The perfect Point-and-Shoot Digital Camera?

Marty4650,

I do acknowledge the lens problem, however - I'm always looking forward to technological advancements, especially in the optics field.

I've examined current P&S in various price points, such as the Canon S90 , Samsung TL500 and Sigma DP2 .

I tried to build the specifications based on those models, yet with a look forward into the near future. I'm pretty sure what I came-up with could be possible in a few years time.

It's hard to accommodate a large capacity battery, 3" LCD, a 1" sensor and a good zoom lens into a small body - BUT it's not impossible!

Never give up hope

Eric Glam said:

I tried to build the specifications based on those models, yet with a look forward into the near future. I'm pretty sure what I came-up with could be possible in a few years time.

Click to expand...

No. Not in the lens department... not on anything OTHER than a small sensor.

It is a matter of plain physics that you cannot have a BIG aperture and a BIG zoom range in a small lens serving a BIG sensor. [Only the TARDIS has more room on the inside than it takes up on the outside! ;-)]

Indeed, it is tiny sensors that make long zooms and megazooms possible at all, and yet even those we have are more restricted in maximum aperture than you've been asking for.

For any of this to change significantly, we're gonna have to be taking pictures WITHOUT using conventional lenses at all. Now, this may indeed happen, in time....

.... but it is going to require some out of the box breakthrough in technology that doesn't currently exist. It is NOT going to be achieved by incremental development of what we have now.

Seriously.

You are not asking for a decent electric car. You are asking for an anti-gravity hoverboard! ;-)
--
Regards,
Baz

Well, I'll see your Cher, and your Streisand... and I'll raise you an Alice Babs!

Marty4650,

Actually, the camera that meets most of my specs is the Ricoh GXR A12 50mm .
This camera has gorgeous pictures with unrivaled image quality in the P&S sizes.
The sensor inside of it is huge (23.6 x 15.7 mm) .

However, there are 3 major problems with it:

1. The lens is fixed at 50mm.
2. This baby is expensive and rather hard to find!
3. It's a bit thick at 77 mm (yep, 'cause of the lens).

Still, I'd love to own one of those.

Those three problems are just too much for me.

I just ordered an Olympus EP1 from Costco.
$499..... with lens....4GB card... and free shipping.

This is a camera I can afford. And I won't have to buy another sensor every time I want to add a lens. Plus I have lots of Minolta, Canon, and Konica lenses I can use for free... if I buy cheap adapters.



http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11525799&search=olympus&Mo=3&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=olympus&Ntt=olympus&No=3&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1
(This sale ends May 9)

This will be my "point and shoot camera."
--
Marty
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132/show/
http://www.fluidr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132
Olympus E-30
Zuiko 9-18mm
Zuiko 14-54mm II
Zuiko 40-150mm I
Zuiko 70-300mm
Zuiko 50mm f/2.0 macro