Camera Shopping
by Kerim
(Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of the cameras discussed in this post.)
Buying a compact digital camera is always a trade-off. In such a small box, if you stuff a feature in one side, another feature pops out the other end. That wouldn’t be so bad if companies were honest about the trade-offs they’ve made, but instead we get a lot of misinformation. For instance, the latest thing in compact digital photography is high ISO, allowing for better pictures in low light. My current Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7 only goes up to 400, and new cameras promise upwards of 1600 and beyond. This is a big reason why I want to upgrade – together with a lousy flash, my camera is nearly useless in low-light situations. The thing is, camera manufacturers lie. If you read the reviews you discover that a camera advertising ISO of up to 3200 isn’t usable above 400.
Some cameras now have very good image stabilization. The optical kind is better than the digital kind, as the actual lens parts move independantly rather than requiring the computer to attempt to calculate the movement and compensate accordingly. (There is now new technology to magnetically suspend the digital processor, allowing it to move freely.) The Panasonic Lumix cameras all have excellent optical image stabilization, which is why I got my first Lumix. The problem is, when people are moving around in low light, image stabilization won’t help much. You need faster exposures, not greater stability.
Another feature on some of the high end cameras is RAW, meaning uncompressed photos. This is great because a lot of the noise in digital photographs comes from poor quality compression, and it is better to export the photo to your computer and do the compression there. That is if you really have the time to wait five seconds for your camera to write the 22MB picture to file and then to compress each and every picture on your desktop before uploading to the web. Are you really going to do that?
The only feature that never seems to be a problem is megapixels. New cameras offer over 12 megapixels in a tiny compact form – but do you really need all those megapixels? The truth is you don’t, but its hard to buy anything with less than 7 these days, so its best to just ignore that altogether.
One feature that I do care about is having a wide angle lens. A lot of cameras now offer excellent zoom lenses, which is great if you do nature photography, but feels like spying when used on people. But for documentary work a nice wide angle lens is great. The wider lens also lets in more light. Unfortunately, not too many cameras offer anything wider than 35mm, so you have to look carefully.
On the high end compact cameras all the other features are roughly comparable (all of them except the Fujifilm camera support the new SDHC standard for storage), although some compact cameras are certainly more compact than others. If it doesn’t fit in your pocket anymore is it still a compact? If you need a camera bag maybe you should give in and get a DSLR. Even the low-end DSLRs avoid a lot of the problems with digital compacts.
So how to choose a camera?
One great trick is to use Flickr. Not only does Flickr have groups for each brand and make of camera, but you can also use their camera finder to find the most viewed pictures made with each make of camera. After a lot of looking I’ve narrowed the selection down to six cameras, three of which are Panasonic Lumix models, like my old one.
The hands down winner in terms of lush photos on Flickr is the Ricoh Capilo GX100. This is partially because Ricoh intentionally leaves their pictures a little noisy, making for a more filmic look. You’ll notice a lot of Ricoh pictures on Flickr are in black and white, because that hides the noise at low light. They look great, but it is a very specific look and it might not be for everyone. Also, the Ricoh costs about 50 percent more than most other compact digital cameras.
The camera with the best performance in low-light situations is the Fujifilm FinePix F50fd. Fuji puts a DSLR chip in their compact cameras, which gives the camera a much higher ISO rating. I’ve played around with the F40 and the effect is quite noticeable, especially if you manually force a high-ISO mode. Unfortunately I didn’t much like the way the camera’s software handled automatic shots, and it lacks a wide angle lens, as does the very popular Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. The few reviews I’ve seen weren’t too enthusiastic, but its a new camera and I’ll wait for some more reviews before making up my mind.
That leaves us with one of the three Lumix models. They all have 28mm lenses which isn’t quite the 24mm we get on the Ricoh, but its still decent for a compact camera. They also all seem to do OK up to ISO 400, which is much better than my camera which claims to be 400 but can only really do 100. So any of these should be a significant upgrade from what I have now. But which one? The three models I’m looking at are the DMC-FX100, the DMC-LX2, and the DMC-TZ3. Only the LX2 offers RAW support (as does the RIcoh). But I’ve heard that the RAW support isn’t that good, and that sometimes the JPEG compressed pictures are actually less noisy (especially at low ISO). The TZ3 has a 10x optical zoom which is pretty amazing, but not that important to me. Nor do I much care about the 12 megapixels on the LX100. I’d probably go with the LX2 except for the fact that it is pretty bulky and has a lens cap. A lens cap! On a compact digital camera! What were they thinking? Some people are waiting for the LX3, hoping that it will be a true competitor to the Ricoh (which is much more popular in Europe than in the US), but I need something before I go to India in January, which means I need to get it this year, and its hard to tell when (if ever) the LX3 will come out.
In the end I’m currently leaning towards the DMC-FX100, but I’m still contemplating the Ricoh and hoping for the LX3 or something else to come along before it comes time for me to go out and buy the camera.
UPDATE: I forgot to link to visual anthropologist Karen Nakamura’s review of the FX2, which she recommends as a good fieldwork camera. Like Karen, I’m a big fan of Panasonic products. We used the AG-DVX100A to shoot our documentary, and also have a Pansonic deck that is still going strong after years of heavy use. For these reasons I’m well inclined to get another Panasonic, even if it isn’t perfect.
UPDATE: Fixed comparison link below the photo.
I’ve been using a canon powershot SD400 for almost four years. That size of camera is really an “ultra compact”: “compact” can refer to cameras a little larger than that which would include cameras in the highly versatile canon powershot A series such as the A720 IS. You can attach different lenses, wide angle etc, and they’ve received great reviews.They can certainly fit in your pocket, though probably not a shirt pocket.
I wonder how long it will before we’ll be able to buy the ultimate ultra compact – all the functionality of a DSLR – with video. Sounds like wishful thinking but when you consider how far cameras have come in the past five years , we may not have to wait long. But you can guarantee that whatever you decide to buy right now, a far more amazing camera will come out in the next month or two. That’s just the way it goes!
The A720 looks nice, except for the lack of wide-angle, and the fact that it is a bit bulkier than the bulkiest cameras listed above.
And regarding getting outmoded – that’s a good reason not to spend too much money. I’d be better off spending half as much and getting a new camera in a year or two. (I donate my old cameras to the Chhara community we are working with on our film.)
Actually the A720 does have a wide-angle lens – it’s a converter lens that costs extra. Part of the appeal of the powershot A series is that it offers various converter lenses.
The Fuji compacts don’t have a DSLR chip in them. They do have a very good advanced small sensor that is the best on a compact digital in low light situations, but still no where near as good as a DSLR.
LX2 group on Flikr
http://www.flickr.com/groups/lx2/
I believe the LX3 should be on the way in November. Unfortunately I wouldn’t hold out too much hope that they will fix many of the issues with the LX2. My guess is it will just be the constant drive for more mp, at the expense of everything else, and with the same cr&ppy small sensor.
The Fuji F31fd is the best compact for low light performance. The reason is it has an advaned sensor. Probably one of the biggest and most advanced for the small sensor compacts, along with advanced processing and clean up. It will give better performance at over ISO200 than any of its rivals.
I think other digital camera manufacturers need to concentrate on making better sensors and improving performance instead of trying to make pretty little cameras that have features nobody wants.
Cheers
John
(Also looking for a new compact digital camera)
My LUMIX (the DMC-TZ1) has a lens cap. You get used to it. It’s got a lanyard thingie so you don’t lose it.
naruwan: I don’t like converter lenses – they tend to let less light in, and its something else to carry around.
Anonymous: Thanks. Somehow I thought the f50 had the same sensor as the F31, I guess it doesn’t?
MEL: OK, but still …
Fuji’s 1600 ISO is generally regarded as the least noisiest. But I think you’ve got your priorities wrong here, Kerim. IMHO what you want is
(1) manual settings, but above all, shutter control for shooting in low light, up to 15-30 seconds.
(2) a fat 10X lens that goes from ~35-435 zoom with a macro and super macro settings for close work.
(3) functions that let you control the colors, including customized color settings, as well as metering functions.
(4) 4 AA rechargables. The Lumix uses proprietary batteries. The AAs on my Canon easily do 500 pictures without recharging.
Frankly for what you’re going to spend on the Ricoh or Lumuix, which are point-n-click cameras, you could get a Canon Powershot S5 IS. Available in TPI for 14K and here in the Chung for 13.2K, it’s ten times the camera of any you’ve listed there, not much bigger than them, but with much greater functionality. It’s the best prosumer camera on the market, with its functions all one touch away, no real shutter lag, and comes right on when you press the button. A tremendous range of manual settings + the usual pre-set ones, and a great panorama function. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn’t shoot in RAW, but the compression program doesn’t result in any appreciable noise, as you can see from the photos I’ve taken with it.
Michael
BTW, I want to thank you for the comment you left on the Edward Curtis exhibition. It made me run off an explore the issues you raised.
Michael
Michael,
As I said, for my documentary style I prefer a wider angle lens and I don’t care that much about zoom or macro (I know, I know, so many bugs so little time…). I also need a built-in flash. Also, with the batteries, the Canon is more than twice the weight of the largest camera I list here, and even though it is about as wide, it is more than twice as thick in the other two dimensions.
You’re a great photographer, but I think it is fair to say we have different priorities. I just don’t want a DSLR, no matter how compact it might be compared to other DSLRs. Not to say there aren’t times when I wish I had one, but not frequently enough to warrant purchasing one right now.
Hi Kerim,
Do you have any advice for where to purchase cameras in Taiwan (online or otherwise) ?
I’ve been shocked by how much more competitive online stores based in the US (Amazon, Buydig, etc.) are compared with here in Taiwan…of course, here you do have the bargining element in play.
Tom,
Sorry, since I haven’t actually bought a camera here yet I don’t know. It seems that prices depend a lot on brands. So far it looks as if the Panasonic compact Lumix cameras sell at fairly competitive prices at any of the large electronics stores.
Tom, US prices are generally better, volume market.
You can get lower prices is you buy gray market items, shui3 hwo4, products that are legally brought into Taiwan but intended for marketing elsewhere. My Canon S5 Powershot is intended for Japan but I bought it here for $13,000. The equivalent local market version is an additional $1,000.
Michael