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Digital cameras: Best compact camera on this planet?
Best compact camera on this planet?
by fbbbb - 3/27/09 5:32 PMI keep returning to my Sony DSC-V1 past various Lumixes and mid-range Canons - which after a repair for the CCD recall is still going strong. However, the battery-swapping is becoming a bit excessive - and I think it is high time I replaced it.
(Funny isn't it, in the film days 5.5 years would be nothing for a camera's age)
I'm not worried about the cost, but the overall usability. It needs to be no bigger than the DSC-V1 (99 x 65 x 57 mm / 3.9 x 2.6 x 2.2 in) and offer manual as well as auto control, along with movie mode.
I use a camera in the point & shoot mode the vast majority of the time - and it has to perform well in outdoor and dimly-lit indoor modes. I need Aperture and Shutter Priority modes as well as full manual exposure control. At least 4x optical zoom, and as good a Macro mode as is possible.
I'm also not particularly worried about the megapixel count - I'd be happy at anything over 5 - but what is most important is the quality of the lens and the image processing to give a superior picture.
Tripod mount is a requirement, as is the ability to see the image being taken in bright sunlight (On the V1 I use the optical viewfinder).
That's about it really. What I'm looking for is pretty simple: A DSC-V1 - but better.
Thanks
Might have the one
by kalel33 - 3/27/09 9:45 PM In reply to: Best compact camera on this planet? by fbbbbThe Fuji 200EXR is just coming out and it's high ISO capability is supposed to be top notch for point and shoots. The samples that have been taken so far show little noise in an 800 ISO shot. Here is a sample gallery.
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/fuji_f200exr_beta_samples/
Sorry, but it doesn't fit your requirements
by kalel33 - 3/27/09 9:52 PM In reply to: Might have the one by kalel33It may do really well in low light, but it doesn't have manual controls. There really isn't any camera that is the size of your Sony, has manual controls, and does really well in low light.
Or - phrasing it a little differently,
by fbbbb - 3/28/09 3:54 AM In reply to: Sorry, but it doesn't fit your requirements by kalel33Is the G10 my only logical choice?
The Good Old Days
by snapshot2
- 3/28/09 7:46 AM
In reply to: Best compact camera on this planet? by fbbbb
The Sony V1, V3 and F828 was the end of an era.
Along with the early Olympus, Nikon and Canon G6 cameras.
That is when the thirst for more megapixels and lower cost, changed the future for the point-and-shoot camera.
Now your best bet is one of the full featured big-zoom cameras.
Just about every camera maker has one available.
Normal zoom cameras have few contenders any more.
Canon G10
Nikon P6000
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_g10%2Cnikon_cpp6000&show=all
If you want a low cost camera with manual controls, there is only one contender and it may be gone soon.
Canon A590IS
..
.
Megazooms -
by fbbbb - 3/28/09 11:14 AM In reply to: The Good Old Days by snapshot2
I've had two generations of FZ's as well as a TZ, and the image quality I get from these is kind of iffy. Not rubbish, but not what I'd expect from 5 years advance in image processing - if not in the ability to make glass. In fact, in many ways the images sometimes felt like a backward step, and I just didn't quite understand how these machines got rave reviews from some places which seem quite plausible in the credibility of their reviews.
I don't need uberzoom - I'm not a stalker 
I just want good snapshot capability with zero fuss and a reasonable optical zoom, full control when I have the time to want it, and an excellent Macro mode with half-decent movie recording (the Panasonics were complete crud compared to the V1 in this respect, something which threw me) - but above all, good image quality.
That, and almost all megazooms are significantly larger than the V1 and the size compromise is one I'm very reluctant to make - as much of the usefulness of the Sony comes from being the size it is.
This was why I kept coming back to the Sony.
So what you're saying is basically what I posted above - the G10 or nothing?
Consider the Canon SD880 IS
by bernie 1 - 4/2/09 3:16 AM In reply to: Megazooms - by fbbbb>>So what you're saying is basically what I posted above - the G10 or nothing?
Ken Rockwell did an excellent review of the little Canon SD880 IS, and found it to actually be superior to the Canon G10 in most respects. He compared the two cameras in many ways, and the little SD880 IS came out on top in most cases.
Checkout his informative review here:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/compacts/sd880.htm
So this little camera would be something to consider. The quality of the images that Ken got from the camera are certainly impressive.
.
I wouldn't use him as a main source
by kalel33 - 4/2/09 4:45 AM In reply to: Consider the Canon SD880 IS by bernie 1Ken Rockwell has some nice information, but he says a lot of things that are controversial just to get people to come to his site. He also says that the Nikon D40 is a much better DSLR than the D300. I could give you a number of bad examples of advice that he's given. Great to read, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.
I wouldn't use him as a main source
by taboma - 4/2/09 10:44 PM In reply to: I wouldn't use him as a main source by kalel33kalel33, I agree with you.
Maybe Ken Rockwell thinks the Nikon D40 is a better choice than the mighty Nikon G3 also??
-Kevin
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