Best Non-SLR digital camera

[AstroWolf]

we should start a G9 club here on SUFU. haha. Or, at least a thread of pics to compare.

[jswanson3]

Leica D-Lux 3

Agreed. Great camera if its within your budget.

[ProfMonnitoff]

Agreed. Great camera if its within your budget.

You know that it's just a rebadged $200 Panasonic, right?

[jswanson3]

You know that it's just a rebadged $200 Panasonic, right?

It's a rebadged $449 Panasonic, and yes I happily payed the difference for the badge, and the sleek minimalist design of the Leica.

[jonle714]

has anyone handled a Lumix DMC-FX100?

[WillKhitie]

It's a rebadged $449 Panasonic, and yes I happily payed the difference for the badge, and the sleek minimalist design of the Leica.

The question is, does the Panasonic one still fit in that sleek Leica leather case?

[Yardsale]

this thing is suppose to be sex because of the large sensor and the amount of control u have...

[aizan]

here's a good write-up of the dp1

[VuONG]

anyone have experience with teh sd750?

this is actually the camera i use as my point and shoot SCREEN IS HUGE and it is fairly affordable. its an awesome camera, flash is a little slow, and image quality is lacking with low light no flash pictures. Otherwise a great P&S

second on the sigma DP1 - SLR quality - P&S look

Panasonic Lumix - DMC-FZ50K - lots of lens attachments

G9 - its like the lumix but in a smaller form, almost everyone in my class who doesn't have a SLR has a G9.

[conan.]

yo i work at cam store

G9 ain't that popular but it is nice nice camera.. i think a lot of ppl figure if you're gonna spend that much, might as wel buy SLR.. which is kinda true but the g9's size is handy

canon-wise, the sx100 and the s5 ain't bad either

[jonathanschley]

i just got a G9, i'm happy with it.... everything is manually adjustable which is nice. it takes great pics on par with very entry level basic slr's. i mostly bought it for the size as opposed to an SLR, as for complaints, to get the best pics i shoot it on 80 or 100 iso, but you need a perfectly still hand, even a millimeter or movement in your hand will completely throw off the pic.

[jcotteri]

m8 or stfu

[jonathanschley]

m8 or stfu

most stupid response.

[jcotteri]

why? Do you consider yourself above this certain camera?

perhaps you don't like lecia... other rangefinders

Mamiya 6/7, Konica Hexar-RF

[jonathanschley]

why? Do you consider yourself above this certain camera?

perhaps you don't like lecia... other rangefinders

Mamiya 6/7, Konica Hexar-RF

no, not at all, it's a silly comment because the guy initially was mentioning cameras in the $500 price range, and then you make a comment insinuating that the M8, a camera 10 times his general price range, is the only option.

[jcotteri]

I believe the thread states "Best NON-SLR digital camera"...

which i stated succinctly. That is all, Yes i did read he wanted something around the Rebel XT pricerange but i don't care.

just stating the "Best NON-SLR digital camera"

so pipe down chachi

[jonathanschley]

I believe the thread states "Best NON-SLR digital camera"...

which i stated succinctly. That is all, Yes i did read he wanted something around the Rebel XT pricerange but i don't care.

just stating the "Best NON-SLR digital camera"

so pipe down chachi

fair enough. i just think your delivery was a bit ridiculous given the circumstances. but you are correct, he did ask, "the best." so, touche.

[jcotteri]

Cliché my niggahhh

[jonathanschley]

Cliché my niggahhh

je ne comprends pas.

[home]

Giving this thread a bump.

A few months ago I was very close to pulling the trigger on a D80. In a way I'm glad I didn't.

I now think that a high-level p&s might be a better option for me (due to size & cost).

Basically I'm looking for a p&s that can give me entry-level DSLR results (or near enough) - this includes a decent manual interface.

So far the Canon G9 seems to fit the bill - what else should I be looking at? Leica? Ricoh?

My budget is roughly 500, but I guess I'm fairly flexibile in this regard if I can see value in dropping more coin.

Cheers.

[kennmon]

i just got a G9, i'm happy with it.... everything is manually adjustable which is nice. it takes great pics on par with very entry level basic slr's. i mostly bought it for the size as opposed to an SLR, as for complaints, to get the best pics i shoot it on 80 or 100 iso, but you need a perfectly still hand, even a millimeter or movement in your hand will completely throw off the pic.

nah, it isnt on par with today's entry level dslrs.

[kennmon]

why? Do you consider yourself above this certain camera?

perhaps you don't like lecia... other rangefinders

Mamiya 6/7, Konica Hexar-RF

ermm you gave two examples of non-digital cameras, which he doesnt want.

uhh that and you are so badass for not caring about posting a reply which really isnt helpful or makes any sense in the context of the thread

[jonathanschley]

Giving this thread a bump.

A few months ago I was very close to pulling the trigger on a D80. In a way I'm glad I didn't.

I now think that a high-level p&s might be a better option for me (due to size & cost).

Basically I'm looking for a p&s that can give me entry-level DSLR results (or near enough) - this includes a decent manual interface.

So far the Canon G9 seems to fit the bill - what else should I be looking at? Leica? Ricoh?

My budget is roughly 500, but I guess I'm fairly flexibile in this regard if I can see value in dropping more coin.

Cheers.

basically, as for BEST non SLR digital camera, at $500, it's the G9, if you are willing to go higher in price, get the Sigma DP1, its $800 at amazon. other than that, you might as well get an SLR.

[highfructosecorn]

i was looking at this purchase a couple months back. i ended up getting a panasonic lx2 over the g9 because of the wider (leica) lens and at the time it was cheaper. i've been pretty happy with the image quality and level of manual control. from what i understand the hardware is the same as the leica d-lux3 but the image processing has been altered to get a "leica look"

edit: by the way. the image quality and control from high end p&s cameras are better than most entry level dslr's with the stock lens. also some entry level dslrs (to me) FEEL cheap (rebel XT).

[home]

^^ yeah dp review mentioned that the G9 felt more solid/dense in the hand than alot of the entry level DSLRs these days.

okay, so G9 looks to be it. $800 might be pushing it for the Sigma DP1, but I'll check it out.

Anyone else a proud owner of a G9?

[kennmon]

edit: by the way. the image quality and control from high end p&s cameras are better than most entry level dslr's with the stock lens. also some entry level dslrs (to me) FEEL cheap (rebel XT).

no, you are absolutely wrong.

lets take the G9 for example, versus the rebel xti, which is one of the last generation entry level dslrs.

image control is basically the same, however the G9 is an exception from the norm due to it's ability to shoot RAW.

both can run fully manually, however the xti has more adjustable features.

image quality with the stock lens (kit lens is the term btw), the 18-55mm IS exceeds that of the lens on the G9, noise above iso 100 on the G9 is much worse than on the xti, 400 on the G9 is borderline unusable.

[pompadork]

ricoh grd / grd 2 ~ ~ ~

[kennmon]

ricoh grd / grd 2 ~ ~ ~

if you are a hipster who needs to look cool, has no regard for image quality, and loveesssssss noisy pictures.

[highfructosecorn]

no, you are absolutely wrong.

lets take the G9 for example, versus the rebel xti, which is one of the last generation entry level dslrs.

image control is basically the same, however the G9 is an exception from the norm due to it's ability to shoot RAW.

both can run fully manually, however the xti has more adjustable features.

image quality with the stock lens (kit lens is the term btw), the 18-55mm IS exceeds that of the lens on the G9, noise above iso 100 on the G9 is much worse than on the xti, 400 on the G9 is borderline unusable.

there's no reason to make things personal

1) A number of high end p&s are able to shoot raw that that point is completely irrelevant.

2) The g9 lens has image stabilization and xti "kit" lens DOES NOT.

There is an 18-55mm IS lens, however the xti was and still is typically packaged with the 18-55 f3.5-5.6 mkII, at least at the lower (comparable) price point.

3) While the kit lens wins on the wide end, it has considerably less flexibility in terms of zoom (29-88mm kit vs. 35-210mm g9 35mm equivalent). Thats not much gain especially when you consider the inherent optical distortion necessary to achieve that wide angle on a cropped sensor.

4) I'll give it to you that the g9 has a higher noise floor, but this is also partially due trying to cram in more megapixels on the g9's smaller sensor (this is the fault of marketing). Also, who cares about 400 ISO? 100 should be fine for almost all well lit situations.

[kennmon]

there's no reason to make things personal

1) A number of high end p&s are able to shoot raw that that point is completely irrelevant.

2) The g9 lens has image stabilization and xti "kit" lens DOES NOT.

There is an 18-55mm IS lens, however the xti was and still is typically packaged with the 18-55 f3.5-5.6 mkII, at least at the lower (comparable) price point.

3) While the kit lens wins on the wide end, it has considerably less flexibility in terms of zoom (29-88mm kit vs. 35-210mm g9 35mm equivalent). Thats not much gain especially when you consider the inherent optical distortion necessary to achieve that wide angle on a cropped sensor.

4) I'll give it to you that the g9 has a higher noise floor, but this is also partially due trying to cram in more megapixels on the g9's smaller sensor (this is the fault of marketing). Also, who cares about 400 ISO? 100 should be fine for almost all well lit situations.

1 - you said that image quality and control on high end p/s are better than on entry level dslrs - quality and control are both integral parts of shooting raw so i was bringing that point up.

2 - i mispoke, the xti is the previous generation while the xsi is the newest generation, and therefore the one i am talking about. the standard bundle includes the IS lens. who said anything about price point? comparing a ps and dslr no matter how close the price is still pretty much apples and oranges.

3 - you were talking about image quality and image control, now you are bringing up focal length ranges etc? id have the "limited" 18-55mm over whatever lens the g9 has anyday.

4 - who cares about 400 iso?, oh you are so right, noone!

uhh what happens in low light, night, evening, indoors etc? not every picture is taken outdoors on a sunny day.