Point & Shoot Recommendation

[louie2003louie]

Hi guys!! Recently I wanna buy a high quality zoom P&S 35mm camera. Not the Olympus Stylus kinda camera.

The Leica Minilux produces really high quality photos. But I've heard many e01 / e02 error cases. The repairing cost is around $150~$250. It's a very common case. That really scares me off. The Fuji Natura is good too. Does anyone have some more recommendations?

Is there any Nikon / Minolta / Contax P&S camera falls into this category (High quality lens, zoom, P&S)?

 

[IloveTLRs]

The Nikon 35Ti is a very nice camera. I had one for a while and it took great pictures. There's also the 28Ti (28mm lens) but I've had no experience with it. If you're not really choosy, there's the Nikon L35AF is totally automatic and totally plastic, but takes nice pictures and can be had for a song.

Mintola made the TC-1, which according to some, has the best lens ever on a compact camera.

Contax made the T, T2 and T3. There's also the TVS I, II and III. I have a T, which is an excellent camera: it's aperture priority and features a rangefinder. The T2 is autofocus and also excellent. I've never used the T3 (still too expensive) although it's supposed to be excellent.
The TVS is nice, but a little quirky. I've never used the TVSII or III. They have zoom lenses.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

There is a long thread on point and shoot cameras at photonet. I have Nikon PS and its terrible , Most expensive Nikon PS camera have the half of the contrast of Leica. I have Leica Mini Zoom Elmar 35 70 and the problem is the quickness of the autofocus , it is slow. And control buttons are for children . I did not find zoom meaningful for Leica. If you use them with fast film , they give you excellent pictures
I am sure Leica Minilux is better than mine.
If you like Leica , go for it. Leica is an investment for your photography not for your bank account. If if needs repair , just repair it and use years and years with pride.
Leica Camp , wow !

Umut

 

[louie2003louie]

Thanks both.

I'm looking for a zoom because I plan to use it for road trips during the summer. I shoot digital and film. I use all kinda equipment during the weekend. But for a road trip, I don't bring wanna have too much burden. I would bring a Nikon D300 with three lenses, a Lumix LX-3, a Mamiya 7II with 65mm lens, and a NobleX 135 S. I don't wanna bring another 135 SLR, it's just too much.

It seems that TVS zoom is nice, I do some research on this.

For the Leica Mini Zoom Elmar, is it that good? It looks very much like an Olympus Stylus. Maybe I'm too spoiled by the result of Leica Minilux. However, that potential repair cost really scares me away. Difficult choice.

 

[elcabezagrande]

The Canon Sure Shot Classic 120 is an absolutely fantastic compact zoom, here is a flickr set that I took with mine:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/sets/72157625982338082/

The Leica Mini Zoom is also quite capable, but I'm not sure if it is worth the extra cost for that red dot:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/sets/72157625523664736/

The Olympus Stylus Zooms are also quite good. Keep an eye out for the Stylus Epic Zoom 80 Wide, it has the same fast 2.8 aperture as the Stylus Epic, but they are quite rare. Also, the Rollei Prego 90 has an excellent reputation.

 

[louie2003louie]

Thanks elcabezagrande.

Is the bokeh of these two cameras good? I tried to find my photos of the Sure Shot and the Mini Zoom, the bokeh isn't too good. Perhaps I haven't found good samples yet.

 

[elcabezagrande]

Louie, to tell you the truth, I've never really given bokeh much consideration when it comes to point & shoot cameras. The lack of manual control of shutter and aperture makes selective DOF problematical. And offhand, I can't really think of any p&s that is really noted for its OOF properties, all that I have used to this point have rather smooth out-of-focus areas. It may just be the nature of the beast, and the price you pay for convenience. Maybe someone else can shed more light on this.

 

[louie2003louie]

That's true. So far, there's not many P&S cameras can produce excellent bokeh. Except those with a fast prime lens like Fuji Natura 1.9, Hexar AF, Leica prime P&S, etc. Perhaps I'm demanding too much.

 

[DBP]

Why a P&S? wouldn't a rangefinder be small enough?

 

[louie2003louie]

'Cos a mediocre~nice rangefinder is expensive. And lenses are mostly prime. Most of these rangefinders are with manual lenses. As I said, I would use this camera for summer road trips. I'll be carrying four other cameras. That P&S is for quick snapshot along with the Lumix LX-3. For serious shots, I'll be using Mamiya 7II & D300 and NobleX for landscape.

 

[Diapositivo]

I suggest you investigate about the Contax G2 with the 35-70 zoom. It's not as small as a real p&s but, if money is not object, a Contax G2 will give you quality without any compromise at all. And you can also later add lenses such as the 28 which are in any case very small. Even higher optical performance would be guaranteed by a G2 with 28mm, 50mm, 90mm. The entire setup would enter inside a bumbag. This is an expensive camera though and I don't think I would recommend it for things like hiking, seaside etc.

I'm afraid that all other point & shoot have a trade-off: either a very good lens (if and when) but fixed focal length, or a zoom of questionable quality. That depends on the degree of quality you need for this kind of pictures.

I have sold several images through a stock agency (not "micro") taken with a Yashica T3 (35mm Tessar lens, very sharp but quite vignetting at times). That means a good lens on a point & shoot is capable of results of quite high quality.

 

[IloveTLRs]

It seems that TVS zoom is nice, I do some research on this.

I had one I used on vacation a few years ago. The viewfinder was a little dim and the zoom lever a little weird, but it took really nice photos, especially slides! It's also very quiet: the only noises it makes are advance & rewind. Plus there's panorama mode (it just crops the top & bottom but it looks nice.)

Focus started acting up on mine, but wouldn't show up until I had developed my films. In the end the camera ended up mis-focusing most of the shots on a roll I guess my advice would be to make sure AF works, as well as the power button.

 

[johnielvis]

big lens P&S for "awsome bokeh"

there's a canon ML P&S--it has a 40 f1.9 lens in it---BIG glass for a P&S. no manual aperture though....

the only manual aperture I've seen (used, in my hands) is the 35ti and 28ti nikons.

I have the 35ti---and the canon ML---the 35ti I DO like, but not as much as the olympus f3.5 or 2.8 cameras....them are the best--nice and compact.

Hey--if you want the ML, I think I'm done playing with it---haven't used it for a year about---if you want it, PM me and we can do something....

 

[elcabezagrande]

That Canon ML is a good picture-taker, and it is a solid and dependable camera, but it would have been a true classic if Canon had thought to allow the user to turn the flash off and take real advantage of that fast lens.

 

[louie2003louie]

Wow, that's a lot of information.

I looked into the Contax G2 several years ago. I considered buying a set but dropped it 'cos I went into medium format. I may want a set in the future and would use it on casually on weekends.

For prime lens manual focus cameras, I already have some vintages. The Bolsey C, Chinese Seagull 4A, Graflex 22 TRL, Argus C3, and some other old babies. But those are for my weekend shooting days. For full 35mm lens auto P&S, I have Olympus Ecru and Minolta PROD-20.

On road trips, I always carry Mamiya 7II, D300 with several lenses, Lumix LX-3, and NobleX for the best results. These 4 cameras are my must carry items. Sometimes, I would carry one or two more. I need the handiness of small camera for quick snapshot while I'm traveling. For more serious shots, I would use the Mamiya and D300. That's why I need a zoom P&S.

For those who loves film should know that viewing slides through a loupe or projector is 10 times more enjoyable than a digital image on a 32" monitor. Even a causal snapshot is worth minutes and minutes looking at it.

 

[flatulent1]

Not a P&S, I know, but almost as small: Nikon N80. You're already bringing a collection of Nikkors, so why not?

 

[2F/2F]

Canon SUreshots are decent. As are Rollei Pregos.

Thinking about "bokeh" with a point and shoot camera is really digging too far into it IMHO. If I am using a point and shoot, I just care about getting pix simply and conveniently, without worrying about the technical details. If I am in the mood to split hairs about which blobs in the background look better than such and such other blobs, then I don't use a point and shoot.

 

[johnielvis]

That Canon ML is a good picture-taker, and it is a solid and dependable camera, but it would have been a true classic if Canon had thought to allow the user to turn the flash off and take real advantage of that fast lens.

The one I have has a switch for the flash--you push the switch and the flash pops up for user-selected use. you must be thinking of a different camera...or maybe I didn't have the model number right---all it says is "ML" on it.

 

[elcabezagrande]

The one I have has a switch for the flash--you push the switch and the flash pops up for user-selected use. you must be thinking of a different camera...or maybe I didn't have the model number right---all it says is "ML" on it.

OOps, my bad. I was confused. It is the first two models in Nikon's L35AF series that I was thinking of regarding the flash, not the Canon AF35ML. The ML will just beep at you when light is too low, but the aperture will open all the way and the shutter will still fire. Have you tried any low-light shots with your ML? I wonder what the slowest shutter speed is.

I think for low light, one might want the late serial number versions that go up to 1000 ASA.

 

[johnielvis]

blast...replied and lost it--this reply shorter
mine does go to asa 1000--just took it out and put batts in to play with it

it did not take long to get annoyed with the focusing--THAT's why I never use it anymore--just got reminded---there's no feedback to when it's focused other than a light that lights up in the viewfinder--and it takes a long time to light up compared to the olympus autofocus---this delay is unbearable to me--otherwise--the focusing is actually better than the olympus because it gives a rough distance of where it's focusing so you can tell if it's focused on what you want it to be focused on---theres a "close" "midrange" and "distant" focus indicators that light up--it just takes too long---and it gives no feedbak while it's doing this--so you don't know if it's focusing or not---like you can't tell if you got the button pressed all the way---I'm just used to manual focus or 35ti immediate autofocus I guess--I just cant get used to this camra's focus--so THAT's why I never shoot it.

 

[ArtTwisted]

The olympus XA. Tolerate the prime, benefits are tiny size, sharp sharp lens, exposure meter that can count forever, manual focus, manual aperture, plus 1.5 stop compensation, timer, etc. Also since the aperture is manual you can decide if you want short DOF, and as its manual focus its easy to pick where the DOF is. No zoom, but theres no camera that has it all , I looked for a long time for a p&s and the XA is what I ended up going for.

 

[upnorthcyclist]

I acquired a Minolta Hi-Matic AF2 in a package deal. It sat around for awhile - finally I batteried it up and took it out and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the lens, focusing accuracy etc. It's pretty plasticky. They go for next to nothing on eBay, so it would be a good vacation P&S because you wouldn't be out much if it were lost, stolen, damaged etc. I keep mine on the bike, in the car, sometimes in my knapsack and it has never failed and has produced nice shots, even with slide film.

Mike