New P&S

Shutterbug Strasse

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Not anything earth shaking, but I mostly use P&S cameras on travel, rather than lug my SLR. But I am fussy about the image quality, and poor control logic and ergonomics drive me up the wall. I have 6 or 7 of these things and several more have gone bye-bye when I found out how flawed they were.
Anyhow, I just bought a Canon Classic 120 to replace an Olympus SuperZoom 120 (Ritz Camera's version of the Olympus 3500). Thought I'd leave a few comments here. The Canon is discontinued, but my local shop had 3 left. The NYC stores have them as well. The Popular Photography review on the camera, for once, is dead on. A very good lens, comparable in sharpness and color to my AF Nikkor 28-105 and maybe better contrast. Lots of "snap". The flash is powerful, very uniform, conservatively rated (Pop Photo was right here as well) and has a very good output control system. This is a matter of the control electronics, metering, and the control algorithm. Fill flash is consistently very well done.
I take a lot of travel shots, and one of my pet peaves is the over enthusiastic use of flash by P&S cameras. I have a very nice collection of shots of a "sun ball" in the bus window. The Canaon has a "Personal" setting on it's mode selector wheel, which allows you to set up the camera and then store the settings. On mine I set it for spot AF and flash OFF. Fine for a lot of things like available light, shooting through bus windows, and for the museum where "flash is not allowed".
There's a lot of other settings under a flap on the back, but if you use the Personal mode intelligently, along with the other wheel selected modes, you nearly never need theose other controls.
With selected P&S models, I find I don't need the SLR unless I'm going to need extra long shots where 300-400 mm are needed.
Now the Canon Classic 120 is not perfect. The lens is slow (f/4.5-f/10.9), the focal length only goes down to 38 mm, and it's not weatherproof. So it gets kitted up with an Olympus Stylus Epic and a pair of mini binoculars which supplies 35 mm at f/2.8, weatherproofing, and some backup. With 6 rolls of film, spare batteries, and the carry case, it's 2 lbs. But then the Epic doens't have a great flash (hot at the center, and the flash metering is too heavily center weighted), so I also travel with a Pentax Espio Mini (UC-1 in the USA)which has a very good flash, a sharp lens, and is 32 mm @ f/3.5. The Pentax is my "dinner camera". Easily pocketable, excellent flash, warmish lens, and the wider view of the 32 mm lens is perfect for shots at parties and in dining rooms on board ship and in restaurants.
On extended trips we also carry my wife's Olympus Epic Zoom 80. A very sharp little camera which is light, compact, weatherproof, and convenient. It provides a backup to the Canon, and is great to put in a shirt or pants pocket for walking tours.
I always carry at least one spare P&S and on several trips, have ended up lending one of mine to a friend who's camera has died. Most recently a friend's Minolta (an ancient model) conked out on a Rhine River cruise. I loaned him my Yashica T4 Super, and he got along until he could buy a new camera for himself. Sorry, but I fail to see what all the fuss is about with the T4. OK, it has a good lens. But it's bigger and clunkier than the Epic, and in my book not as sharp. The controls were designed by someone who doesn't take pictures. Have you noticed that! That a lot of the cameras out there feel like the guy who designed them never used a camera? P&S and SLR's both! Design by committee?
So when do I lug the SLR? When I need the long lens, or when I need really good macro.
Any other P&S fanciers out there?

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Topic - New P&S - Bold Eagle 18:02:50 01/29/03 (3)

Re: When It Comes To P&S, That's Where Digital Comes In: - Vinylly 20:50:16 02/09/03 (0)

Ya... - Boony 12:48:36 01/30/03 (1)

Re: Ya... - Bold Eagle 20:08:30 01/30/03 (0)

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