Point & Shoot Recommendations

[renee_cox]

<p>I am looking for a small point & shoot with excellent quality pictures. I use a Nikon D200 but I am looking for something small to carry around with me for candid friends and family pictures... It wouldn't be used for business but I also don't want to lose quality. Are there any recommendations? </p>

[phule]

<p>The two most commonly recommended cameras (from my experience) are the Canon G10 and the Panasonic LX3.</p>

 

[bruce_margolis]

<p>Those were the two I considered. I really liked some of the G10 features but in the end, I went with the LX3 primarily for one reason........ Size. It is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket (the G10 is chunkier) and the Leica f/2 lens is simply outstanding. </p>

<p>Nevertheless, both are great choices. Check out DPR (<a href="http://www.depreview.com">www.depreview.com</a>) for reviews of both of them.</p>

 

[pcnilssen]

<p>I considered the same P&S'es as Bruce above, but I went with the G10. I am very satisifed, but it is NOT a shirt pocket size.</p>

[bobcossar]

<p>I owned both...and sold them. The G10 was too large really, and noisy over 200.....even then, not so hot. I like the LX3 but the zoom was just not adequate...and the lens cap....ugh.<br>

So I still have and use my older Panasonic TZ5.......works for me. Regards, Bob</p>

[vrankin]

<p>I agree that the G10 and LX3 get the most positive praise here in general.</p>

[steve_t.1]

<p>I'm loving my LX3.</p>

<p>I wanted a wide-to-normal compact camera for motorcycle travel- scenery, landscape, etc. I did not want a long zooming compact. I feel hand-holding a compact with long zoom capability leaves something to be desired. I can't hand hold it, I need a stable mount (tripod, wall, etc) to run long zooms with my Canon A700 Powershot. And the 28-35mm equiv. wide ends of most of the compacts wasn't wide enough for what I wanted. The 24-60mm equiv. of the LX3 suits me perfectly, and the 24mm wide end is hard to match with the rest of the compact field. And an F/2 Leica lens, to boot. Larger size compact sensor, larger individual pixels (10.1mp vs. many more smaller pixels of the G10) means more quality light gathering per pixel. To appreciate all that the LX3 gives you means you aren't desiring of a telephoto capable compact. Heck, with 10 very good megapixels, I can shoot in RAW mode and crop down if I really want something more telephoto than the 60mm gives me.</p>

<p>The LX3 lens cap does not bother me one bit. It's the same cap I deal with on my DSLR gear, so I don't see what the problem is, personally. I think it's a Ricoh accessory aftermarket butterfly cap some have fitted to their LX3 with very minor modification to eliminate the OEM lens cap. I think. Some searching would verify that.</p>

<p>Now, if Panasonic could just put a few of the LX3's on the shelf... they'd be selling a whole lot more of them. Watch Adorama, B&H, and Amazon (Amazon in-house, not most of the Amazon resellers) daily to see if they hit the street again sometime soon. When I bought mine a couple months ago, the stock came and went in about a week. Back ordered/out of stock at Adorama ($499) and same at B&H ($429) which is where, and at the price, I bought mine.</p>

[steve_t.1]

<p>A great, and comprehensive, blog site dedicated to high end compact cameras-</p>

<p>http://www.seriouscompacts.com/</p>

[bill_tuthill]

I suggest that the Panasonic ZS3 (TZ7 in some countries) and Ricoh CX1 are worth considering. Neither offers RAW mode, but they have other advantages over the LX3 and G10.

[steve_mareno]

<p>You'll need to figure out your priorities because w/ P&S compromise is the name of the game. For myself, I value a real optical finder, budget cost, decent zoom range, high image quality (under 200 ISO anyway), low shutter lag and the ability to shoot RAW if I want to. I haven't found my new one yet, but in the mean time my little Fuji E-550 offers all of that for $100.</p>

[bill_tuthill]

I don't know why Fuji stopped making E series cameras. The F200EXR is interesting, but lacks several important things, such as live histogram, RAW mode, and HD video.

[lowdowneye]

<p>I agree as I am still mourning the loss of my Fuji E900. I got a Nikon P5100 as a replacement (until my wife crushed it) but was never entirely happy with the length of time it took to focus. Am now shopping around and thinking of a low price Lumix. If the E900 was still about that would be the one for me.</p>

[h._p.]

<p>For small cameras, the Panasonic range seems hard to beat. My wife has been using a Lumix FX-01 for years and I've been carrying a FX-55 on my belt for 18 months or so. Both compare favourably with my Canon and Sony DSLRs and I've no problem recommending them for daily use.</p>

[kendall helmstetter gelner]

<p>Consider the Sigma DP-2, the image quality is excellent as is the lens... it's a little big for a shirt pocket I think but I carry mine in a jeans pocket.</p>

<p>It's the only P&S with a full size sensor so it has a lot less noise.</p>