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My 5 year old Casio Excilim has died. Rather, its lens is not zooming properly, graunching in and out and not actually zooming properly.
So I'm looking for a new camera, one that can fit in a (possibly large) pocket as opposed to a full DSLR. I'm also looking at the possibility of something that I can take down under instead of lugging my DSLR all that way, so a bridge camera of some sort seems indicated. Oh, and the Canon G11, though very nice looking, is more than I'm looking to spend.
So, small, light, decent sensor, good optics, good digital zoom (to go from macro all the way out to telephoto equivalent). GPS tagging looks like a cute idea. Movie clips nice, but not required. Weirdo memory cards disliked (Sony, I'm looking at you) but not a deal-breaker.
Suggestions? Recommendations? Warnings? Digital cameras killed the film industry, you insensitive clod?
So I'm looking for a new camera, one that can fit in a (possibly large) pocket as opposed to a full DSLR. I'm also looking at the possibility of something that I can take down under instead of lugging my DSLR all that way, so a bridge camera of some sort seems indicated. Oh, and the Canon G11, though very nice looking, is more than I'm looking to spend.
So, small, light, decent sensor, good optics, good digital zoom (to go from macro all the way out to telephoto equivalent). GPS tagging looks like a cute idea. Movie clips nice, but not required. Weirdo memory cards disliked (Sony, I'm looking at you) but not a deal-breaker.
Suggestions? Recommendations? Warnings? Digital cameras killed the film industry, you insensitive clod?
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 10:12 am (UTC)(I should note that it does have a macro setting and, I think, 2.5x optical zoom. So it's not that it doesn't zoom at all, just not very much for distance.)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 11:03 am (UTC)Good points:
They're made in Japan and I've always had a high opinion of Panasonic engineering, preferring substance over style.
The low-light capability of a large (by compact camera standards) sensor plus the F2.0 Leica lens makes it a great convention indoor camera when a flash would be intrusive. The 24mm wide-angle capability is a bonus in that sort of situation too. Image stabilisation is built-in. I didn't find the different image formats option (3:2, 4:3 or 16:9) that much use.
Movie mode includes a 720p capability, something I used a lot more than I had planned to do on my recent trip to Japan. The good performance in low light helps here too. It's worth pointing out the 720p movie option only works if you select 16:9 format otherwise it defaults to 640x480 VGA mode.
It can produce RAW files as well as regular JPGs if you're doing technical shooting and plan to hack on the images in Photoshop afterwards.
Light, compact, fits easily into a pocket.
Intelligent flash hotshoe.
Bad points:
The lenscap is very easy to lose and after being used to an automatic lens cover in most compacts you might find that a pain. There is an aftermarket auto-lenscap available that doesn't cost much; most people I've seen with an LX3 have one fitted.
There is no optical viewfinder and the LCD can get washed out in sunlight. The LCD is also fixed, not on a swivel to make framing a shot in awkward situations easier.
It uses a proprietary battery pack, not AA cells. Cheap third-party packs are readily available from Fleabay suppliers, also spare chargers.
The pop-up flash is very small; if you do need flash it's not that much help.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 05:04 pm (UTC)A touch of glue on the knot of the fishing line will help reassure you it's not going to undo and drop the camera unexpectedly.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 10:12 am (UTC)Disadvantages: the S90 doesn't have the same zoom range as the G11, doesn't have an optical viewfinder, and doesn't have the tilt/swivel display. Otherwise, it's the same CCD and same processor as the G11, in a compact body.
Alternatively, you might want to scope out the Panasonic Lumix LX3. I believe
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 12:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 08:22 pm (UTC)Looked at the Lumix LX3, but rejected it because of, err, can't remember anymore. Reviews comparing the two have interesting points, with the vast majority preferring the S90 over the LX3.
My main hesitation before buying the S90 was the UI, and specifically the (reportedly) rather free-turning control wheel on the back. But then I found a simple hardware hack that would fix that should it be a problem, went ahead and bought an S90 and... didn't find the control ring a problem at all. Mileage may vary.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 12:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 12:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 06:03 pm (UTC)