Finger on Lens
12-29-2006, 11:36 PM
HOPE TO BUY TOMORROW!
OK, read the note to first time posters...
Budget - $600- $700 will spend the stinking hundred bucks for a vastly superior product
Size - Compact! Pocket! Will be getting a DSLR - I want a camera with all the DSLR 'good ' but without the bulk!
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
* What optical zoom will you need? Well, I want to throw the background out of focus, crack the aperture wide open, etc. - no need to 'zoom' but zoom may effect aperture
* How important is “image quality” to you? Well, um, I'm an amateur hobbyist, not a pro! But, I don't want to pay fat cash for a garbage.
Do you care for manual controls? --YES!
General Usage - Family snaps, friend's wedding, (along with DSLR and a pro will do the real thing for a wedding) tourist snaps- I expect to grab both a DSLR (not the subject of this thread) and a compact P&S / Rangefinder camera whenever I travel - then when on holiday, I can decide which camera is better for that day
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? No sure. Will have prints, no doubt, and I expect to put them on disk, which others may blow up, and I plan to go to a photography shop to get 'real deal' prints made
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? No doubt - a bit of a worry with the Canon G7's red eye issue ....
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? At times, children = high action, sit still for 0.33 a second. Bit of a worry with the slow 'next shot' time for the Leica D-LUX 3.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate? Well, sort of in the Canon camp.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? Canon G7 or Leica D-LUX 3- NOTE - OPEN MINDED TO OTHERS!
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Um, see below, What do you think?....
Newbie -- first post...
OK, I currently own a Canon Élan II, very happy with and am thinking of getting the Canon D30 one day in the future ... Not getting rid of my Élan II -not yet....
WHAT I AM IN THE MARKET FOR - a top - class compact digital camera. ... SLR features without SLR size, and that fits into a pocket! Size counts! I will buy a digital SLR one day, but I need a camera that I can quickly pack etc. thus, I need a compact camera...
I am familiar with the 'program shift' wheel on Canon cameras and I do use it. I often take pictures in manual modes.
SOMETHING THAT I LOVE TO DO WHEN TAKING PICTURES is to play with apertures and F- stops to throw the background out of focus.
Brain says Canon G7, hart says Leica D Lux 3. Heard some not so great things about both. ( Brain says, "Don't be a vain idiot, and buy the Cannon, you're already familiar with Canon! " Hart says, "Same money as a Leica! Get the Leica! No debate! Why think about it! There is no room for debate, take the Leica!")
Something to be said for holding them both in my hands, I suppose ... That, in fact, could be quite determinative...
Face recognition software with Canon may improve my photography -- decidedly an amateur hobbyist!
Leica is kind of slow between pictures, right?
THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S HELP!
Have specs:
Leica D-LUX 3 SIlver
Image sensor: 1: 1.65" CCD sensor with 10.4 million total pixels and 10 million effective pixels (at sides ratio 16:9).
Image sizes: In 16:9 format optionally 4224 x 2376 pixels, 3840 x 2160 pixels, 3072 x1728 pixels or 1920 x1080 pixels (equivalent to HDTV standard). In Leica 3:2 format optionally 3568 x 2376 pixels, 3248 x 2160 pixels, 2560 x1712 pixels or 2048 x1360 pixels. In the 4:3 format optionally 3168 x 2376 pixels, 2880 x2160 pixels, 2304 x1728 pixels, 2048 x1536 pixels, 1600 x1200 pixels or 1280 x 960 pixels.
Video recording: In the 16:9 format optionally 1280 x 720 pixels 15 pictures/sec or 848 x 480 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec.
In the 4:3 format optionally 640 x 480 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec or 320 x 240 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec . Limited only by the capacity of the memory card, recording includes sound.
Data recording: File formats standard pictures: RAW, JPEG (fine/standard), film: QuickTime Motion JPEG.
Storage media: SD memory card and multi-media card (64 MB SD card included).
Speed setting: Optionally automatic or manual ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200 or ISO 400.
White balance: Optionally automatic, for daylight, for cloudy weather, shade, halogen light, flash lighting and 2 manual settings, white balance fine adjustment in the range from -1500 to +1500 K in 150 K steps (available even for automatic setting).
Lens: LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 1: 2.8-4.9/6.3-25.2 ASPH. (equivalent to 28 to 112 millimeters for the small picture system), 4 x optical zoom, focal length changes by the zoom rocker switch.
Aperture: F 2.8-F 8.0 (WW) F 4.9-F 8.0 (tele)
Optical camera shake compensation: 2 operating modes: optionally only for pictures or for monitor display and pictures
Digital zoom: 4x
Optical camera shake compensation: 2 operating modes: optionally only for pictures or for monitor display and pictures
Range setting: Optionally normal: 0.5m (for WW)/1.2 m (for tele) to infinity, or macro: 0.05 m (for WW)/0.3 m (for tele) to infinity.
Focusing: Optional auto-focus (optionally entire setting range or for macro), or manual with joystick; settings can be saved. AF operating modes / range-finding optionally 9 areas (overall picture field), quicker AF with 3 areas (across the middle) or with 1 central area, 1 area, or spot
Exposure: Exposure metering: optionally multi-field metering, center-emphasis integral metering, spot metering, setting can be saved.
Exposure operating modes: optionally automatic program mode, automatic aperture mode, aperture priority mode and manual mode
Exposure correction: selectable ±2 EV in steps of 1/3 EV.
Exposure time range: In fully automatic mode 1/4-1/2000 s, in automatic program mode: 1-1/2000 s, in automatic aperture mode and aperture priority mode: 8-1/2000 s, in manual mode: 60-1/2000 s.
Flash: Flash operating modes optionally automatic fill-in with or without pre-flash (anti-red-eye), manual fill-in (brightening flash) with or without pre-flash, SLOW for longer exposure times (with pre-flash), flash switched off. Range (speed on auto): 0.6-4.1 m (for WW), 0.3-2.3 m (for tele). Flash lighting correction selectable ±2 EV in steps of 1/3 EV.
Subject program: Portrait, sport, night-time landscape, night-time portrait, fireworks, party, snow, self-portrait, meal dishes, high-speed mode, baby 1, baby 2, lovely skin, candle-light, starry sky, landscape, print.
Color effects: Optionally bluer, redder, B/W or sepia
Monitor: 2.8" TFT color display in 16:9 format with 207,000 pixels.
Auto-release: With 2 s or 10 s delay time.
Connections: USB 2.0, DC in (power supply) and AV out.
Picture properties: Contrast, color saturation, sharpness and noise suppression.
Printer compatibility: PictBridge, DPOF
Power supply: Lithium ion rechargeable battery or by optional mains / battery charger.
Size (W x H x T): 105.7 x 58.3 x 25.6 mm
Weight: 185 g/220 g (without / with rechargeable battery, memory card and lens cap)
Canon Powershot G7 Kit
Total pixel count: Approximately 10.40 megapixels
Type: 1/1.8-inch Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
Focal length: 7.4 to 44.4 mm, f2.8 to 4.8 (35mm equivalent: 35 to 210mm)
Digital zoom: 4x
Focusing range: Normal: 1.6 feet to infinity; macro: 0.39 inches to 1.6 feet (wide)
Autofocus system: TTL Autofocus
CF card type: SD memory card, SDHC memory card, MultiMediaCard
Shooting modes: Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C1, C2, special scene (portrait, landscape, night scene, sports, foliage, snow, beach, fireworks, aquarium, underwater, ISO 3200, indoor, kids and pets, night snapshot, color accent, color swap), stitch assist, movie
Shutter speed: 15 seconds to 1/2000 second; long shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3 to 15 seconds
Light metering method: Evaluative, center-weighted average, spot
Shooting speed: Approximately 2.0 frames per second (fps)
Viewfinder: 2.5-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color with 15 brightness levels
LCD pixels: Approximately 207,000
LCD coverage: 100 percent
Maximum aperture: f2.8 (wide) x f4.8 (telephoto)
Exposure control method: Program AE; AE lock available
Exposure compensation: Plus or minus 2 stops in 1/3 increments
White balance control: Auto, preset (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H), custom
Built-in flash: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, auto with slow synchro, flash on, flash on with red-eye reduction, flash on with slow synchro, flash off
Flash range: Normal: 1.6 to 13 feet (W), 1.6 to 8.2 feet (T); macro: 1 to 1.6 feet (W/T) when sensitivity is set to ISO auto
Recycling time: 12 seconds or less
Photo effects: Vivid, vivid blue, vivid green, vivid red, neutral, sepia, black and white, positive film, lighter skin tone, darker skin tone, custom color
Self-timer: Activates shutter after an approximately 2-second/10-second delay, custom
Continuous shooting: Approximately 2.0 fps
Image compression: Normal, fine, superfine
JPEG compression mode: Still image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG); movie: AVI (image: motion JPEG; audio: monaural WAVE)
Number of recording pixels: 640 x 480 (small); 1,600 x 1,200 (medium 3); 2,272 x 1,704 (medium 2); 2,816 x 2,112 (medium 1); 3,648 x 2,736 (large); 3,648 x 2,048 (widescreen); 1,024 x 758 (movie 1, 15 fps); 640 x 480/320 x 240 (movie 2, 30 fps/15 fps) available up to 4 GB; 160 x 120 (movie 3, 3 minutes at 15 fps)
Playback modes file: Still image: single, magnification (approximately 2x-10x), jump, auto rotate, rotate, resume playback, my category, histogram, index (9 thumbnails), sound memos, slide show; movie: normal playback, special playback, editing
Erase modes: Still image: single image, by date, by category, by folder, all images; movie: part of movie, all of movie
Computer interface: USB 2.0 high-speed with mini-B jack
Video out: NTSC/PAL
Audio out: Monaural
Power source: Recharge lithium battery, AC adapter kit
Battery shooting capacity: Approximately 220 shots (LCD on), approximately 500 shots (LCD off)
Battery playback time : Approximately 300 minutes
Dimensions (W x H x D): 4.19 x 2.83 x 1.67 inches
Weight: 11.3 ounces
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor
Any info would be most welcome!
OK, read the note to first time posters...
Budget - $600- $700 will spend the stinking hundred bucks for a vastly superior product
Size - Compact! Pocket! Will be getting a DSLR - I want a camera with all the DSLR 'good ' but without the bulk!
How many megapixels will suffice for you?
* What optical zoom will you need? Well, I want to throw the background out of focus, crack the aperture wide open, etc. - no need to 'zoom' but zoom may effect aperture
* How important is “image quality” to you? Well, um, I'm an amateur hobbyist, not a pro! But, I don't want to pay fat cash for a garbage.
Do you care for manual controls? --YES!
General Usage - Family snaps, friend's wedding, (along with DSLR and a pro will do the real thing for a wedding) tourist snaps- I expect to grab both a DSLR (not the subject of this thread) and a compact P&S / Rangefinder camera whenever I travel - then when on holiday, I can decide which camera is better for that day
* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? No sure. Will have prints, no doubt, and I expect to put them on disk, which others may blow up, and I plan to go to a photography shop to get 'real deal' prints made
Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? No doubt - a bit of a worry with the Canon G7's red eye issue ....
Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? At times, children = high action, sit still for 0.33 a second. Bit of a worry with the slow 'next shot' time for the Leica D-LUX 3.
Miscellaneous
Are there particular brands you like or hate? Well, sort of in the Canon camp.
Are there particular models you already have in mind? Canon G7 or Leica D-LUX 3- NOTE - OPEN MINDED TO OTHERS!
(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD) Um, see below, What do you think?....
Newbie -- first post...
OK, I currently own a Canon Élan II, very happy with and am thinking of getting the Canon D30 one day in the future ... Not getting rid of my Élan II -not yet....
WHAT I AM IN THE MARKET FOR - a top - class compact digital camera. ... SLR features without SLR size, and that fits into a pocket! Size counts! I will buy a digital SLR one day, but I need a camera that I can quickly pack etc. thus, I need a compact camera...
I am familiar with the 'program shift' wheel on Canon cameras and I do use it. I often take pictures in manual modes.
SOMETHING THAT I LOVE TO DO WHEN TAKING PICTURES is to play with apertures and F- stops to throw the background out of focus.
Brain says Canon G7, hart says Leica D Lux 3. Heard some not so great things about both. ( Brain says, "Don't be a vain idiot, and buy the Cannon, you're already familiar with Canon! " Hart says, "Same money as a Leica! Get the Leica! No debate! Why think about it! There is no room for debate, take the Leica!")
Something to be said for holding them both in my hands, I suppose ... That, in fact, could be quite determinative...
Face recognition software with Canon may improve my photography -- decidedly an amateur hobbyist!
Leica is kind of slow between pictures, right?
THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S HELP!
Have specs:
Leica D-LUX 3 SIlver
Image sensor: 1: 1.65" CCD sensor with 10.4 million total pixels and 10 million effective pixels (at sides ratio 16:9).
Image sizes: In 16:9 format optionally 4224 x 2376 pixels, 3840 x 2160 pixels, 3072 x1728 pixels or 1920 x1080 pixels (equivalent to HDTV standard). In Leica 3:2 format optionally 3568 x 2376 pixels, 3248 x 2160 pixels, 2560 x1712 pixels or 2048 x1360 pixels. In the 4:3 format optionally 3168 x 2376 pixels, 2880 x2160 pixels, 2304 x1728 pixels, 2048 x1536 pixels, 1600 x1200 pixels or 1280 x 960 pixels.
Video recording: In the 16:9 format optionally 1280 x 720 pixels 15 pictures/sec or 848 x 480 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec.
In the 4:3 format optionally 640 x 480 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec or 320 x 240 pixels 30 pictures/sec 10 pictures/sec . Limited only by the capacity of the memory card, recording includes sound.
Data recording: File formats standard pictures: RAW, JPEG (fine/standard), film: QuickTime Motion JPEG.
Storage media: SD memory card and multi-media card (64 MB SD card included).
Speed setting: Optionally automatic or manual ISO 80, ISO 100, ISO 200 or ISO 400.
White balance: Optionally automatic, for daylight, for cloudy weather, shade, halogen light, flash lighting and 2 manual settings, white balance fine adjustment in the range from -1500 to +1500 K in 150 K steps (available even for automatic setting).
Lens: LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT 1: 2.8-4.9/6.3-25.2 ASPH. (equivalent to 28 to 112 millimeters for the small picture system), 4 x optical zoom, focal length changes by the zoom rocker switch.
Aperture: F 2.8-F 8.0 (WW) F 4.9-F 8.0 (tele)
Optical camera shake compensation: 2 operating modes: optionally only for pictures or for monitor display and pictures
Digital zoom: 4x
Optical camera shake compensation: 2 operating modes: optionally only for pictures or for monitor display and pictures
Range setting: Optionally normal: 0.5m (for WW)/1.2 m (for tele) to infinity, or macro: 0.05 m (for WW)/0.3 m (for tele) to infinity.
Focusing: Optional auto-focus (optionally entire setting range or for macro), or manual with joystick; settings can be saved. AF operating modes / range-finding optionally 9 areas (overall picture field), quicker AF with 3 areas (across the middle) or with 1 central area, 1 area, or spot
Exposure: Exposure metering: optionally multi-field metering, center-emphasis integral metering, spot metering, setting can be saved.
Exposure operating modes: optionally automatic program mode, automatic aperture mode, aperture priority mode and manual mode
Exposure correction: selectable ±2 EV in steps of 1/3 EV.
Exposure time range: In fully automatic mode 1/4-1/2000 s, in automatic program mode: 1-1/2000 s, in automatic aperture mode and aperture priority mode: 8-1/2000 s, in manual mode: 60-1/2000 s.
Flash: Flash operating modes optionally automatic fill-in with or without pre-flash (anti-red-eye), manual fill-in (brightening flash) with or without pre-flash, SLOW for longer exposure times (with pre-flash), flash switched off. Range (speed on auto): 0.6-4.1 m (for WW), 0.3-2.3 m (for tele). Flash lighting correction selectable ±2 EV in steps of 1/3 EV.
Subject program: Portrait, sport, night-time landscape, night-time portrait, fireworks, party, snow, self-portrait, meal dishes, high-speed mode, baby 1, baby 2, lovely skin, candle-light, starry sky, landscape, print.
Color effects: Optionally bluer, redder, B/W or sepia
Monitor: 2.8" TFT color display in 16:9 format with 207,000 pixels.
Auto-release: With 2 s or 10 s delay time.
Connections: USB 2.0, DC in (power supply) and AV out.
Picture properties: Contrast, color saturation, sharpness and noise suppression.
Printer compatibility: PictBridge, DPOF
Power supply: Lithium ion rechargeable battery or by optional mains / battery charger.
Size (W x H x T): 105.7 x 58.3 x 25.6 mm
Weight: 185 g/220 g (without / with rechargeable battery, memory card and lens cap)
Canon Powershot G7 Kit
Total pixel count: Approximately 10.40 megapixels
Type: 1/1.8-inch Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
Focal length: 7.4 to 44.4 mm, f2.8 to 4.8 (35mm equivalent: 35 to 210mm)
Digital zoom: 4x
Focusing range: Normal: 1.6 feet to infinity; macro: 0.39 inches to 1.6 feet (wide)
Autofocus system: TTL Autofocus
CF card type: SD memory card, SDHC memory card, MultiMediaCard
Shooting modes: Auto, P, Av, Tv, M, C1, C2, special scene (portrait, landscape, night scene, sports, foliage, snow, beach, fireworks, aquarium, underwater, ISO 3200, indoor, kids and pets, night snapshot, color accent, color swap), stitch assist, movie
Shutter speed: 15 seconds to 1/2000 second; long shutter operates with noise reduction when manually set at 1.3 to 15 seconds
Light metering method: Evaluative, center-weighted average, spot
Shooting speed: Approximately 2.0 frames per second (fps)
Viewfinder: 2.5-inch low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT color with 15 brightness levels
LCD pixels: Approximately 207,000
LCD coverage: 100 percent
Maximum aperture: f2.8 (wide) x f4.8 (telephoto)
Exposure control method: Program AE; AE lock available
Exposure compensation: Plus or minus 2 stops in 1/3 increments
White balance control: Auto, preset (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent, fluorescent H), custom
Built-in flash: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, auto with slow synchro, flash on, flash on with red-eye reduction, flash on with slow synchro, flash off
Flash range: Normal: 1.6 to 13 feet (W), 1.6 to 8.2 feet (T); macro: 1 to 1.6 feet (W/T) when sensitivity is set to ISO auto
Recycling time: 12 seconds or less
Photo effects: Vivid, vivid blue, vivid green, vivid red, neutral, sepia, black and white, positive film, lighter skin tone, darker skin tone, custom color
Self-timer: Activates shutter after an approximately 2-second/10-second delay, custom
Continuous shooting: Approximately 2.0 fps
Image compression: Normal, fine, superfine
JPEG compression mode: Still image: Exif 2.2 (JPEG); movie: AVI (image: motion JPEG; audio: monaural WAVE)
Number of recording pixels: 640 x 480 (small); 1,600 x 1,200 (medium 3); 2,272 x 1,704 (medium 2); 2,816 x 2,112 (medium 1); 3,648 x 2,736 (large); 3,648 x 2,048 (widescreen); 1,024 x 758 (movie 1, 15 fps); 640 x 480/320 x 240 (movie 2, 30 fps/15 fps) available up to 4 GB; 160 x 120 (movie 3, 3 minutes at 15 fps)
Playback modes file: Still image: single, magnification (approximately 2x-10x), jump, auto rotate, rotate, resume playback, my category, histogram, index (9 thumbnails), sound memos, slide show; movie: normal playback, special playback, editing
Erase modes: Still image: single image, by date, by category, by folder, all images; movie: part of movie, all of movie
Computer interface: USB 2.0 high-speed with mini-B jack
Video out: NTSC/PAL
Audio out: Monaural
Power source: Recharge lithium battery, AC adapter kit
Battery shooting capacity: Approximately 220 shots (LCD on), approximately 500 shots (LCD off)
Battery playback time : Approximately 300 minutes
Dimensions (W x H x D): 4.19 x 2.83 x 1.67 inches
Weight: 11.3 ounces
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor
Any info would be most welcome!