Premium Compact Cameras: Best Buys All the cameras included in this group test performed reasonably well, though they have their inevitable quirks. Here's are the cameras in the test: Canon PowerShot G11 Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR Nikon CoolPix S8000 Panasonic Lumix LX3 Ricoh CX3 Samsung WB1000 Prices range from £210 for the Fujifilm to £599 for the Canon …
Interesting choice of macro shots which, erm, aren't. I have an LX3 and recommend it highly. It will focus down to 1.5 cm in macro mode and give a great close-up. Also, due to the lovely fast lens it is great in low-light conditions which allows for decent indoor photos without a harsh flash.
I'd suggest anyone properly interested to go and have a look at the flickr camera search.
Hi,
Why oh WHY did you not include the Canon Powershot S90 in this review? It's basically a Canon G11 in a tiny form factor. The only thing 'missing' is hot-shoe and a little bit off the zoom.
The S90 would have blown away all of the cameras you've reviewed with:
1) Its size - it is ACTUALLY a compact i.e. I can put it in the pocket of my jeans and people don't cry when I ask them to take a photograph of me.
2) fast fast f2.0 lens and amazing high ISO performance = top notch low light shooter PERFECT for snapping no flash shots in bars and clubs
3) Full manual
4) RAW
5) Amazing build quality
There isn't anything else on the market that is a 'true' compact (i.e. does it fit in my pocket) with a fast lens, ace ISO performance, RAW, and full manual.
Some of those cameras really aren't 'compact'. A compact camera should fit in your pocket. Simple.
Totally disappointed.
Joe.
Just bought a Fujifilm Finepix S1730 for a paltry £135 from Argos. At that price it was well worth a punt and I must say I was very impressed.
12MP, 15x optical zoom, has full manual mode and offers 1080p video at 30fps. Picture quality seems excellent. Biggest criticism is the unintuitive menu system.
Its a "bridge" camera, so is hardly "compact", but such a feature-filled piece of kit for £135 makes it well worth a look.
What a strange selection of camera's, mixing in an SLR-priced brick that wouldn't be a 'compact' by anyone's definition with a pretty unique concept like the LX3, the odball Ricoh CX3 and 3 random run-of-the-mill true compacts. As someone already pointed out, the G11 should for sure have been replaced by its equivalent compact version, the S90. Next to that you could have added a nice range of other 'hot' compacts, like the Panasonic Lumix TZ-10, Sony DSC-HX5V and Canon SX210 IS (just for comparison to the S90). Now that would have made for an interesting test...
For the record, I just ordered a DSC-HX5V. First I was agonizing over the lack of proper aperture controls and RAW, or the possibility that it might do noise reduction too aggressively. Then I realized I was just being stupid, as I'm buying this exactly to be a complement - not a replacement - to my DSLR. Why want manual aperture controls on a camera with a tiny sensor that will never deliver nice DOF effects? Why the obsession with RAW when this completely goes against the point&shoot philosophy and furthermore is often implemented in a substandard manner (see recent NX10 review)? If you think about it, it makes much more sense to go looking for something that doesn't try to ape a DSLR, but has its own innovative solutions and differentiators. Like the Sony's twilight & anti-motion blur modes, which in the real world will give better low light performance than any 'fast' lens on a still miniscule sensor, or the superb panoramic sweep implementation, or the best-in-class active stabilization (so good it can make a vid shot from a bike-mounted HX5V look completely stable), or the GPS (gadgety but fun), or the 1080i video mode with stereo audio, in-camera HDR, etc.
If I want manual controls, RAW, DOF options, interchangeable lenses and superb (non-trickery) low light performance, I'll take my DSLR. But if I just want to snap some quick shots & vids, I'd rather use something fit for purpose. Will let you know how that works out...
Can we have 100% crops of the set scenes please? Very hard to gauge ISO performance with nothing more than thumbnails available. Even then I suggest a reworked test scene, with some nice multicoloured fur in it somewhere - that'll show up most noise reduction gremlins.
Also, was the F200EXR in AutoEXR or manually set to the specialised DR priority or SN modes? If it didn't perform well at high ISO, I suspect it wasn't in the 6MP SN mode?
Agree with one of the previous posters - you can't have G11 and LX3 and ignore S90. Makes no sense. If anything, the LX3 and the S90 are in the same niche, really.
And the S90 has the same sensor as the G11. There are some bits I dont like about it, like the paltry zoom and the lack of HD video but it does have some very good bits:
1) Auto WB works very well in most cases, i havent had to adjust it yet, even in some ropey indoor shots.
2) Anti-shake works and f2.0 lens wonders for low light shots as previous poster said- many shots I needed a flash for, I can take unaided.
3) The video, although 640x480 is still very versatile. I used it to film a torchlight descent on a ski run, and it handled low light in a way both my Sony and Panasonic camcorders would not have been able to.
4) Shoots RAW as previous poster said but also has PASM, exposure bracketing, and all sorts of things I have no idea of yet.
5) The LCD screen is a high-res one, so I dont miss a viewfinder so much - and its whatsit - WYSIWYG or whatever the camera term is - as you change stuff it shows up right away.
6) The best bit is the interface - it has 2 clicky-ratchety rings, one on the lens and the other on the back, and also programmable button, that are programmable for anything you want - ISO, exposure, etc, and they change function depending on auto/P/A/S/M setting like you would want. No more fiddling with menu's and little joysticks or cursors. Just click and shoot.
The very high ISO shots are noisy, but I think thats true for most cameras. I got this camera for scenarios compacts are normally used for - impromptu shots, party shots in low light, shots where you can only carry a compact, like up ski-slopes - in low-light stuff its very good.
cheers
Slay
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1004/10040803canons90review.asp
Ok its not perfect, but listen to this:
"It's possible that a considerable number of potential S90 purchasers also have the larger, heavier, pricier G11 on their shortlist. If you have, and you're concerns that plumping for the S90 represents a compromise in image quality, the results here show that your worries are unfounded - yes the G11 has fractionally more resolving power, but you need to be looking very close indeed to see the difference."
ok, not meaning to be a S90 fanboy, but this is a *compact* review, which, with the G11, is stretching it. I'd like the G11 for its gripability, but I am short of funds and needed to choose. And the LX3 again isn't as pocketable as the S90.
It compares well (and in some cases better) with the Ricoh GXR, which is twice the price. Pretty good against the LX3 also, apart from RAW comparisons (with some caveats on commercial RAW processing issues). Oh, and it has a flash. heh
cheers
Slay
cheers
Slay
The mod for the s90 is an adhesive grip. It is great and highly recommended. Makes holding the camera much easier/more secure.
http://www.kleptography.com/rf/
The S90 should have been included in this review - it is after all a review of compact cameras. The G11 whilst very good, is more in line with the newer 4/3 sensor cameras in size.
Having used both the LX3 and the S90, both impressed with quality of photos, but the S90 won on size, weight, and most importantly usability. The design is genius for times where you just want manual control...
"The LX3 is the only camera here with a hotshoe"
Really? What's that on top of the G11, then?
Funny macro shots, too! Sorry to nitpick, but you're up against some very thorough camera reviewers on the web. As for quality, you should really be looking at cameras with larger sensors, or at least provide some comparison with them.
nb, not all the cameras mentioned are pocket friendly. They are just too big for pockets (an average coat or jacket pocket), especially the LX-3 (which is a very annoying experience, 'nearly but not quite').
The beauty of instant snapping and capturing the moment right then and there is a camera that really does fit into your pocket comfortably, and I think that you have to go into sub-compact territory to be able to say confidently that the camera is pocket friendly, or 'pocketable' as I think of it.
I have a Fuji F70, and it is small and just about pocketable, bu true pocketable cameras are those like the Pentax H90.
Why not have set up a criterion for pocketability when reviewing small cameras, apart from wide zoom and image quality this is the most important quality of a camera when deciding to buy or not?
Thanks for listening.
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