yeah Ive looked at the S90 and it is one charming little power house.
But i think it lacks the manual controls an amateur photographer would like.
 
FINAL VERDICT -

Went down to jacobs in town which had all three in stock!
Lumix Lx3, Canon s90 and the canon g11-

First off the the s90 is too small for me, doesn't feel like a performance camera.
The LX3, produces nice photos, wide angle is good but your not losing that much on the sides when using a G10 or G11. If you want a wider shot with the G10/11 you step back 2 feet and you get the same in as you would with Lx3, then crop accordingly, or you can take two images and stitch them together.

The Lx3 in hand didnt feel all that nice, again like the s90 it felt too small, i have average size hands too. The G10/11 in hand however felt much better, obviously its a lot bigger than the LX3 but it has so many more dials and buttons for quick functionality. The Lx3 joystick also didnt feel too good, just not that nice and smooth.

The G10/11 just felt like a proper camera, the other two felt like compacts, which clearly is intended, but for me i wanted a more serious SLR wannabe. The size of the G10/11 isnt that big either, i can see myself happily taking it around in my bag just for the odd snap or taking it around with me on on holiday as well as taking it on dedicated photo days. With the LX3 and the S90, i couldnt imagine myself taking out for intended photo days, it just didnt feel like that sort of camera.

G10/G11 it is!!! :D
 
Nice one! The G10/11 is a fine camera and it'd certainly be very high on my list if I wanted a high performance compact. If there's a huge price difference between the G10 and the G11, go for the G10. The G11 doesn't offer THAT much more.
 
ghop said:
Nice one! The G10/11 is a fine camera and it'd certainly be very high on my list if I wanted a high performance compact. If there's a huge price difference between the G10 and the G11, go for the G10. The G11 doesn't offer THAT much more.
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Wiked thanks for the advice mate!

Yeah i thought as much, just a bit better noise reduction on the G11 at high iso, from what i can see.

Do you happen to know how the g10 and g11 compare in size?
i know they are similar, but dont know which is smaller...
 
mcc49 said:
Glad to have come to a conclusion, get the G11 if you can afford it. Definately worth the money :)
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yeh part of me is like, the G10 is better money...but the G11 is the LATEST AND GREATEST!!!
and i think every time i get noise on the G10, part of me will think...the G11 wouldn't have done that.

:/
 
In that case, and if you can afford it, just go for the G11 :) I'm more of a 'the best deal' or 'price/performance' person :p And as far as I know, the G10 and G11 are identical in size. Not really sure though.
 
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