What's a great non-SLR digital camera

[Rloop]

I have been working my way through a bunch lately, started with Canon, then Casio, but have ended up with Panasonic ZS15. Big issue for me is speed, as the Mpix has jumped up on the non-DSLR cameras, autofocus, face recognition, flash, exposure calculations (my guess) have made most too slow. I'm not talking about action shots, but everyday people, kids, stuff going on around you, ..... Panasonic seems to have mastered the tradeoffs better. Looking at reviews on Amazon, Canon and Nikon both seem to have quality issues. Panasonic picture quality is extremely good, Nikon and Canon make a big deal about picture and flash quality, but shoot a bunch of people using flash indoors -- exposures are all over the place. The Pany seems to have flash/people exposures nailed much better. User controls are real nice also, don't need to refer to the manual to figure out how to set up the self timer that 2-3 times a year I want to do so.

[imcarthur]

Another vote for Lumix. My trusty older Pana Lumix LX2 takes great pics. A little lens distortion in 16:9 of course, but its size & its ease of use have made it the perfect travel camera.

iPhone? A phone camera? Really? With a teeny-tiny lens? Maybe for the spontaneous shots & vids but not for anything serious. Ditto my droid as well. imho . . .

Ian

[scottmandue]

I knew I should stay away from this thread!


Oh man... now I'm looking at another camera... PPOT is evil... EVIL I TELL YOU!

[lane912]

lumix lx-5
leica clone made in the same factory the only differance is the jpeg compression. if you shoot raw, there is no differance.

[Rusty Heap]

A nice in-between the pants-pocket-fitting point and shoot, and the lunch-pail sized full on DSLR, is the micro 4/3rds cameras like the Olympus PEN 2 or 3 series, or the Sony NEX 3-5-7 series.

Basically a mid-sized frame, with the option of changing lenses.

Slightly larger (but not by much) than the point and shoot G12's and such, but you also get a full sized CCD (the "film" detector) and the option of mounting any sized lens you want from micro-macro to 200-400mm and up zoom.


Both the Sony NEX and Oly Pens should seriously be looked at, if true photography in manual modes for PHOTOGRAPHY is wanted, verses a point and shoot at a kids birthday party.

[s_wilwerding]

The Sony RX-100 has been getting some great reviews:

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 Camera | DSC-RX100 | Sony USA

[VINMAN]

Extremey happy with my Canon G9.

[CurtEgerer]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

Right now has a pocket digital camera, but wants to take better pictures WITHOUT moving up to an SLR.

The camera really doesn't matter much, depending on what he means about wanting to take "better" pictures. It's all about understanding how to take pictures (and maybe he does) and that can be done with any camera if you know its limits. I don't remember what camera this was taken with, but it was a 'crappy' low-megapixel Point & Shoot. The result was not accidental, it was intended exactly as it turned out. The very narrow DOF and motion blur suggest it was a DSLR. The picture would have been easy with a DSLR, not so much with a P&S but the result is the same. Lots of people buy into the hype of the latest rocket-launcher cameras, but it doesn't make their pictures any better.



OTOH, I can fully understand the satisfaction of owning and using higher-end cameras. I have many

[BeyGon]

My last three cameras have been Sony, now I have a two year old Cyber shot DSC HX1 and I like it, it has panarama and great telephoto. My wife always gets high end Canon and I like them but the Sony is just sooo easy to use. She is always changing lenses and I am shooting pictures.

[djantlive]

I got the Panasonic Lumix from Costco. At $180, it's a pretty nice compact p&s. Nice focusing and exposure in low lighting without flash. It has panoramic mode and a nice burst mode for fast action shots.

samsung has wifi and dual displays. however, their wide angle distorts faces and makes portraits look fat.

Costco - Panasonic LUMIX SZ7 Digital Camera with 4GB SDHC Card & Camera Case

[slodave]

Check out the latest edition of Outdoor Photographer. Good article on "mirrorless" cameras and some reviews.
Lighten Up! Go Mirrorless! | OutdoorPhotographer.com

[RKDinOKC]

+ Panasonic Lumix SZ cameras. Pocket Travel Zoom, good pictures, lots of zoom, nice video and can zoom while shooting video.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

+ Panasonic Lumix SZ cameras. Pocket Travel Zoom, good pictures, lots of zoom, nice video and can zoom while shooting video.

Oh man. My cousin bought a little P&S to bring to the States when he visited this past January. You could zoom while in shooting video, but it muted the mic. Very annoying.