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View Full Version : Nikon P5100 best small compact for crisp detail and DOF?



mtbjay
11-10-2007, 01:29 PM
I am looking for a small camera that is capable of producing images suitable for larger (12x18?) prints without losing crisp details. I especially would like to have the opportunity to produce some nice, framable, landscape shots of horizons, sunsets, cloud formations and such, where vivid colors, and fine details make or break the shot. I recognize a nice DSLR would be the best tool, but I will be packing this next camera in a jersey pocket on extended bike rides - so size and weight are of significant concern. Has anyone had the good results printing large images from the latest small compacts?

I've reasearched on-line till the wee hours, and seem to have it narrowed down to: Nikon P5100, Canon A570 or 720is, but am open to other suggestions. I do like the zoom and wide-angle of the Panasonic TZ3, but read somewhere big zoom optics rob from clarity. Another wide-angle I liked was the new Canon SD800 is, for I think landscape "snapshots" would be more pleasing with it's 28mm lens. I have been to the photography stores, handled them all (except the TZ3, I think), and found the P5100 to be most pleasing in hand. It also happens to be the easiest to navigate, and has a feeling of quality I don't get from the others.

Am I expecting too much from these compacts? Do the limited f.stops listed in the spec's for the cameras listed above, AND their small CCD's prevent them from capturing fine detail with a wide DOF while shooting landscapes?

Jason

coldrain
11-10-2007, 03:02 PM
The Nikon P5100 has the least image quality from the 3 you list. DOF? what do you want from the depth of field? It will be the same with all cameras with similar sensor size. Crisp detail... the Canon's deliver better detail.

The best choice would be the Canon G9. It outperforms the Nikon in image quality, it offers RAW, and it is built better than just about anything on the market.

bascom
11-13-2007, 01:02 PM
But is the G9 small and inexpensive enough? What price can you spend? The SD800 isn't new. The SD870 is the new wide angle one. Here is a P5100 review: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0711/07111202nikonp5100review.asp