Premium Compact Cameras: Best Buys
How they compare
Group Test All the cameras included in this group test performed reasonably well, though they have their inevitable quirks.
Here's are the cameras in the test:
- Canon PowerShot G11
- Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR
- Nikon CoolPix S8000
- Panasonic Lumix LX3
- Ricoh CX3
- Samsung WB1000
Prices range from £210 for the Fujifilm to £599 for the Canon, but with a little searching you can find all of these cameras for a lot less than the 'official' price.
On this and the following pages you can view the results of comparative tests.
Startup and Shooting Results
Time in Seconds (s)
Burst Mode Results
Frames per Second
Longer bars are better
ISO 100
 Canon G11 |
 Fujifilm F200EXR |
 Nikon S8000 |
 Panasonic LX3 |
 Ricoh CX3 |
 Samsung WB1000 |
Premium Compact Camera Group Test
Next page: ISO 3200
COMMENTS
pocket friendly, I think not (well not for all of them)
nb, not all the cameras mentioned are pocket friendly. They are just too big for pockets (an average coat or jacket pocket), especially the LX-3 (which is a very annoying experience, 'nearly but not quite').
The beauty of instant snapping and capturing the moment right then and there is a camera that really does fit into your pocket comfortably, and I think that you have to go into sub-compact territory to be able to say confidently that the camera is pocket friendly, or 'pocketable' as I think of it.
I have a Fuji F70, and it is small and just about pocketable, bu true pocketable cameras are those like the Pentax H90.
Why not have set up a criterion for pocketability when reviewing small cameras, apart from wide zoom and image quality this is the most important quality of a camera when deciding to buy or not?
Thanks for listening.
Erm...
"The LX3 is the only camera here with a hotshoe"
Really? What's that on top of the G11, then?
Funny macro shots, too! Sorry to nitpick, but you're up against some very thorough camera reviewers on the web. As for quality, you should really be looking at cameras with larger sensors, or at least provide some comparison with them.
s90 Mod
The mod for the s90 is an adhesive grip. It is great and highly recommended. Makes holding the camera much easier/more secure.
http://www.kleptography.com/rf/
The S90 should have been included in this review - it is after all a review of compact cameras. The G11 whilst very good, is more in line with the newer 4/3 sensor cameras in size.
Having used both the LX3 and the S90, both impressed with quality of photos, but the S90 won on size, weight, and most importantly usability. The design is genius for times where you just want manual control...
details on the modding please?
What is the mod you described?
check out dpreview's er..review
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1004/10040803canons90review.asp
Ok its not perfect, but listen to this:
"It's possible that a considerable number of potential S90 purchasers also have the larger, heavier, pricier G11 on their shortlist. If you have, and you're concerns that plumping for the S90 represents a compromise in image quality, the results here show that your worries are unfounded - yes the G11 has fractionally more resolving power, but you need to be looking very close indeed to see the difference."
ok, not meaning to be a S90 fanboy, but this is a *compact* review, which, with the G11, is stretching it. I'd like the G11 for its gripability, but I am short of funds and needed to choose. And the LX3 again isn't as pocketable as the S90.
It compares well (and in some cases better) with the Ricoh GXR, which is twice the price. Pretty good against the LX3 also, apart from RAW comparisons (with some caveats on commercial RAW processing issues). Oh, and it has a flash. heh
cheers
Slay
cheers
Slay
