Best 35mm P&S

[zsas]

+1 on the orig XA, have one and it is dandy!

 

[John Koehrer]

Wow... I'm really liking the Hexar AF... and even the Hexar RF

I also like the XA though. Pretty sweet to have a rangefinder camera that compact. I wish the XA-2 didn't remove the rangefinder.

The Hexars are Leica(M) size. The Xa's are pretty neat and compact and certainly meet the inexpensive criteria.

 

[keithwms]

The hexar has but one weakness: fairly slow top shutter speed. Other than that it's a weapon.

I've had a lot of fun with XAs. Not really a p&s though, per my own definition... you do have to focus the thing. A p&s is something that you just point... and shoot

 

[Les Sarile]

I'm looking for something that is fast to use, accurate metering, lightweight and cheap, and doesn't tempt me to lug around another 30 pounds of camera gear. If it has aperture priority, that'd be great also. Some degree of manual control would be nice, but not necessary. Is there such thing as a "professional" Point and shoot?

Something I can just throw in the back seat, for when my Girlfriend really dosen't want me bring camera gear in the first place.

My Rollei 35 would be perfect for this, if it was able to accurately focus close wide open

Either of these are great with the advantage of aperture priority and limited manual control available on the Nikon 35Ti.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

Konca S2 is good also.

Jeff

 

[EASmithV]

Either of these are great with the advantage of aperture priority and limited manual control available on the Nikon 35Ti.

I saw the 35Ti! It would be perfect it it weren't for the fact that it was a little out of the price range i'm willing to spend on a P&S at the moment.

 

[perkeleellinen]

I've managed to create, in my view, good portraits with an Olympus Mju II.

Same here. However, I find that sometimes the Mju's focus gets confused with close-up portraits and instead focuses upon something in the background. Annoying. My solution has been to shoot 800ASA film to force the aperture to close down. However, if shallow DOF is needed and hence slower film, then I think using the spot meter setting also means spot focusing (I think - at least focusing seems more accurate this way) and thus a more accurate focus can be made on the subject's face.

 

[OldBodyOldSoul]

Another vote for Hexar AF. If you like the focal length of 35mm and want a fast working AF camera that is built like a tank, has great ergonomics, fabulous finder, killer lens and is so quiet it puts everything else to shame, get the Hexar. This thing is just phenomenal for street shooting and, what somebody mentioned earlier, the only downside is the top shutter speed of 1/250 though that's really minor.

 

[Chan Tran]

I have one. But it's not a P&S, it's an SLR, different genre.

Still I don't understand the definition of P&S. Because with a camera like the Nikon F6 and you just point and shoot with it you would have much better result than say an Olympus XA which you have to focus, advance the film and rewind the film manually. In fact if you just point and shoot with an F6 I doubt that any camera can beat it in this respect.
I think the term P&S is really a misnomer.

 

[keithwms]

Still I don't understand the definition of P&S. Because with a camera like the Nikon F6 and you just point and shoot with it you would have much better result than say an Olympus XA which you have to focus, advance the film and rewind the film manually. In fact if you just point and shoot with an F6 I doubt that any camera can beat it in this respect.
I think the term P&S is really a misnomer.

It's not a misnomer, it's a term that many people understand very well. I don't see why the definition is difficult.

An F6 is a helluva lot of expensive camera to schlepp around just to do a very simple task. Why pay for and lug around a lot of extra capability that typically isn't desired in a P&S.

I also don't understand what you mean by "much better result." Whatever theoretical improvements the F6 might offer versus a typical P&S are usually moot. A P&S is typically simple and pocketable. And a pocketable camera tends to be in one's pocket.... and thus available right when you need it. As the saying goes, the best camera in the world is the one that you have.

An anyway, even as a long-time Nikon user, I can report without hesitation that the 35mm on the hexar AF is absolutely terrific. Almost without peer. The hexar body is also very innovative and small.

 

[craigclu]

I use Contax G-1 and G-2 gear for most quick duty chores but over the years have been always pleasantly surprised with a Konica Lexio 135 and Fuji 400 and 800 film for snapshot duty. I mention the G's as a reference point as the optics are highly regarded and first rate and the little Konica actually stands up well for gratifying images in appropriate applications. I have an old Leica Mini III that is used inside my hunting jacket and some favorite images have come from it, too. If I'm shooting black & white, I'll tend toward the G's as it's likely I'll be printing larger and like all of the negative I can get to work with.

I'm a bit new to the G's but have enjoyed them. I had sold a Hexar AF that went through a period of little use (I usually use MF if I'm bothering to take meaningful images). I then found that I missed the Hexar and jumped on the G series as a viable and more flexible alternative. Both are capable of wringing everything from your film and I would rate the optics as being at the same level after using both systems.

 

[DaveO]

The Nikon L 35AF supposedly was a very good camera that uses AA batteries, I believe. The only problem is that the lens and vf cap is easily lost. Mine is.

DaveO

 

[Chan Tran]

It's not a misnomer, it's a term that many people understand very well. I don't see why the definition is difficult.

An F6 is a helluva lot of expensive camera to schlepp around just to do a very simple task. Why pay for and lug around a lot of extra capability that typically isn't desired in a P&S.

I also don't understand what you mean by "much better result." Whatever theoretical improvements the F6 might offer versus a typical P&S are usually moot. A P&S is typically simple and pocketable. And a pocketable camera tends to be in one's pocket.... and thus available right when you need it. As the saying goes, the best camera in the world is the one that you have.

An anyway, even as a long-time Nikon user, I can report without hesitation that the 35mm on the hexar AF is absolutely terrific. Almost without peer. The hexar body is also very innovative and small.

So you call it point and shoot but what you really mean is "Compact, Cheap and Limited Controls". By the way a modern 35mm SLR is likely to AF and exposure more accurately than a compact camera and the lenses are generally sharper.

 

[Les Sarile]

The 35Ti and Hexar are not cheap and they have exceptional lenses. You can think of it as SLR's for those who only use one lens.

 

[keithwms]

The 35mm lens on the hexar is widely considered to be one of the best ever. It's not a compromise, by any means.

Let's see, here's a photo of my little nephew taken with "Compact, Cheap and Limited Controls"....

As for the definition of point 'n shoot, I didn't create the definition.... and it's not my problem if someone can't accept it!

 

[nikoniak]

My Nikon L35AF does well...and i dont want another!

 

[elekm]

Rollei 35 QZ series. Still very expensive with good specs, a good lens and lots of manual capabilities.

 

[BrianL]

I'm not into auto anything cameras as a general rule but do have a Konica AA-35 that is very pocketable and has never failed me and even has a built in flash. Also, you only need half the film. Olympus 1/2 frame vintage cameras also make great p&s cameras and are almost bullet proof.

Another is the Canon AF-35ML, the forst autofocus. No manual controls. I picked it up at a thrift as a throw in the glove box but then read the reviews and shot a test roll. The results were bang on with the reviews, the lens is great, the exposures near bang on for an averaging metering system, autofocus is not fast but is vey good and the autowind is not Leica advance competition. I've decided to pull together a filterset and find the wide angle and telephoto acc'y lenses for it, not something I'd normally do for a camera of tis type.

 

[Aristophanes]

Fuji Natura Classica does me well.

 

[Pumalite]

Contax TVS II is my favorite

 

[blockend]

Point and shoot suggests compactness, auto exposure and - at least on later models - auto focus. The idea is you can capture a shot without adjustment to the camera or it taking up more than purse/pocket space. SLRs, even OM1 or ME sized cameras, are not pocketable with a lens attached, and even a Pentax ME with a pancake lens doesn't have lockable lens positions, so cannot be described as PAS. SLRs and manual rangefinders are not point and shoot cameras.