Compact/DSLR small and brilliant?

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Soldato
Joined
16 May 2006
Posts
11,334
Location
Dubai
Hi guys,
I'm looking around for a compact/DSLR that will be used as my main camera since selling my Canon 20D. I've searched high and low for compact cameras that fit the bill of;
  • Manual Controls
  • Good noise control
  • Low-light photography
  • price range of £200 (but possible to stretch beyond if worth it)

I've come out with;
  • Panasonic FX500 (from the test shots, they aren't that bad but seems a lack of love for it by the photog community?)
  • Panasonic FX150 (Similar to the FX500 but without the fancy touch screen focus e.t.c but made up with higher pixel density which may or maynot help with low light)
  • Canon G9 (or stretch far ahead for the G10 for the wider lens)
  • Panasonic LX3 (Seems to be a worthy competitor to the Canon G series)

And since I'm stretching into the G10 price range, I looked into DSLR that is small too for say a jacket pocket or small waist bag.
The Olympus E-420 + 25mm Pancake lens stood out most.

Retro looking, amazingly small lens which matched with the "worlds smallest DSLR" seems like a no brainer. Can be had for under 400quid new or cheaper second hand but that's stretching double of my budget!

Any input to this decision of mine? Perhaps you own any of them and can give me more personal experience of them compared to your DSLR use? Or different suggestions?
I'm looking to get it end of this month...
 
Personally I'd go for the Panasonic LX3 because it has excellent optics with f/2.0-f/2.8 and standard zoom range of 24-60mm.

The Panasonic LX3 is basically same as Leica D-Lux 3 in different shell.

Test results seem to show better IQ then Canon G10.


If you want longer zoom, higher pixel you can't go wrong with Canon G10 but for me the Panasonic f/2.0 lens wins it.
 
The LX-3 is big one on my list and I've seen it at hand, it feels and looks much better than the G10 in my opinion - the 24mm is also great but the E-420+pancake for that price seems to stick out more
it's DSLR, bigger sensor, better noise control in the higher iso range, lens upgrade (but the 4/3" range isn't big yet)

But the E-420 doesn't have image stabilization which can come in handy when I don't want to shoot in higher iso for noise reason. This is quite confusing~

What if I don't go down the E420 route and went with the LX3, what is the price like for a decent bounce flash for the LX3 - this might be the saving grace for that camera's poorer noise performance in the hight iso range?
 
Last edited:
BUFF said:
if looking at the E420 maybe also worth looking at the Panasonic DMC-G1?
Click to expand...

That camera though better, is far too expensive than the E420, plus, the size is also bigger - which makes it less appealing when compared to the others in terms of portability...

Any more inputs?
 
Mr Jones said:
That camera though better, is far too expensive than the E420, plus, the size is also bigger
Click to expand...
Dearer definitely but larger nope, it's smaller (& "proper" micro 4/3 lenses should be smaller than the 4/3 lenses) but fractionally heavier.

G1 Dimensions (W x H x D) 124 x 83.6 x 45.2mm weight 385g Body only
E420 129.5 x 91 x 53 mm Weight 380g
 
Getting old now but the Fuji F30 fills all of the criteria in your bullet points, just getting a bit old now. Still going for £130+ on the bay, not sure if the newer model is as good?

NS
 
The F30 definitely fills the box for all that I've mentioned but for the price it is now it's not worth it - I use to have one and sold one second hand ages ago for 150. Plus, if it's a compact I'm going for of that stature, I'm pretty certain the LX3 or the FX150 fills it's shoe with a wider optics. Thus the F30 and F31FD isn't in the list.

As for the G1, I have read up as much as I could. As much as it being smaller that the Oly, for the price, it's really stretching it in terms of my budget. And Buff, may I know what you meant by "proper" 4/3"?
 
actually I said "proper" micro 4/3s (the G1 uses micro 4/3 mount rather than 4/3) as in lenses actually designed from scratch for the micro 4/3 mount & not just adapted to it. As an analogy you could think of Olympus 4/3 lenses which were designed from scratch for 4/3 mount & as such are considerably smaller & lighter than equivalent Sigma lenses for 4/3 where they just took existing APS-C or full frame lenses & fitted a 4/3 mount.
 
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