Advise on Compact Digicam w/ Manual Functions

[iceberg]

Dear all

I'm looking for Compact digicam with functions like Av/Tv.

It's more for outings when I just don't feel like bringing the dSLR.

Any suggestions on exact models would be great.
TIA!

Happy new year :cheers:

 

[johnmaeda]

Dear all

I'm looking for Compact digicam with functions like Av/Tv.

It's more for outings when I just don't feel like bringing the dSLR.

Any suggestions on exact models would be great.
TIA!

Happy new year :cheers:

The canon powershot S3pro wld be a gd cam

 

[denniskee]

wah, too general liao. many cam fit your description.

what zoom range you looking for?
28mm is a must?
constant f2.8?
is, os, as, vr critical?
manual focusing ring important?
how about hot shoe?
swivel screen important?
noise at high iso acceptable (compare to which camera)?
can do ir photo easily?
.
.

or, a/m all not important, just want simple pns plus av & tv mode?

 

[coolsigg]

quite a lot...Canon S5IS, A720IS, A570IS...Pana FZ18...are the common ones...

 

[iceberg]

wah, too general liao. many cam fit your description.

what zoom range you looking for?
28mm is a must?
constant f2.8?
is, os, as, vr critical?
manual focusing ring important?
how about hot shoe?
swivel screen important?
noise at high iso acceptable (compare to which camera)?
can do ir photo easily?
.
.

or, a/m all not important, just want simple pns plus av & tv mode?

Thanks for the highlight Dennis.

For must have:
IS
acceptable noise at high iso

Good to have:
28mm

The rest are not so important, especially with swivel screens, the camera would prob be big.

By small compact factor, I'm looking for thickness below 25mm to be pocket size.

Thanks for the input on Camera models. I will check them up.

Any more inputs that fits the above description?:sweatsm:

 

[denniskee]

acceptable noise at high iso

pls state when compare to which camera?

if you mean straight out of camera, using fuji f30 or f31fd as yard stick, than i am afraid you cant find better one.

 

[iceberg]

pls state when compare to which camera?

if you mean straight out of camera, using fuji f30 or f31fd as yard stick, than i am afraid you cant find better one.

I'm using the Dynax 5D now.
I would use that as an acceptable level, though not really fantastic.

 

[night86mare]

I'm using the Dynax 5D now.
I would use that as an acceptable level, though not really fantastic.

alamak, if you compare to dslr then jialat, i think only fujifilm compacts can give that sort of noise performance.. or at least close to it

how compact is your "compact" you state 25mm, like that all the prosumer models suggested, most of them will not fit already

 

[iceberg]

alamak, if you compare to dslr then jialat, i think only fujifilm compacts can give that sort of noise performance.. or at least close to it

how compact is your "compact" you state 25mm, like that all the prosumer models suggested, most of them will not fit already

hi nightmare,

yeah, i guess noise performance may be a bit too far fetch, but i'll see what i can get ba..

for the size of the camera, maybe i wasn't clear in the title.. :sweat:..
it's actually for carry around when I don't wanna use dslr, so it's more for social outings, small form factor would be very nice to have. so yeah, i guess prosumer models are out.

i think it's not easy to find, that's why i posted on this forum.. hopefully some out there have done this search before and have something similar to suggest! else i guess the best possible option is like A720 IS with thickness of 40-50mm.

not exactly pocket size though.

Any more pointers?

 

[Galdor]

Go for the Fuji F30/31/40/50. Else the Sony H3.

 

[denniskee]

for slim type pns.

for better noise, fuji f30, 31fd....f50fd are good. but all 3x optical zoom, no 28mm. only f50fd has IS (can see fuj sub-forum here for night photos taken hand held at high iso.)

canon ixus 850is and 870is has 28mm, 3.7x zoom, comes with IS, noise not as good as the fujis.

not familiar with other brands.

you can try panasonic, their slim type pns does come with 28mm and ois, leica lens, shoot in 4/3, 3/2 or 16/9 format. but noise losses out to fuji (of cause lar) and canon imo.

 

[iceberg]

Hihi

Thanks for the heads up. Fuji F50fd looks nice. Small form factor, price, first impression all looks good.
Will definitely check out the image samples and quality coz I haven't used Fuji digicam before.

Thanks!

Edited:
Having had a glance at F31fd, it looks good too (esp when I don't really care about the pixel count).
Slightly thicker form factor, wonder whether it is still in production.

 

[canonG9]

G9 too fat?

 

[iceberg]

Hi there

Prosumer cam is so tempting with the manual controls, long zooms & multiple functions.
But i'm planning to get one just for occasional social shoots. So I do think that G9 is a tad fat.

On 2nd thought, what do you guys think? Coz consumer ultra-compact cam quite a handful doesn't have manual controls,
would manual controls be impt for social shoots (when i'm holding camera)? Or just snap snap away.
Never did really use a consumer digicam.

 

[night86mare]

actually if you want full manual, i.e. you can vary iso, shutter speed AND aperture all at once then i think the fujifilms will be out of the question.
do not be tempted by long zooms because they have long zooms.. that is thinking about lenses and not about what you really need
to be honest for social settings i doubt you'd actually need 300+mm.

you can try the canon powershots, they are decently priced, have reasonable image quality and have full manual control if that is what you are looking for
though i'm thinking perhaps you might actually consider not asking for full manual, i would think just aperture priority might suffice, just make sure you read the reviews on the choices you look at and ensure that the in-cam metering is decent.

 

[iceberg]

hi nightmare..

i agree.. i'm not asking for full manual controls.. Av/Tv is more than enough for the PnS..
I'm just thinking aloud whether i would even use the AvTv mode during social events!

 

[iceberg]

just a quick update to my own thread. i read of the Lumix FX500 at dpreview, looks pretty promising!

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0803/08031802panasonicfx500.asp

Compact
Wide Angle
Av/Tv
IS

 

[sunboi80]

Get Fuji 8000fd 18x Zoom
My fren just got one... good quality at a good price ($459)

 

[karnage]

Get Fuji 8000fd 18x Zoom
My fren just got one... good quality at a good price ($459)

I think he said prosumers out of the question.

Anyways, has TS gotten his new cam? April already now. Still thinking? Haha!