Which Camera?

floppybootstomp

floppybootstomp

sugar 'n spikes
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My Canon G9 has been a good camera but after 5 years or so methinks it's time to upgrade.

And I've narrowed the choice down to these two:

Canon G12

Panasonic Lumix LX7

I also had this one: Fujifilm X10 as a contender but I'm almost certain it's a two horse race between the Canon and the Panasonic. Both have had good reviews.

I have some sudying to do, it seems. Macro capability is one concern but overall picture quality is the main factor and I suspect the Panasonic may win out here but I'm finding it difficult to make a choice.

I've had some work income recently which has made me make the decision plus I should get up to £150 for my old G9, it's in perfect nick with original box, case, all accessories, 2 spare batteries and manual printed out in A5.

I'm not interested in a DSLR for the moment, I'm after a high end compact that's easy to carry around.

So, ladeez an germs, any advice or views very welcome :)
 
Panasonic gets my two thumbs up! :thumb:
 
Which one are you going to go for?
 
Becky said:
Which one are you going to go for?
Click to expand...

I have absolutely no idea :confused:

Yet.

The more I read the more confused I become. The Fujifilm X10 has entered the arena again, I'm quite liking it.

All three have their good and bad points, it's going to be a compromise whichever one I go for. I do fancy a viewfinder but the Panasonic has a seperate viewfinder you can buy for it that fits in the hot shoe.

Reviews say the Canon G12 has the slight edge over the other 2 on picture quality, the Panasonic suffers from vertical lines appearing on panoramic shots but has more features than the other two and is faster.

The main reason I'm changing is I wanted a camera with a better macro facility and that takes pictures faster than my Canon G9. Cos looking back at my catalgue of pix taken with the G9, imo it's pretty good, some nice detail captured.

The Fuji X10 can focus down to 1cm, it goes on..

So, I'm preparing a spreadsheet so I can compare features and measurements at a glance.

It's also just before the annual consumer-fest so I may be wise to wait for Boxing Day & New Years sales, this is probably the completely wrong time of the year to buy. Conversely, suppliers are desperate for cash turnover so I may see a good offer anyway.

And just to muddy the waters I've been looking at the Canon s100, not totally convinced it's a contender but it's a good camera. It's also been around more than a year which may been it will be replaced by a newer model soon in which case existing stock may be reduced in price.

We shall see :)
 
CL: Just noticed your post linking to the Sony. It does look like a very good camera and I love the idea of interchangeable lenses but, but, it's a Sony :( I swore I'd boycott Sony after all their nefarious business practices but when I mentioned this to a friend he replied 'Canon, Panasonic, Nikon, all those big companies, they're all as bad as each other, it's just that Sony's nastiness was made more public than most. We should buy whatever suits us best, you'll never change how the big boys work'.

Perhaps he has a point. I'll read a few reviews of the Sony anyway, thanks for the link.

I'm taking my time over this decision, I want to be absolutely sure I pick a camera that suits my needs, picture quality being the prime requirement. Right at this moment the Canon G12 is ahead by a whisker. A very slim whisker.
 
If you are thinking a camera with interchangable lens you could also consider the Nikon 3200.
 
Ok, looked at Sony NEX 3 & 5, don't fancy one of those, I fancy a 'traditional' compact and the NEX series can't make up it's mind whether to be a compact or DSLR. Plus it may have interchangeable lenses but the user is restricted to whatever Sony care to offer with it's 'E Series'. Yes, I know Minolta lenses can be used but they bring restrictions with them if used.

Plus: firmware probs, over two years old. If I were going for a DSLR I'd probably look at the Canon EOS series.

And Quad, the 3200 appears to be a DSLR (from my Google search), this from my opening post:

floppybootstomp said:
I'm not interested in a DSLR for the moment, I'm after a high end compact that's easy to carry around.
Click to expand...

Pondering, looking thoughtful, drumming fingers on table top, muttering 'Hmmmmm'.
 
If I'm honest I think I would definitely wait until Christmas is over, more chance of a bargain in the sales in January..
Keep drumming those fingers Flopp's :D
 
I personally am not a "bridge camera" fan, likes of Sony Nex series and Nikon J1 etc. Bridge cameras are between a DSLR and compact, to be honest they are more like DSLR's than compact, you have to have accesorries and lenses to make up a system, therefore, they actually defeat the purpose of being compact. Secondly in terms of cost the only saving is on the body by 10-20 % the rest is same. The other issue is that the lenses are not compatible with any upgrade in future if you decide to go the DSLR route.

I think the compacts and the DSLR are to stay and these bridge cameras will be phased out. That is just my opinion and others may differ.

Flops, if I were you I would narrow down the list of cameras by the style of photography you do, what is most important to you is going to decide which camera suits your needs. Each camera has distinct advantage over the other and vise versa. I personally like the Panasonic as gives me two things that suit my photography style, Landscapes and low light or ambiant light photography. I had the LX-5 which is very similar to LX-7 and it served my needs wonderfully.

In the end you need to go by YOUR needs, we are simply trying to help you decide and hope we are not the reason for confusion ( drumming fingers) :)
 
Thanks for reply Mr Quads :)

All input is apreciated, I'd hate to miss out on something that suited me just because I was wearing blinkers ;)

My style of photography? Lemme see, to be honest the greater majority are pix I take at social gatherings or friends down the pub, where mostly I just point and click on full auto.

However, there are times when I like to go wandering, country or city, and try and capture things the way I see them and for that I want features such as available full manual control, zoom and macro. I'm particularly keen on a good macro function and I'd like something that takes pix quicker than my G9.

On the subject of swappable lenses, there are several available for my Canon G9, they are still on sale at Amazon, but I've never bothered with them. In fact I think there are only two available, telephoto and wide angle and for both an adaptor ring is required.

CL: I think I will wait for New Year in hope of a price reduction unless I finally make a choice and see a good price, in which case I will go cross eyed, salivate and breath heavily 'I gotta have it'.
 
floppybootstomp said:
Thanks for reply Mr Quads :)

My style of photography? Lemme see, to be honest the greater majority are pix I take at social gatherings or friends down the pub, where mostly I just point and click on full auto.

For this you need a fast lens for indoor shooting and if you can keep that stupid flash from popping up you will sure get that beautiful 3D effect with stunning and believable skintones.. Panasonic will do better in this respect as it has the fastest lens of the lot, another plus is the Leica lens which is famous for great natural skin tones.
However, there are times when I like to go wandering, country or city, and try and capture things the way I see them and for that I want features such as available full manual control, zoom and macro. I'm particularly keen on a good macro function and I'd like something that takes pix quicker than my G9.

For street photography I will admit that you need slightly better reach than what the Panny offers, so you decide the priority for this type of shooting, other than that Panny offers everything else.

On the subject of swappable lenses, there are several available for my Canon G9, they are still on sale at Amazon, but I've never bothered with them. In fact I think there are only two available, telephoto and wide angle and for both an adaptor ring is required.

CL: I think I will wait for New Year in hope of a price reduction unless I finally make a choice and see a good price, in which case I will go cross eyed, salivate and breath heavily 'I gotta have it'.
Click to expand...

I have tried to do some serious thinking on your part and not trying to be biased towards Panasonic.:nod:
 
Well, this is interesting, pricing has changed after Christmas and two of my choices have actually risen in price.

The Panasonic is now £374 originally was £354 so that one's out of the running for sure.

The Canon G12 is now over £400 so they can get stuffed :) I also notice the Canon G12 is out of stock at several suppliers which suggests to me, coupled with the price rise, it has been unofficially discontinued. It's been around for over a year so that's par for the course.

The Fuji X10, however, has been reduced in price, it's now only £299.00

I may just make a snap decision this weekend if prices stay the same for next 48 hours.

I also spotted This which is about the same size as my three former contenders, would seem to be a better model and currently costs £450.00 on Amazon.

I know I'm muddying the waters here but I'd pay extra if it was worth it. Views? Worthy rivals to the Lumix GX-1?
 
So..... after all that.... Canon G15 delivered here this morning at 8am by a Royal Mail employee who was smiling.

When I started this thread I was unaware that the G15 had been released but I've since learnt it has been available since October last year.

I've always been happy with Canon digital cameras and after reading the favourable reviews I went for this one. It wasn't cheap, I got mine on Ebay for £379 inc £10 for express delivery, most sites charge over £400 for it. Ordered it Wednesday morning it arrived Friday morning.

I also have a case for it I ordered, have ordered an extra Sandisk Extreme 16Gb SDHC card for £12 and have ordered 2 spare batteries from Ebay, cost £11 the pair. I may consider getting lens adaptor tube, telephoto and wide angle lenses and maybe some filters. Maybe.

I sold my old Canon G9 on Ebay for £115 and I've also sold some of my disco equipment so I decided to lash out. For me this is quite an expensive purchase.

Initial impresions are good, the camera is solid, chunky, simplistic, nice dull matt black textured finish and first few snaps taken from my patio show image quality looks very good indeed. Both zoom and macro functions are much better than the G9 as well.

Gimme a while and I'll bung some pix up, poor time of year here, dull and overcast, but I will go walkabout and take some pix with my new toy and post some.
 
Oooh can't wait for the pics Mr Flopp's..:D

Enjoy using it :nod:
 
Excellent, looking forward to seeing some photos! :thumb:
 
Great choice! :thumb: You bought what you already know is a good thing from past experience. Camera is a tool and if you are not comfortable using it it is no fun at all.

Show us your pics, we are waiting. :nod:
 
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