List of good P&S camera's

[George Mann]

Perhaps you should qualify your statement with verifiable facts, OK?

Only those with a background in physics and engineering can "verifiably" relate to such facts!

 

[MattKing]

Only those with a background in physics and engineering can "verifiably" relate to such facts!

Lots of those here.
Just physics for me, and I've been out of that for decades.
Amazingly though, it seems that many who have no such background are capable of some of the best photography. As well as getting the best results from their equipment.

 

[Les Sarile]

Only those with a background in physics and engineering can "verifiably" relate to such facts!

You're saying it's only verifiable in theory and doesn't really exist in photos taken?

 

[George Mann]

You're saying it's only verifiable in theory and doesn't really exist in photos taken?

You are not worth another second of my time!

 

[Les Sarile]

You are not worth another second of my time!

Contradiction since it took longer then a second to compose that response.

However, you are worth reaching out to.

 

[Alan Johnson]

In the case of fixed focal length P&S cameras I think the number of candidates can be reduced by specifying that they must have at least four element lenses.For example, I have a Yashica J mini which takes sharp landscapes.It was also quite cheap.

 

[AgX]

My point is that the majority of auto-exposure camera's have meters that are biased for negative film (overexposure) vs. slide film (underexposure).

There is a standard for light meters. And this does not differenciate between metering for negative or reversal film. Nor are there any light meters that are designed for metering for reversal film.
It is the photographer who has to take into account the characteristics of the film, as in establishing the luminance range. And yes, light meters aid in this to varying degrees.

 

[Chan Tran]

There is a standard for light meters. And this does not differenciate between metering for negative or reversal film. Nor are there any light meters that are designed for metering for reversal film.
It is the photographer who has to take into account the characteristics of the film, as in establishing the luminance range. And yes, light meters aid in this to varying degrees.

There is one kind of metering I found that does have the bias is the Nikon Matrix system. I don't know about other company Evaluative system. However, I doubt that any of those P&S have such a metering system. The matrix system does bias for slides. Many cameras I found that the meter is simply wrong and not bias for anything. They need to be calibrated. A lot of them their response isn't linear that is it could read high in bright light and low in low light or vice versa.

 

[Les Sarile]

There is one kind of metering I found that does have the bias is the Nikon Matrix system. . . . The matrix system does bias for slides.

I believe the OP uses a Nikon.

How was the bias implemented and how does the camera know whether it is loaded with slide film or any other film?

Is this documented by Nikon?

 

[Chan Tran]

I believe the OP uses a Nikon.

How was the bias implemented and how does the camera know whether it is loaded with slide film or any other film?

Is this documented by Nikon?

The Matrix system is a big great undocumented one (Well must be documented but not release for people outside of Nikon) but by using it in so many situation I found that it would give good results for slides and often lousy for negative. No the camera doesn't know which film you loaded but if you shoot color negative with it you're in for disappointment.

 

[George Mann]

There is one kind of metering I found that does have the bias is the Nikon Matrix system. The matrix system does bias for slides.

Yes. Matrix for slides, center-weighted for negatives.

 

[George Mann]

I believe the OP uses a Nikon.

The mighty F90x to be precise!

 

[ac12]

Yes. Matrix for slides, center-weighted for negatives.

I shot an awful LOT of slide film in my Nikon with a center-weighted meter.
They came out just fine.

 

[Craig75]

nikon 35ti has matrix metering

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Since this exposure discussion has piqued my interest, this is the only thing I've been able to find regarding Nikon's 3D color matrix metering as regards to film cameras (here, the F5):

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/NikonF5/metering/

Although I don't shoot slide film, if I were to then the MIR page may convince me the 3d matrix meter gives me a better chance of exposing the slide film correctly.

Clearly, the F5 is about as far away from a P&S as you can get. Nikon 35Ti? Hmmm....

For whatever it's worth, KR (among others) thinks the Nikon 35Ti's matrix meter is great for slide film like Velvia:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35ti.htm

 

[Paul Howell]

Maybe the upscale point and shoots are designed for slide films, but my guess is that P&S were intended for the casual users, folks who use to use 110 and 126, and horrible disk, as such meters were optimized for color negative film. Very early models the user set the ISO, later models DX without override, saying that my Pentax IQ zooms do a very good with both color negative film and black and white.

 

[Chan Tran]

Since this exposure discussion has piqued my interest, this is the only thing I've been able to find regarding Nikon's 3D color matrix metering as regards to film cameras (here, the F5):

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/NikonF5/metering/

Although I don't shoot slide film, if I were to then the MIR page may convince me the 3d matrix meter gives me a better chance of exposing the slide film correctly.

Clearly, the F5 is about as far away from a P&S as you can get. Nikon 35Ti? Hmmm....

For whatever it's worth, KR (among others) thinks the Nikon 35Ti's matrix meter is great for slide film like Velvia:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35ti.htm

Funny you said that the F5 is as far away as a P&S as you can get. For many years before I bought my DSLR the F5 is as close to a P&S as I had. For example I have the Olympus XA but I do have to focus manually. When I bought my DSLR it beats the F5 in term of P&S because I can now let it chooses the focus point automatically plus adjusting the ISO automatically. So the high end digital cameras are indeed the best P&S.

 

[George Mann]

I shot an awful LOT of slide film in my Nikon with a center-weighted meter.
They came out just fine.

At -1/3?

 

[George Mann]

For whatever it's worth, KR (among others) thinks the Nikon 35Ti's matrix meter is great for slide film like Velvia:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35ti.htm

Read down into the review where he states that he still has to compensate. You don't have to do that with the SLR's.

 

[narsuitus]

Canon Sure Shot and Nikon L35AF are compact 35mm point & shoot cameras. Both are motorized, auto-focus, auto-exposure cameras that are great for the times when I need to shoot with a small, simple, inexpensive, easy to operate camera that takes decent quality photos.

They are also useful for the times when I need to loan someone a camera. For example, when I shoot weddings, I sometimes give a camera to a female and ask her to go into a restricted area (like the women’s dressing room) and take candid photos of the bride.

Both cameras require two AA batteries.



Point & Shoot by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[narsuitus]

For one U.S. dollar, I bought this cute little blue see-through plastic body 35mm point & shoot camera. The camera was made in China for Vivitar and has a Mazda logo. It was designed to be used only outdoors in bright sunlight with ISO 400 film. In spite of its toy-like appearance, it has proven to be a decent hand-held scenic camera. It is my first choice when I am hiking and/or biking and image quality is less important to me than size, weight, and expendability.

With the exception of single AA battery needed for the built-in flash, the camera is battery independent.



Point & Shoot by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[George Mann]

The Nikon L35AF is a winner for sure!

 

[Chan Tran]

If I need a compact camera for shooting slides I would use one of those which is capable of fully manual. I would test the shutter speed and then use it without the built in meter. I really don't trust the built in meter of those compact camera.

 

[albada]

What I would like to see is a list comprised of:
Lens quality (sharpness, resolve, contrast, color rendition, etc.).
Metering accuracy and ability (suitable for slide film?).
Flexibility (manual control, defeatable flash?).
Camera size, and type of battery.
Current going price.

If you can do without auto-focus, try the Olympus Trip 35. Going through your list:
* lens quality is famous, making this camera a cult classic;
* metering is accurate (but check first on such old cameras);
* flexibility: you have manual f-stops at 1/40th second;
* small size;
* no battery (Selenium cell powers meter);
* price is around US$40 for a working one.

The disadvantage: You must focus by symbol (on top of focus ring) or by scale (on bottom of focus ring).

Mark Overton

 

[TheRook]

If you simply point and shoot a rangefinder camera, many photos will likely be out of focus, as manual focusing is required. For that reason, I do not think rangefinder cameras really qualify as "point & shoot" cameras. (Apparently, some folks seem to have a different interpretation of "point & shoot".) Although I suppose simple (2 or 3 step) zone-focusing cameras could be considered "point & shoot" cameras, even if focusing is not automatic and must be selected prior to shooting.