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ekomorgan

ekomorgan

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We are going on vacation, and while nothing can beat my D700, I am wanting something a little easier to carry around. Will be taking pictures of 2 active boys, outside, beach location, pool side, etc.

Just wondering if any of you have a camera you would recommend using when not wanting to carry a bigger camera.
 
I have been using a Canon S95 for the past couple of months. My first choice was the new Olympus XZ-1, mostly for the very fast lens. However, it's bulkier and I could easily start "forgetting" it at home, after a while. The idea was to have an efficient little camera in my pocket at all times. The S95 does the job. Because of the small aperture at the long end (4.9), shooting RAW at 1000 ISO still produces quite good results, considering sensor limitations, among others.

It all depends on what you want to do. I also use a D700 - also good for "exercising" - and the S95 fits the bill for an efficient pocket camera.

I wish Nikon would have something similar, so I could benefit from the advantages of integration.

--
Nikon D700, D300, D60

Nikkor 12-24 / 18-135 / 18-55 / 70/300 VR II / 50 f/1.4 / 105 f/2.5 / 24-70 f/2.8
SB 800 / SB 600
Profoto D1 Air strobes
 
Sorry, that probably wasn't what you meant. :-) But seriously, I did get it because of how much smaller and lighter it would be compared to a D3. Combined with a couple upcoming backpacking trips...

I really like Canon compacts. Panasonic has done a decent job in recent years, though their flash still seems a little weak, and some of the camera logic is a little off. (For example, when it chooses to up ISO vs shutter speed+stabilization--it waits to long and lets the shutter drop further than the stabilization can effectively compensate for). But they're good cameras, good features, decent batteries, etc.

I think the panasonic TS-3 is the best waterproof one out there, if that interests you. Otherwise, I'd look at Canon's. It depends a lot on how much interaction you want. If you want true manual control, you're options are really limited. I'm inclined to second the s95 suggestion. Panasonic's high-end compact--the LX-5? I can't keep them all straight--is a good camera too.

A step down from that are the higher-end canon elphs or whatever that have great movie features, I think maybe a aperture or a shutter-priority mode, etc. Very pocketable size too. They're still going to take a little coin out of you, but they're noticeably cheaper than the premium compacts.
 
I've been VERY happy with iPhone4 as my P&S. Whether it's a weekend getaway or an overseas trip - iPhone rocks. Picture quality is good enough to capture the moment and being able to record video has been invaluable. But the most awesome feature of all is... that it's ALWAYS with me. My wife owns a Sony P&S and usually brings it everywhere, yet still, more often then not it stays in the car, in another purse or simply at home.

Forget vacation, I even started using it home a lot more. Two D700's with the holy trinity of lenses are right next to me, yet I find it easier to snap pics of our little one with my iPhone, because often there is no time to run for your dSLR.. certain moments last only seconds. I also love to push "Email" button and within seconds grandma is calling with Ahhs and Ohhs as to how cute her grandson looks today :)

The best P&S I have EVER owned :)

--
Vadim
http://www.VadimPhoto.com
 
Check out the Ricoh GRD III. It's an amazing camera. And if you can stomach something a little bigger, check out the Ricoh GXR with the 28mm lens.
 
Thanks for your suggestions. I will be checking them all out except for the D90 which I already own but have decided to try and sell because it hasn't been touched since getting my d700 and the iPhone since my husband works for Microsoft and "apple" is a four letter word in our house. :)
 
Have you thought about Fuji X100? With a D700 you'll be used to using higher ISOs and the Fuji allows you to continue to do this, albeit with a few bugbears. Get a fast card and a couple of extra batteries and you are good to go.
--
Patrick Dodds
 
I have a D3S, a D80 for underwater and a D70. I wanted something small enough to just toss in a bag or glove box. I looked at the Cannon S95, but ended up choosing the Nikon CoolPix P7000 for several reasons. 1) Optical viewfinder, my close vision isn't what it used to be, and with the viewfinder I feel more confident in what I am framing (as long as I'm not too close), and I feel I can hold the camera more stable. 2) On-Camera controls without nested menus. Not only P,S,A,M & scenes but also aperture, shutter speed, exposure, depth of field preview, with ISO, Metering and Focus modes through a quick menu system that works quite well.

For me, the viewfinder and controls were more important than going to an even smaller sizel. It takes great photos and will save Raw and jpeg simultaneously.
 
If you want good images, take just your I-Phone. If you want great images, take your D700 with a 35 or 50 prime. It's not that heavy or bulky if you use it this way.
 
I have a D3 and D7000. I also wanted a light P&S but decided to go with a Canon T3. I was able to get a super good deal on a new T3 w/17-55 on Flea Bay. The T3 is very "plasticky" but super-light. The IQ is excellent with all the advantages of a DSLR. I'm definitely liking it alot!!
 
VadimOm said:
I've been VERY happy with iPhone4 as my P&S. Whether it's a weekend getaway or an overseas trip - iPhone rocks. Picture quality is good enough to capture the moment and being able to record video has been invaluable. But the most awesome feature of all is... that it's ALWAYS with me. My wife owns a Sony P&S and usually brings it everywhere, yet still, more often then not it stays in the car, in another purse or simply at home.

Forget vacation, I even started using it home a lot more. Two D700's with the holy trinity of lenses are right next to me, yet I find it easier to snap pics of our little one with my iPhone, because often there is no time to run for your dSLR.. certain moments last only seconds. I also love to push "Email" button and within seconds grandma is calling with Ahhs and Ohhs as to how cute her grandson looks today :)

The best P&S I have EVER owned :)
Click to expand...
Yes, I agree.

I'm hearing rumors that the iPhone 5 will have an 8 Mp camera with more features. So it just gets better and better.

--
Zane
http://www.pbase.com/devonshire
Nikon D7000 & D2x
NAPP Member

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments it takes our breath away.” ~ Anonymous
 
Zane Paxton said:
I'm hearing rumors that the iPhone 5 will have an 8 Mp camera with more features. So it just gets better and better.
Click to expand...
No it doesn't ... it's still a small little hole letting very little light through to a very stressed sensor.

Go with the s95 because it's small but biggest in pocket-volume quality.

Unfortunately Nikon's not so good in this area. A m4/3 or a Fuji fixed-lens--fairly-good-retro-thingie just doesn't fit in a pocket. May as well sling the big camera or a DX.

Y'know, in the real world for most of us, when you're out'n'about with other priorities & or in a p&s frame of mind, sometimes just 'seeing' a photo is as good as taking taking one that maybe mediocre anyway. It's eye-training at least and lovin' the world at best.

So what do you use to take the opportunist's photo? Whatever quality you're enthused to carry. It's like your own body weight ratio for you're cycling or climbing ... it keeps you honest.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
90% of good photography is just being there
 
For a similar use I bought the Olympus E-PL1 MFT camera. Sensor size is 6x that of a P&S and good for ISO 1600 with printable results at wall print sizes. Camera with its 14-42mm (FX 28-84mm) zoom lens sells for under $450 and weighs only 17 ounces.

Its internal flash works very well and can even control a remote TTL flash like the $200 Metz 50 model that is Olympus compatible.

It has multiple focus modes including an excellent face recognition mode, and aperture and shutter priority modes. It has excellent scene modes that are a lot more sophisticated than the type found on older cameras like the D40/D60 cameras that make it very easy for a novice to get great results. My wife used one mode to easily use the flash for closeup flower pictures on our last trip to Costa Rica and got great shots with the background blacked out without any idea of what was taking place inside the camera.

Only thing to be aware of is that the internal optical stabilization is nowhere near as good as lens VR and flash or a high shutter speed is needed for most picture taking. I would recommend 1/2x focal length when shooting hand held with no flash.
 
P&S? This is it.
 
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