I'm thinking of getting a new compact

Dear all,

I am thinking of getting a new compact. This is for above water and UW use.

The current front runners are the twinned Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX1 and (if I feeling flush, I would prefer the much cooler) Leica D-Lux 2. But they are the same camera as far as I can tell.

The one thing I don't like about compacts is the 4:3 aspect ratio - as I like to shoot a lot of verticals. These cameras are both built around widescreen 16:9 sensors. Which, as well as the smart looks, is the main attraction for me.

DPReview likes the Panasonic very much. But says it has major noise issues at higher ISO. This isn't really a concern for me as I am a low ISO shooter. But then maybe it should be.

Does anyone have any experience of these cameras (I think that the Leica is out at the end of the month)?

Also I have a friend who is building a housing for one. But one of the tricky controls is the joystick on the back. Are there any other compacts with joystick controls? And if so how do the housings solve this problem?

Here is a picture of the joystick:

Thanks,

Alex

The 20D and 5D have joysticks. Solution used on all 20D housings? Pretend the joystick wasnt there.....

If it's just pressing on one side or the other of that joystick, then that's no problem Alex. I just designed a control on my engineering sketch pad.

Theh kind of joystick that is hard to design for is one where you have to shove it over and then press at the same time.

Let me know if you want me to send you my sketch.

James

What does the joystick do on the Canon? I presume it is nothing important? Or nothing you can't do another way?

On these cameras the joystick is how you control aperture and shutterspeed so it is quite important!

Alex

Thanks James.

I will have to wait until I next play with the camera to know what it needs.

I am also open for suggestions for other cool cameras!

I currently have an Ixus. Which is awesome, but I'm gonna put it out to pasture soon. I don't like the looks of the Olys or the Pentaxes. I like the Canon Ixus range, but not ther rest. Too ugly. And I like the Nikon S range and P range. But not the other coolpixes as they aren't nice looking either.

Wish list:

Cool looks. 6+ MP. Good lens. Manual control. Some whacky feature I can play with underwater. Small enough to fit in my jeans when I am on the lash.

Alex

Hi Alex,

So why not a Canon S500 or S550? They are cool looking and very slim. You can't adjust aperture or SS though.

Cheers

James

Have you thought about the Fuji F11 Alex?

It has manual shutter and aperture, has a great lens, superb high ISO performance (for a compact) and very good IQ overall.

It doesn't have a RAW mode (but then most of the others you're looking at don't either).

Sure it isn't as cool looking as the Leica, but it might not be too bad UW and would be a great "party cam" with a usable 1600 ISO.

Alex,

Great to hear you taking these compacts seriously.

The Panasonic looks a nice little camera for surface use when you are 'on the lash'

The 16:9, 4:3, and 3:2 ratios choice is unique and I'm sure that 2.5'' screen at 207000 pix is good. I'm not surprised the tiny sensor is noisy though. The rest of the features list is good, especially the image stabilisation feature.

My reservation is though, about some friend 'knocking up' a housing for it. Will it look and handle any good and will it be worth the effort. I'm not sure what to make of the joystick. If image is important will a DIY housing look cool enough for you?

Although I'm looking at SLR choices I will always want to have and use an up to date compact - and a model that has an off the shelf case; preferably not a brick from Ikelite.

I know its only a 4:3 aspect ratio but the Olympus SP350 is the only smallish compact that has caught my eye at the moment. At least Olympus make a snug fitting, effective, and inexpensive case for it.

Trev

Anthony,

It's GOTTA be cool. Preferrably made by Apple, but if not then at least Leica...

The F11 is definitely not cool...lol

Cheers

James

Point taken James

Well...in THAT case maybe we can figure out some way to house one of those iSight jobbies from the iMac...

I did hear that Apple are working on an iCam which takes video when attached to an iPod - then we'd have to figure out how to control the iPod scroll wheel in a housing...there's an engineering challenge for ya mate!

Very cool looking

Also very cool (new version of mine)

I think all the Nikons look lame right now .. I do like that one you mentioned and have also wanted a leica for ages myself.

My choices aren't as sophisticated .. but i think are by far the coolest cams around right now. (compacts anyway)

What does the joystick do on the Canon? I presume it is nothing important? Or nothing you can't do another way?

 

On these cameras the joystick is how you control aperture and shutterspeed so it is quite important!

 

Alex

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The canons use the joystick for AF point selection. It is really quite nice. You push it in any direction and the equivalent AF point is selected.

But yes, you can re-route AF point selection to the wheels so it is no big deal that it is not accessable underwater.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I'm not getting a Fuji as I have seen too many people having problems with their compacts on diveboats. Olys are good UW. But too ugly for me, and the Fuji's lack style too.

What I want is a small second camera that is optically good enough to snap some magazine publishable images, should the worst befall my DSLR.

I like the Canon ISUX/S range. That is what I have at the moment. And I have always liked the one you have, Giles. Although I'm not taken with the colours on the new ones.

I really do appreciate the help on this one.

Alex

What problems do people have with Fuji cameras?

There are three brands that I think deserve a larger market share than they currently have: Panasonic (Leica), Fuji and Ricoh.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0509/05091301ricoh_gr.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Rico...h_grdigital.asp

Why don't you just get an IXUS with a standard housing?

Alex and all......

www.ikelite.com has photos of the Fuji E900 housing up. Another hot camera with DIGIC II, faster AF and long life 4AA batteries will be Canon A620 at 7.1 MP. Only drawback for some is Canon A620 has no RAW....Score one point for Fuji E900. Although RAW in that camera takes about 8-11 seconds (!!!!!) But hey, you guys said you wanted compactness

These two cameras can / will produce macros that IMHO will stand up to publication even with minimal post processing. And the Ikelite thick walled housing is bargain at $300.00 MSRP....

YMMV

David Haas

Hi Alex,

A friend, Brad Nolen has the Leica in a Hugyfot housing and has been very happy with the results. Brad is Publisher of Dive Chronicles if you have not met. You may want to drop him an e-mail for a first hand report.

Phil

I find this aspect to be interesting from DPreview.com ...

"The LX1's 4x optical zoom lens covers a very useful 28-112mm (equiv.) range when used in 16:9 mode, though if you use the more conventional 4:3 or 3:2 modes you lose the wideangle: in standard 4:3 mode the focal length equivalent is 34-136mm."

As is this ...

"At the wide end of the zoom it's a nice bright F2.8, dropping to a less impressive F4.9 at the long end."

But after reading the complete review the noise is really an issue even at the lower ISO. Also I found it interesting that recommendation was between Above Ave. and Reccomended. I wonder if the noise was not an issue if it would have been a Highly Rec.

I wonder if there is enough interest that someone will look at building a housing for it. Until then the Fuji E900 seems to be a good contenter but I would like to see a serious review of it with some side by side comparisons.

Cheers,

Allen

I like my compacts with as wide a lens as possible; for use above and below water. With compacts it is best to wait for the housings to come out. You can count on a variety of choices for any new dSLR. However housings for compacts are often few. If you are going to use it for backup underwater you might want to make sure the camera has a dedicated add on wide angle lens and your housing has a dome port for that wide angle lens.

Oh; and I would really like a good EVF and a housing that would allow you to use it. Much easier to use that the LCD in bright light. Even the LCD on my D2X and my Epson P2000 are hard to see in bright light. But the EVF; no problem. I use it sometimes with my compact housing even though the synch cord socket is in the way.

The other question would be the macro function of the camera.

Thats a lot of extra jack to have that little red label on the front of your camera. Must be nice to be a famous and rich photographer.

Thanks for all the comments. I do appreciate the help.

Alex