Suggest a Pro Qualty Compact Camera

[Lee]

I want to get a pro quaity Compact Camera.
Any good suggestion or experience with the following specs :-

1. Compact Pro DLR quality with large CCD (non removealbe lens only)
2. Good for night shot without flash & tripod; i.e low noise at high ISO
3. Good wide angle and preferably > 12x zoom
4. User friendly for kid as well
5. Price < S$1300

Thank you.

[orly_andico]

Not possible to get a fixed-lens camera with that big a zoom (12X) and a big sensor. The closest are the Fuji DSLR-lookalikes with a fixed lens, but their sensor is nowhere close to the size of a DSLR sensor.

A DSLR-sensor camera with a 12X zoom would have a huge lens (e.g. Sigma or Tamron 18-200mm or 18-300mm). I understand Nikon also has an 18-200 VR lens. One would think D7000 + 18-200 VR would meet all of your criteria except #1 and #5.

Or, get a Sony NEX-3 with the kit lens, this will meet all your criteria except #3 (it only comes with a 3X zoom).

[superiorstream]

Hi,Lee
How about SP550UZ of olympus.At iso 3200,noise control v.good.This is their first in the >>iso1600 series and this first is quite good.Surprisingly subsequent release like their 560,570,565 is quite noisy at iso3200 and perform well--in taking astrophoto at iso 800 and perhaps 1600 only.Well AA battery is a plus point.Only bad point is restricted to the expensive xD card and 2 GB only for this camera.Out of production now.In fact I suspect they all gang up and STOP producing good high end digital camera using AA battery and force us to buy those expensive camera specialized battery.My 2 cents.

[cloud_cover]

Lee: Some of your criteria are mutually exclusive:
1. Large CCD and small size generally do not go well together: the larger the CCD the larger the body and imaging path needs to be, hence the larger the lenses as well.
2. Good wide angle and 12x zoom: Such a lens would have severe distortion hence I don't think you'll find it "good"

You need to think what you want to use the camera for: If its important that it is contained in a handbag or pocket, then a compact is the only way to go and you'll have to compromise on the low light and SLR quality and balance bewteen zoom and distortion. Having said that some of them are very decent.
If image quality is important to you, then go with an SLR - I suggest Nikon/Canon because they have the widest range of lenses and accys that are relatively cheap. I've used the Nikon 18-200mmVR on a D70 for a year and it basically never came off my camera. Distortion was barely noticable unless you went hunting for it and it performed well up to ISO800. Beyond that the noise was noticable but definitely much less - 1600 was about comparable to the noise in a fuji f10 at 400
If you want a compromise, the canon powershot G series is quite good but for that price you can get an entry level DSLR which will generally outperform it

[orly_andico]

Kevin, the G10/G11 will not look like "you've very happy" if it's in your pocket... any DSLR, on the other hand.......

[cloud_cover]

??!!
Erm, I meant if size is not so important then a DSLR or G10/11 is a better idea.

[Airconvent]

If you want a compact, forget about the Canon Gxx series. They are bulky like bricks , does not perform at DSLR level but cost the same.

For mid sized CCD cameras, you can try the Fujifilm F200EXR.

If you don't mind a little bulk, the Panny LX5 should be good too although the older LX3 should be a bargain now.

But none of these give you 12x zoom. What you need are super zooms. In order to achieve that range without increase in size, they need to use smaller CCDs, hence ISO performance suffers.

In the end, maybe you are better off with a Sony NEX with 18-200mm lens. That is DSLR quality performance , have 11x zoom but may be a little too bulky for your kid. But then again, if you are talking about kids, what do they know? They only need to capture the moment, so any of the superzooms should be ok.

[orly_andico]

A study was done many years ago...

Apparently 80% of shots were taken at 35mm or 50mm.

10% at 28mm or wider.

And 10% at 100mm or longer.

So requiring an 11X super-zoom for the tiny percentage (about 5%) of shots taken at that focal length, is like buying a full-sized, ladder-frame SUV for the one week a year that you go driving in rural Malaysia (or something like that...)

So relaxing that requirement and being satisfied with a 3X zoom, opens up a lot of other possibilities.


Me, I'd be happy with an NEX-3 with the 16mm pancake! no zoom at all!

[Lee]

Thanks of the all the comments.

In the end I decided on the Lumix LX5.
Great low light and depth of field.
May get another high quality compact zoom > 20x. Any recommendation ? Also looking for a time lapse intervalometer (for time lapse recording)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/P ... dmclx5.asp