Is there a consensus on the best compact camera at the moment

Quigs Snr

Right, so bust my old Canon SD600 and need a new compact. I would love a DSLR but because I use it on sporting events (whilst participating), a compact is required.

I look jealously at the quality some photographers send me on from their SLRs. Obviously a compact cannot compete, but what comes closest ? My criteria is purely image quality, don't care about any other features (except that it must be compact i.e. fit in a pocket, and perhaps can record video which I assume they all do these days)

When I got my first compact the consensus was that the Nikon was the best, later it was Canon. Have looked at the sticky at the top of the forum but am finding it hard to find what I want. Besides I prefer to go on other peoples experience.

CabanSail

If I were to pick one it would probably the Canon G10

Mycroft H

the fuji f200exr seems to e getting gret reviews whereever it goes


see here

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf200exr/page22.asp

here...

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/equipment/compactcameras/1053/1/fujifilm-finepix-f200exr.html


and here
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/fujifilm_finepix_f200exr_review/conclusion/

melekalikimaka

CabanSail wrote: »

If I were to pick one it would probably the Canon G10

aye aye

Corkfeen

I'd have thought it would something the lines of the lumix tz-7. Strikes me as a nice enough compact.

duffarama

Lumix LX3

The TZ7 is also good

Then, if you want compactness and lens changeability... Olympus EP-1

melekalikimaka

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong10/

its pretty hard to top this baby

even the g11 is considered poorer

Ghost Train

My criteria is purely image quality

Olympus EP-1 and Sigma DP2(or DP1) both have dslr style/size sensors so might be worth looking at

cruizer101

melekalikimaka wrote: »

even the g11 is considered poorer

I didn't think the G11 was reviewed properly yet as it isn't out til October sometime. I know the MP has dropped but doesn't it have a relatively larger sensor which should be good.

Canon are realeasing some new compact in the next month or so two that look nice are the S90 and the SX20 IS, although the second of these is looks pretty big for a compact. There is a list of them here:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/news/2009/08/20/New-Canon-Compact-Cameras/p1

i like the look of the S90 most

Quigs Snr

Great suggestions guys. That G10 looks great, if a little bulky perhaps. Must look at one in the flesh. That Fuji is very interesting with its unusual sensor technology, quite compact also.. Lots of food for thought here. Will check out every suggestion.

herya

There's a new Canon coming out just now, Canon s90. It's a "prosumer compact" but it has great specs, RAW, fast versatile lens, manual controls, better sensor etc. Not many reviews yet but based on the specs the reviewers see this one as better than G10 and the new G11 plus it's much smaller & significantly cheaper. I'm looking into it myself, more reviews should be available shortly.

I have Ricoh GX100 and can't praise it enough (exceptional quality and sharpness) but it has a modest zoom so I'm not sure if it would suit you. Excellent 24 wide angle though for dynamic pics. It also has very high quality build - might be useful in the field - and will most likely retain good resale value.

Mylow

CabanSail wrote: »

If I were to pick one it would probably the Canon G10

melekalikimaka wrote: »

aye aye

melekalikimaka wrote: »

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong10/

its pretty hard to top this baby

even the g11 is considered poorer

Canon G10 for me as well, I have the G9 and G10 and also a Nikon D200, the G9 and G10 get way more use than the Nikon.

kumate_champ07

cruizer101 wrote: »

I didn't think the G11 was reviewed properly yet as it isn't out til October sometime. I know the MP has dropped but doesn't it have a relatively larger sensor which should be good.

Canon are realeasing some new compact in the next month or so two that look nice are the S90 and the SX20 IS, although the second of these is looks pretty big for a compact. There is a list of them here:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/news/2009/08/20/New-Canon-Compact-Cameras/p1

i like the look of the S90 most

s90 has the same sensor as new g11 and is alot lighter.

cnocbui

Well I'll be a devil and point out that at Dpreview.com, the Panasonic LX3 is the 6th most highly rated camera, whereas the Canon G10 is the 132nd, give or take a place or two due to my possibly miscounting.

Seriously though, In terms of pocketability, there is no contest: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1033&message=29621071

There is a comprehensive evaluation of cameras in this class at dpreview.com which is worth a read. It can be found here:http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408enthusiastgroup/

Here are the conclusions:

With such a varied group of cameras it's impossible to pick a single camera we'd recommend to everyone - if you want lots of telephoto reach you probably won't want the Panasonic LX3, for example, and if you want something pocketable the Canon G10 and Kodak Z8612 IS will be off your list. There are a couple of cameras we'd struggle to recommend to anyone - the Ricoh R10 is a lovely, well specified camera, but it just doesn't take very good pictures, and one or two we'd suggest exercising caution over (such as the Nikon P6000, which isn't as good as it thinks it is). The Kodak Z8612 IS offers an awful lot of camera for a remarkably low price, and would make a good 'starter camera' for a teenager wanting to learn a bit more about photography, but the image quality isn't good enough for more serious applications.
The two real high end cameras here (the Canon G10 and Panasonic LX3) offer very different approaches to the concept of a compact SLR replacement, with the LX3 easily our preferred choice; given the choice we'd choose a smaller body and wider lens over more bulk and more telephoto every time.

rameire

i would recommend the sx200 or the s90.

the s90 as said above is not out till oct.
this camera will be a huge hit when its released.
saw it over the last couple of days, its fab, small, compact in a matt black finish, well worth the wait.

the sx200 at the moment has a cashback promo, so you will get cash back after purchase.

Paul_Hacket

I have the LX3 and have mixed feelings about it to be honest. On paper it's great - an F/2 lens (at certain focal lengths), at 24mm it's probably also the widest lens on a camera in this class. Shoots in RAW mode, can capture HD video content, etc. etc. However I have to admit that I just don't enjoy shooting on it and am thinking about selling it on ebay.

Why? Well for the last few years I've been working in photography semi-professionally (meaning I sometimes assist and shoot with a genuine professional as part of my job). I shoot on a Canon 5D for paid work and the LX3 was supposed to be a 'walkaround' camera for me to grab some fun shots when I see something interesting.

The first problem is that that it's just not comfortable enough to slip into your pocket, mainly because of the 'sticky out' lens. the form factor is definitely less bulky than the G10 (which I personally don't think is a great camera) but it's still just too big and awkward - there's no way you can carry it comfortably without a camera bag. That rules it out from being considered a 'compact' camera in my book.

Other negatives are that I just don't like the look of a lot of the shots it takes, even in RAW mode. They remind me of bad digital video - too much contrast and with a weird form of artificial over-processed looking brightness.

Finally, while I love the wide angle abilities, the camera is crippled in the zoom range - I think it gets up to something like 60mm which makes a lot of photojournalistic type shots impossible.

I have to admit the Canon S90 mentioned above sounds nice, I'll be eager to see how compact it is when it comes out.

Ghost Train

I do like the range of compacts that Ricoh do.

Quigs Snr

Thanks again folks, plenty of food for thought here. That S90 might be worth waiting for. Although I guess pretty much anything will be a step up on my old SD600/Ixus60.