996GT2's Complete Camera Choosing Guide

[Fear No Evil]

The EOS-1D Mark III is Canon's professional "sports" camera. With a smaller than full frame sensor and "only" 10 MP, the specs don't seem that impressive. When you consider that the 1D III can shoot at a blazing 10 FPS, however, it's quite an impressive feat. HOn the other hand, this camera's speed and image quality are eclipsed by that of the Nikon D3, which manages 9 FPS shooting in full frame mode and 11 FPS shooting in DX crop mode.

LOL.. This camera is certainly not 'eclipsed' by that of ANY camera. WTF is this all about?

 

[Fiveohhh]

Thanks for the guide. I spent the majority of last night and this morning researching cameras. In the end I went with the LZ8. I gotta find some use for my old Nikon 995...

Initially I was looking around the $200 price point but shifted down to $100 since I'm still a college student... I looked into the W120, and I liked the speed and size of it, but eventually ruled it out for the use of a memory stick and proprietary battery. Ended up finding the LZ8 on B&H open boxed for $89. I didn't realize there were so many to pick from(even within a single manufacturer!). Anyway thanks again for the writeup.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Great Info, Thanks alot!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm looking for a camera that shoots good in low level light situations. I was just in Best Buy an hour ago and the sales attendant compared the G10 to the Panasonic LX3 and said the LX3 is not as good in low level lighting which also means the HD video would come out bad o the LX3 compared to the G10. Is this true!?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I'm looking for a camera that shoots good in low level light situations. I was just in Best Buy an hour ago and the sales attendant compared the G10 to the Panasonic LX3 and said the LX3 is not as good in low level lighting which also means the HD video would come out bad o the LX3 compared to the G10. Is this true!?

Eh, this is NOT true. The Panny LX3 has a larger sensor than the Canon G10, and also a lower pixel density, which usually equates to better low-light performance.

Also, the G10 does NOT support HD video at all.

G10 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

LX3 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I'm looking for a camera that shoots good in low level light situations. I was just in Best Buy an hour ago and the sales attendant compared the G10 to the Panasonic LX3 and said the LX3 is not as good in low level lighting which also means the HD video would come out bad o the LX3 compared to the G10. Is this true!?

Eh, this is NOT true. The Panny LX3 has a larger sensor than the Canon G10, and also a lower pixel density, which usually equates to better low-light performance.

Also, the G10 does NOT support HD video at all.

G10 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

LX3 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

Thanks for the reply Flipped What is the best camera at this price range or is there no better? I like the compactness of it, good low light performance, HD 720p video.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I'm looking for a camera that shoots good in low level light situations. I was just in Best Buy an hour ago and the sales attendant compared the G10 to the Panasonic LX3 and said the LX3 is not as good in low level lighting which also means the HD video would come out bad o the LX3 compared to the G10. Is this true!?

Eh, this is NOT true. The Panny LX3 has a larger sensor than the Canon G10, and also a lower pixel density, which usually equates to better low-light performance.

Also, the G10 does NOT support HD video at all.

G10 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

LX3 review, with image samples at various ISO settings.

Thanks for the reply Flipped What is the best camera at this price range or is there no better? I like the compactness of it, good low light performance, HD 720p video.

NP.

IMO, as long as you don't need much "zoom", the LX3 is the best in it's class. This isn't based on actual usage, however, just reviews and specs.

A major selling point of the LX3 is the fact that the lens is so "fast". That is, the lens of the LX3 lets in more light than the lens of all other current digicams, that I know of. The main benefit of this is you can use either a lower ISO or a faster shutter speed.

I've read in some photography forums that some users do not like the default output of the LX3, but there are in-camera settings that can be adjusted to "taste".

I think it's pretty fair to say that the LX3 is in a class by itself. There is no other readily-available digicam that has a very wide lens, above-average high-ISO performance and HD video.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

How does the zoom compare to the Olympus Stylus 800?

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does the zoom compare to the Olympus Stylus 800?

The Sylus 800 has a 38-114mm equivalent zoom lens, which is a 3x zoom. The LX3 has a 24-60mm equivalent lens, which is about a 2.5x zoom.

The big difference here is that the LX3 starts much wider but doesn't go as far. 24mm is much wider than 38mm, so you'll be better off capturing landscapes or fitting many people into a group shot. However, the 60mm telephoto end of the LX3 is not as long as the 114mm of the Stylus 800, so you will have to move closer to your subject if it's a bit further away.

Aside from the slightly short zoom range, the LX3's lens is extraordinary. In low-light conditions, the fast lens and pretty good high ISO performance of the LX3 make it a viable alternative to a DSLR with a slow kit lens. f/2 is about 2 f-stops faster than the f/3.5 that most DLSR lenses start at, which means you can use a shutter speed FOUR times as fast or an ISO that is FOUR times lower.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The LX3 seems hard to find and at B&H its out of stock and or on backorder - actually at a decent price.... anyone have any links for the LX3 Panasonic at that price in stock!?

EDIT: I just read the comparison between the LX3 and Fuji and at the end of the article I read: "If you really want to do some serious low-light shooting, however, get an entry level DSLR instead and it will be much better off than either of these cameras. "

What is a DSLR??? And where can I find one in the 300-500$ range?

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
The LX3 seems hard to find and at B&H its out of stock and or on backorder - actually at a decent price.... anyone have any links for the LX3 Panasonic at that price in stock!?

EDIT: I just read the comparison between the LX3 and Fuji and at the end of the article I read: "If you really want to do some serious low-light shooting, however, get an entry level DSLR instead and it will be much better off than either of these cameras. "

What is a DSLR??? And where can I find one in the 300-500$ range?

A DSLR is a a single-lens reflex camera that can take interchangeable lenses, much like the big film cameras you used to see or the big black cameras you see being wielded by the press at any celebrity event.

You can definitely get a decent entry-level DSLR for around $500. Look to the Canon Rebel XS, XSi, or Nikon D60 and D5000.

The advantage of a DSLR is that its sensor is usually 10 times larger than a point and shoot sensor. This means much less noise at higher ISO. In fact, a good DSLR at ISO 1600 will give about the same image quality as a point and shoot at ISO 200. Also, the ability to take interchangeable lenses means you can mount very fast f/1.2 or f/1.4 glass to your camera, making it possible to shoot almost in total darkness without flash.

However, if you get a DSLR, be prepared to learn, since the learning curve is definitely steeper than it is with an advanced P&S like the LX3. And be prepared to shell out money for lenses down the road.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Ok then. Maybe I'll stick with my original choice of the LX3 Just, its hard to find them at a decent price in stock...

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Ok then. Maybe I'll stick with my original choice of the LX3 Just, its hard to find them at a decent price in stock...

Yup, the LX3 is hot with the enthusiasts because of the aforementioned features. Supply still hasn't really caught up with demand, and there isn't much in the way of discounts to be had, either.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

How does this compare to the LX3 Panasonic?

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does this compare to the LX3 Panasonic?

The sensor is much smaller (1/2.33" vs the LX3's 1/1.63"). Basically, this indicates that the Leica will be significantly inferior to the LX3 in low-light/high-ISO situations.

BTW, I'm assuming when you mention "low level light situations", you mean without using flash. Please correct me if my assumption is wrong!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does this compare to the LX3 Panasonic?

The sensor is much smaller (1/2.33" vs the LX3's 1/1.63"). Basically, this indicates that the Leica will be significantly inferior to the LX3 in low-light/high-ISO situations.

BTW, I'm assuming when you mention "low level light situations", you mean without using flash. Please correct me if my assumption is wrong!

Generally yeah. And I'm hoping that will carry over when using it for shooting short HD movies, right?

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does this compare to the LX3 Panasonic?

The Leica C-Lux is an almost exact copy of Panasonic's other models, the FX37.

The sensor is much smaller than the LX3s and the lens is slower, so the C-Lux is definitely not even close to the LX3 in terms of low-light performance.

I would say that the LX3 is the best overall point and shoot on the market today when you consider image quality, features, and overall ease of use. If you want an advanced camera with good image quality (even in low light) and many, many features, and don't mind a slightly short 60mm telephoto end on the lens, then the LX3 is really the only way to go in my opinion.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: 996GT2

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
How does this compare to the LX3 Panasonic?

The Leica C-Lux is an almost exact copy of Panasonic's other models, the FX37.

The sensor is much smaller than the LX3s and the lens is slower, so the C-Lux is definitely not even close to the LX3 in terms of low-light performance.

I would say that the LX3 is the best overall point and shoot on the market today when you consider image quality, features, and overall ease of use. If you want an advanced camera with good image quality (even in low light) and many, many features, and don't mind a slightly short 60mm telephoto end on the lens, then the LX3 is really the only way to go in my opinion.

They are just so hard to find right now, but yeah, i think that's the one I'm gonna get

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

So, i've been getting desperate for one of these and shame on me for not being patient but, would ebay be a smart decision?

EDIT: i had a link but apparently ebay links aren't allowed!?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

NM, bought an LX3 on Ebay - 8G sd card, extra lion battery etc.

 

[kuda]

996GT2. consider adding in some "waterproof" cameras to this mix. there are alot of outdoor enthusiasts that are rough on their equipment via fishing/hunting at times where rain/water can very easily be introduced to the camera.

if you could look into some waterproof cameras, starting lower end p&s and working your way up to the high end at some point, that would be fantastic!

thanks for considering it.

~K

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Need to replace a flaky card for my LX3 - what do I need?

I am always having problems going through windows explorer extracting the files from the drive lettered device and saving them to my PC

 

[ivan2]

you might want to swap the XSi with D5000. as latest the XSi kit can be have for $599 from amazon. while the D5000 kit is $764 from B&H.

 

[PC Perv]

I want to say thank you for this thread. Very informative and helped a ton.

 

[MotF Bane]

Where does the T1i fit in with this listing?