What is the best compact camera ?

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by JohnK

Jerome, Alberto beat me to the punch. I've been enjoying the Leica D-Lux 4 and would also suggest looking at the new version, the 5. And this from a Nikon SLR guy.

The title of the post used the words "best [compact] camera" - as I've often heard, the best camera is the one you have with you.

Even though I have a "stable" of pricier Leicas and lenses, the D-Lux is almost always with me because it's soooooo easy to carry - and I almost always get comments on how good and cool it look with the vintage leather case.

That's why I recommended it.

Recently I spent a couple of weeks with a Nikon D3X - amazing camera, but I hated carrying it around, it weighted a ton and made a very loud and distracting noise when taking pictures - all of which contributed to make it rather useless for casual street and "touristy" photography.

Alberto

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by tonepub

Big fan of the Canon G9 - 12. Currently use a G11 with excellent results.

Jeff,
The pics in Tone are not taken with the G11 right ?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Alberto

The title of the post used the words "best [compact] camera" - as I've often heard, the best camera is the one you have with you.

Even though I have a "stable" of pricier Leicas and lenses, the D-Lux is almost always with me because it's soooooo easy to carry - and I almost always get comments on how good and cool it look with the vintage leather case.

That's why I recommended it.

Recently I spent a couple of weeks with a Nikon D3X - amazing camera, but I hated carrying it around, it weighted a ton and made a very loud and distracting noise when taking pictures - all of which contributed to make it rather useless for casual street and "touristy" photography.

Alberto

Alberto,

The pics of Jeff Howard from this small Leica are amazing.
I will have to take a look on it.
What bothers me a bit with it ( it looks a lot like my Lumix ) is :
- the lack of "vintage control" of ISO and expo correction : I use them faster on the rotating wheels of the Canon
- the zoom of 3.8x is a bit limited and could be frustrating compared to the Canon.

[skunark]

You can't go wrong with the Leica X1, but for the generic compact camera above a point-and-shoot would be any Micro 4/3rds for 300mm+ range. Guessing you didn't care for it, so maybe time to step up to a full size?

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by skunark

You can't go wrong with the Leica X1, but for the generic compact camera above a point-and-shoot would be any Micro 4/3rds for 300mm+ range. Guessing you didn't care for it, so maybe time to step up to a full size?

Your question makes sense: yes !
I could be missing the quality of a SLR camera with a larger sensor.
I have not been impressed at the end by my GH1.
I used a 14 - 140 and a 20 mm pancake.
The widest aperture was f/4 with the 14-140 and going fast to f/5 so it was not a bright one at all and even with the f/1.7 of the pancake, low light shooting was a disaster with the GH1.
So yes, I got some kind of vaccine against the micro 4/3 !
If only the X1 could come with a zoom like the D5, I think I could try it...
But it must be a great great camera for landscapes.
I have to check this D3100....

[80B]

Jérôme,
Terrific photos - looks like you had a wonderful time there. Angkor is an amazing place. I'm sure you've been to the Musée Guimet - the Khmer (and other Asian) art there is terrific. The photos of the bridges are amazing too.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by 80B

Jérôme,
Terrific photos - looks like you had a wonderful time there. Angkor is an amazing place. I'm sure you've been to the Musée Guimet - the Khmer (and other Asian) art there is terrific. The photos of the bridges are amazing too.

Thank you ! You're all too kind with my pics : they don't look terrific to me, just "acceptable" at best. That's why I'm looking for a "miracle" camera. A compact one that could give me pics near as good as the best SLR's, even with my very modest means ! My jaw drops when I see all the nice pics you guys are able to shoot !
Yes we were at the Angkor Museum : wonderful !

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by C220MC275

Alberto,

The pics of Jeff Howard from this small Leica are amazing.
I will have to take a look on it.
What bothers me a bit with it ( it looks a lot like my Lumix ) is :
- the lack of "vintage control" of ISO and expo correction : I use them faster on the rotating wheels of the Canon
- the zoom of 3.8x is a bit limited and could be frustrating compared to the Canon.

Good points. There's a fine balance between "too many buttons/knobs/wheels" and "too few" and it's different for everyone. I play much more with the aperture and shutter speed than ISO, so it's not an issue for me. I can also appreciate concern with a more limited zoom, I've become so used to shooting with a fixed lens with my "big" Leica that I rarely use the zoom anymore - even on the D-Lux I normally set it to its widest exposure (and enjoy the f/2.0 :-)).

A corollary to the "the best camera is the one you have with you" is "the best camera is the one you know best" - once you get used to the controls and nuances of one brand, it might be better to stick with that brand rather than have to re-learn where every function is and how to operate it.

One of the reasons I really like the "proper" digital Leicas is that aperture and focus are on the lens and shutter speed on a dial. I can live with ISO requiring 2 clicks of a menu - after all, we lived for decades with fixed ISO film.

Whatever you end up getting, I look forward to seeing the results!

Alberto

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Alberto

Good points. There's a fine balance between "too many buttons/knobs/wheels" and "too few" and it's different for everyone. I play much more with the aperture and shutter speed than ISO, so it's not an issue for me. I can also appreciate concern with a more limited zoom, I've become so used to shooting with a fixed lens with my "big" Leica that I rarely use the zoom anymore - even on the D-Lux I normally set it to its widest exposure (and enjoy the f/2.0 :-)).

A corollary to the "the best camera is the one you have with you" is "the best camera is the one you know best" - once you get used to the controls and nuances of one brand, it might be better to stick with that brand rather than have to re-learn where every function is and how to operate it.

One of the reasons I really like the "proper" digital Leicas is that aperture and focus are on the lens and shutter speed on a dial. I can live with ISO requiring 2 clicks of a menu - after all, we lived for decades with fixed ISO film.

Whatever you end up getting, I look forward to seeing the results!

Alberto

You're right Alberto. Argentic Times were with fixed ISO but at that time, I was using a SLR with top notch lenses and a great lab.
Now with a compact camera, I have to compensate my lack of exposure knowledge by playing with ISO and expo correction.

[Alberto]

Originally Posted by C220MC275

You're right Alberto. Argentic Times were with fixed ISO but at that time, I was using a SLR with top notch lenses and a great lab.
Now with a compact camera, I have to compensate my lack of exposure knowledge by playing with ISO and expo correction.

All this talks about the D-Lux 5 got me excited about it. I think I might be going camera shopping to replace my beloved D-Lux 4 with a 5.

Thanks ... I guess .

Alberto