Camera Choice

Sorry if this question is beaten to death. I'm sure it is. But I'd very much appreciate some informed help. If this is not the right forum for this, then mods, please feel free to relocate it.

I'm trying to decide on which new high-end P&S camera to get. I'm an experienced point/shoot enthusiast. I manage to get what I think are some great shots on our current camera, the venerable 4MP 2004 Canon A85. (The two here are from Old San Juan and Vieques.)

The new camera will be mostly for vacation photos. My priorities are great low-light pics, medium-small size (not tiny--I carry a small Lowe bag and value grippability), a wide-angle lens, vivid color and sharpness, and ease of use.

I will never, ever process RAW files, because I take way too many photos and am just too lazy. JPEGs look pretty good to me. I refuse to carry a lens around other than the one attached to the camera. I never use flash and actually use the manual mode most of the time on our Canon A85. (Go ahead and laugh.) I never use telephoto. Don't need a viewfinder. I would like to spend around $400 US, but I could go up to $500 if it gets better IQ.

My short list so far: Lumix LX5, Samsung TL500, Samsung NX100, Oly E-PL1 (for the IQ, not the multi-lens options, which I'll never use), Oly XZ-1, Fuji F550. I'm even eyeing the Canon G11 and G12; I don't mind the viewfinder if it means better IQ, though I wonder if how bulky they are. The Canon S95 is too small; I love shooting one-handed, and I actually love the size of our ancient A85--easy to hold and not so huge that it screams "I'm an American tourist!" I let my grating accent and medieval table manners do that for me. But I digress.

Should I go for the biggest sensor I can get and sacrifice the 24mm wide lens of the LX5 to get a 4/3 or APS-C sensor? (I've even considered getting a Sigma DP-1.)

The Sony NEX-3 was a brief contender, but that lens sticks out way too far for me to carry it around in a tiny bag.

The LX5 is very tempting, but people seem to hate the overly complex menus. (I love Canon's menus.)

The TL500 seems great, but I worry about the flip screen's durability; wouldn't the hinge eventually wear out? And people say it has an annoying black line in the display that messes up your composition. Also that its predetermined sharpness is too soft and that you can't change it in camera, just in processing, which I'll never do.

OK, enough rambling. Thanks very much for any thoughts and/or advice!

If you could "go up to $500" why wouldn't you just get a nice DSLR? Even with a kit lens, sounds like it would give you all you want, even small and easy to pack around.

You are reading far too much stuff about cameras on the internet, and the more you read the more confused you will become.

Unplug and buy a camera.

Any of the cameras you mentioned can produce superb images in the right hands.

Buy one. Take pictures.

That's the fun part.

I stated in my post that I don't want to carry around a bunch of lenses, or a large camera body. Thus I don't want a DSLR, even if it costs the same.

If anyone has anything to offer on the choices I listed, I would be grateful.

Carlingtonian said:

I will never, ever process RAW files, because I take way too many photos and am just too lazy. JPEGs look pretty good to me. I refuse to carry a lens around other than the one attached to the camera. I never use flash and actually use the manual mode most of the time on our Canon A85. (Go ahead and laugh.) I never use telephoto. Don't need a viewfinder. I would like to spend around $400 US, but I could go up to $500 if it gets better IQ.

Click to expand...

Then go to a store and buy any camera on your list.

For your requirements any of them will be fine.

--
My photos http://brianshannon.smugmug.com/
My photo blog http://brianshannonphotography.blogspot.com/
My Flickr stream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_shannon_photography/

A small consumer DSLR with a kit lens would do more than what you want, just saying. No need to "carry a bunch of lenses."

But hey, it's your money, and your camera. Good luck. I just have a hard time understanding why someone would pay THAT much money for a point-n-shoot....

Seriously, as others have said, for what you say you expect from a camera...just go to Wal-Mart and pick up any $200 point and shoot.

As you don't want to get tied up in post processing, take a careful look at the color tones of the sample images on reviews. For my taste, the Canons and Olys give the most pleasing results.

Kelly Cook

Once you will get a taste of dSLR quality you will find that you are throwing money on compact cameras that cost more than $250.

Any of these would be OK but Canon JPEGs are more pleasing than Panasonic (you said you don't want to PP).
--
Victor
Bucuresti, Romania
http://picasaweb.google.com/victorpetcu69/
http://picasaweb.google.com/teodor.nitica/
http://picasaweb.google.com/vpreallize/
http://picasaweb.google.com/v.petcu.gci/
http://picasaweb.google.com/vpetcu.gci.arhiva/

KCook said:

As you don't want to get tied up in post processing, take a careful look at the color tones of the sample images on reviews. For my taste, the Canons and Olys give the most pleasing results.

Kelly Cook

Click to expand...

Thank you for the helpful post. I too like the Canon images, but I ended up buying the LX-5. The images online looked great to me. And who knows? Maybe I'll take a few RAW shots and see if converting isn't that hard. I've never done that, so it's a little intimidating.

I was sold on the build quality, grip, speed, battery life, and greater wide angle of the LX-5.

Hey, I'm impressed with the build quality of the LX5 as well. For a street cam it would be at the top of my list. Enjoy!

Kelly

I had a G11. It had very reliable white balance and exposure, important if restricting yourself to JPEG. If you want an all-in-one solution it's a great way to go. Way back when, I had an A70, probably similar to your A85.

The G12 is nice though because the ISO dial has 1/3 stop entries.

--
Taken with recent gear:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelbarkowski/sets/72157626671237011/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelbarkowski/sets/72157625018860596/

Carlingtonian said:

KCook said:

As you don't want to get tied up in post processing, take a careful look at the color tones of the sample images on reviews. For my taste, the Canons and Olys give the most pleasing results.

Kelly Cook

Click to expand...

Thank you for the helpful post. I too like the Canon images, but I ended up buying the LX-5. The images online looked great to me. And who knows? Maybe I'll take a few RAW shots and see if converting isn't that hard. I've never done that, so it's a little intimidating.

I was sold on the build quality, grip, speed, battery life, and greater wide angle of the LX-5.

Click to expand...

Glad to see you settled on a camera. I would be interested in hearing from you after you try some RAW, if you plan on that. It's really not that hard, and the results can usually be much better. I know it's intimidating, as I've owned a DSLR since 2003 and didn't even try it (was always overwhelmed) until a year or two ago? Anyway, good luck, and I hope you get what you wanted out of it.