03-28-2011, 03:10 PM
[quote name='Vieux loup' timestamp='1301322165' post='7168']
I am looking to find a camera that I can keep in the pocket allways. Not when I do a reportage, or shoot architechture, fashion, portraits, whatever, but in the best Cartier Bresson tradition photograph people or situations at a moments notice, without being seen or at least not being seen before the image has been taken.
It seems to me that it is not a DSLR, but an expert compact, small enough at least to fit in a jacket pocket and advanced enough to adjust it the way I would an DSLR. Whoever does this for a living will surely choose a Leica M9, but for the rest of us, who may not have 5.500€ to spend on a housing, plus whatever on the lenses, there must still be a good choice. Samsung, Panasonic, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, even Nikon has put cameras on the market recently that might fit the bill.
Which one would you choose and why?
[/quote]
The Canon Powershot G12 is the best compact digital on the whole. A bit more pocketable, two other great compacts: Canon Powershot S95 and Panasonic LX5.
Less pocketable: the cameras with bigger sensors.
Sigma DP1/2 series, Panasonic GF1/2, Fuji X100, Olympus PEN series, Samsung NX, Sony NEX3/5.
More expensive range finders: APS-C Epson RD1-series, 1.3x APS-H Leica M8, 135 format FF Leica M9.
What fits your ideas bets can only be answered by you.... Which focal length do you envision you will like best? Which of the cameras then offers you the lens you want/like? Do you want to shoot with the camera at your eye, or at arm's length? Does a 3x4 format bother you, or not? How big is your pocket?
For super compact digital, my choice would be either LX5 or S95, both have their charm. The G12 is my choice of best compact digital. DP1/2 are too cumbersome for me. RD1 is hard to get, but a really charming camera. I do not like 4/3rds aspect ratio. I do not like NEX3/5 concept. NX... maybe a future model, I don't like the Nx10 (too big for what it is supposed to be). The Fuji X100 is the most charming of them to me, but you will have to like the lens that it comes with as it is not exchangable.
In short, the right more compact camera for street shooting does not exist yet, for me.
I am looking to find a camera that I can keep in the pocket allways. Not when I do a reportage, or shoot architechture, fashion, portraits, whatever, but in the best Cartier Bresson tradition photograph people or situations at a moments notice, without being seen or at least not being seen before the image has been taken.
It seems to me that it is not a DSLR, but an expert compact, small enough at least to fit in a jacket pocket and advanced enough to adjust it the way I would an DSLR. Whoever does this for a living will surely choose a Leica M9, but for the rest of us, who may not have 5.500€ to spend on a housing, plus whatever on the lenses, there must still be a good choice. Samsung, Panasonic, Canon, Olympus, Fuji, even Nikon has put cameras on the market recently that might fit the bill.
Which one would you choose and why?
[/quote]
The Canon Powershot G12 is the best compact digital on the whole. A bit more pocketable, two other great compacts: Canon Powershot S95 and Panasonic LX5.
Less pocketable: the cameras with bigger sensors.
Sigma DP1/2 series, Panasonic GF1/2, Fuji X100, Olympus PEN series, Samsung NX, Sony NEX3/5.
More expensive range finders: APS-C Epson RD1-series, 1.3x APS-H Leica M8, 135 format FF Leica M9.
What fits your ideas bets can only be answered by you.... Which focal length do you envision you will like best? Which of the cameras then offers you the lens you want/like? Do you want to shoot with the camera at your eye, or at arm's length? Does a 3x4 format bother you, or not? How big is your pocket?
For super compact digital, my choice would be either LX5 or S95, both have their charm. The G12 is my choice of best compact digital. DP1/2 are too cumbersome for me. RD1 is hard to get, but a really charming camera. I do not like 4/3rds aspect ratio. I do not like NEX3/5 concept. NX... maybe a future model, I don't like the Nx10 (too big for what it is supposed to be). The Fuji X100 is the most charming of them to me, but you will have to like the lens that it comes with as it is not exchangable.
In short, the right more compact camera for street shooting does not exist yet, for me.