Which - Compact WA P+S film camera ?

[troyammons]

<hr id="underdate" />

Looking for anew camera.<br /><br />Already have several Minolta AF-2 and a Oly XA but now specifically want a wide angle auto focus <br />pocket camera. Maybe like a clamshell cover, 28mm lens etc. Would like a very sharp lens, IE no junk. <br /><br />Something very pocketable.<br /><br />Seems like I remember there was a travel Oly AF WA compact that was recommended but cant remember the specific name.<br /><br />Thanks in advance.

 

[jean_yves_mead]

One of the Ricoh GR-1 series would fit the bill.

[Matthew Currie]

<p>The Olympus Stylus Epic might be the one you're thinking of, though I think that's only a 35 mm lens. Nice and sharp, this one. Very small packgage.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>The Ricoh R1, the predecessor to the GR1, had a dual 30mm/24mm lens. The Rollei Micron was the same camera, rebadged, and even the lens specs were the same altho' Rollei labeled the lens as a Schneider rather than Ricoh lens. I'm looking for one of these myself. Reportedly it hasn't suffered from the same cult classic price inflation effect.</p>

<p>The mid-1990s were the golden era of AF P&S 35mm cameras with wide angle lenses, but they weren't cheap. Minolta, Nikon, Ricoh, Contax, Rollei and others all sold premium priced P&S models with 28mm or 35mm lenses.</p>

[fred_c1]

<p>Nikon 28Ti, Fujifilm Natura Black/S, Minolta TC-1, Olympus XA4. Prepare to pay.</p>

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[maderik]

An inexpensive and very compact 28mm AF is the <a href="http://www.photo.net/modern-film-cameras-forum/00ZjtF">Nikon Lite*Touch AF-600</a> mentioned here not that long ago.

[troyammons]

<p>To add I would like a top of ISO 1600 and a fast enough shutter speed to deal with that speed during daylight. Or 1000 + EV control to get me there.<br>

Filter ring would be okay for a ND filter bt then into exposure control.<br>

Also need DX coding override.<br>

Part of what I will do is push B+W film from 400 to 1600 during daylight.</p>

[maderik]

<p>Daylight ISO 1600 is asking a lot of a small leaf-shutter camera. Sunny f/16 suggests 1/1600 @ f/16 or 1/800 @ f/22. The Nikon 28Ti comes closest with 1/500 @ f/22. Next would be the XA4 with 1/750 @ f/14. The others seem to have some odd max-min shutter/aperture limitations.</p>

[troyammons]

<p>Yeah maybe I should stick to ISO 400/800 for normal B+W and get a tiny SLR for 1600.</p>

<p>Which one of them has DX override ?? <br>

I think the Nikon TI does.</p>

 

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Not sure about DX coding override on most auto-everything compacts. With my Olympus XA-3 (probably the same with Troy's XA) I just tape over the cassette to disable the DX sensors and set the ISO manually when I want to re-rate the speed on commercial loads.</p>

<p>When I need 1600-3200 b&w film for all around shooting in these little compacts I typically use either Tri-X at 1200-1600 in Diafine, or Delta 3200 in Diafine or Microphen. Both have moderate contrast and have worked well for me in a wide variety of lighting on the same roll, from midday sun to overcast, indoor or nighttime shots. Helps overcome the limited shutter speeds available on my favorite 35mm compacts.</p>

[troyammons]

<p>Exactly what I am doing.<br>

Push tri-X to 1600.<br>

If you dont mind me asking how are you accomplishing that with a P+S<br>

and which P+S do you use that works.<br>

I have the development worked out.</p>

[Mike Gammill]

<p>The orginal Nikon Lite Touch had a sharp 28mm f3.5 triplet, but only had DX up to ISO 400, I think. Lots of focus zones, though. Top shutter is 1/250 second. <br>

If you can sacrifice AF and built-in flash, why not look for a used Olympus XA-4. Programmed automation out to 1/750 second. DX coding with override out to ISO 1600.</p>

 

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Troy, with a typical P&S or any camera with a leaf shutter it's tricky to use film pushed to 1600 for daylight shots. My various leaf shutter cameras are limited to 1/500th sec shutter speeds, sometimes slower (my Agfa Isolette folder tops out at 1/200th, I think). But I don't know what lighting I'll encounter so I want to retain the option of shooting indoors or at night.</p>

<p>Using Tri-X pushed to around 1200-1600 in Diafine for daylight photos with my Olympus 35 RC and various TLRs I'll usually set the shutter speed to 1/500th and aperture to f/11-f/22. The Isolette can be stopped down to f/32 so daylight photos are possible even at 1/200th.</p>

<p>Occasionally it's pushing the limits of contrast, like <a href="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/1635244-lg.jpg">this photo in daylight</a> downtown, around EV 14 (not quite the EV 15 used for "Sunny 16" calculations). It took some work to get a good print from that negative.</p>

<p>I've tried other developers with Tri-X pushed to 1600 for daylight use but all were too contrasty. I like Microphen with Tri-X and T-Max 400, but only when I use an SLR with faster shutter speeds. Diafine works well with Tri-X and Delta 3200 for keeping contrast reasonable even when I'm forced to use cameras with limited shutter speeds in daylight. But printing demands dodging/burning and selective use of magenta/yellow contrast filters, or comparable tweaking with scanned negatives.</p>

<p>You could also use a neutral density or polarizer. That will give you one or two stops of buffer when shooting outdoors in daylight. You can always remove the filters when you need the speed when shooting indoors or at night with the same roll of pushed film. </p>

[LMar]

<p>Lex,</p>

<p>That's a fantastic shot!</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Thanks, L Mar. That's one of my favorite Fort Worth street photos. The light was tricky but between the Tri-X in Diafine and some darkroom trickery - mostly dodging and burning combined with yellow filtration in some areas and magenta in others - I was finally able to wring out a good print. The print looks much better than that scan.</p>

[mfophotos]

<p>I had a Ricoh R1 for several years, and it died on me after it took a fall. However, I paid $10 for it, I could not complain. It was extremely compact, versatile, had a great lens, and it was fun to use in the cropped panorama mode:</p>

<p><a title="Observatory lodge by mfophotos, on Flickr" href=" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2504/3722661643_0185b9c531_z.jpg" alt="Observatory lodge" width="223" height="640" /></a></p>