I'm looking into getting a good P&S to supplement my DSLR's. I need something that I can put in my pocket, shoots in RAW and shoots well in low light. Does anyone have any good recommendations? The only cameras I'm familiar with are Canon, but I know there are so many other good P&S manufacturers out there and I don't want to limit my choices. My budget is in the $400-500 range. Thanks!
Posted by Ed Dubois on February 1, 2010 at 4:02 PM
I've been using the Canon G10 for about a year now. Bought it because it was the only P&S that could shoot RAW. So far I've been very pleased with it. At higher ISOs it does get noisy so doing some NR in post processing is necessary. Build quality and reliability have been excellent and the battery seems to last forever.
The current model is the G11 which has a few different features but seems to do equally well.
Posted by Jeff Ross on February 1, 2010 at 5:35 PM
I just bought a G11 yesterday for the same reasons you mentioned. I like what I've seen so far. You'll need to have a pretty big pocket to fit it in though. From everything I've read, it has slightly better low-light shooting capabilities than the G10, which is 14.7mpix compared to the G11's 10mpix. The camera seems to be made for the pro/serious amateur who doesn't always want to lug all their gear around. It shoots RAW and is jammed pacted with advanced features. Video is supposedly not the best, but that's not what I bought the camera for.
Posted by David Bostedo on February 1, 2010 at 6:33 PM
I need something that I can put in my pocket, shoots in RAW and shoots well in low light.
Well depending on what you mean by "well" or "low light", what you're asking for may not actually exist. You won't get anywhere near an SLRs low light performance in a pocketable camera, unless you have very large pockets.
That being said, the Canon G11, Panasonic LX3, and Canon S90 are the most recommended P&Ss from what I've seen. That's mainly because there aren't that many P&S cameras that record RAW that aren't of the "superzoom" variety. There's also the Sigma DP2, Leica X1, and Ricoh GRD, but they aren't really pocketable either.
Posted by Brad Mangas on February 1, 2010 at 6:44 PM
I own a 4 year old Fuji Finepix that will fit in a shirt pocket. It shoots raw and has what Fuji dubs a Super CCD sensor. It takes great pictures. I would look at the new line of Fuji point and shoots as well. And just for as my opinion goes, I wouldn't get to caught up in the "has to shoot raw" arena.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 1, 2010 at 6:49 PM
Well depending on what you mean by "well" or "low light", what you're asking for may not actually exist. You won't get anywhere near an SLRs low light performance in a pocketable camera, unless you have very large pockets.
Exactly.
With that in mind, I own the G11 and find that it works fairly well in low light with a (very) usable ISO 400. I can't think of any other p&s type camera that I would own to supplement my DSLR, but I was well aware of the limitations that David noted.
Posted by Jim Erhardt on February 1, 2010 at 7:43 PM
For all of my "informal" photography, this is all I use now - even though I have a 50D.
Posted by Frank Winters on February 2, 2010 at 12:30 PM
I have an Olympus C-7000 that I bought in 2004 or 2005. Its 7 mp small but with a really nice shape -- decent low light performance up to ISO 400 (for a compact) and it shoots RAW. But my wife uses it now -- I'm using a Panasonic LX3 and its very good with a very nice nearly Leica-like feeling (I was an M3 shooter for years) and it does all of the above better still.
Ed wrote: "I've been using the Canon G10 for about a year now. Bought it because it was the only P&S that could shoot RAW." Not by a long shot -- but it us a common misconception that whatever Canon puts out must be the state of the art in the Canon Nixon centric world. I've used Canon G's from G1 through G9 but for most relevant purposes I like the Panasonic. BTW -- my G1 purchased in 2000 shot Raw files (not that I knew what to do with them back then).
I guess working pros need the full range of equipment that the twin leaders offer but in the P&S world I think it pays to explore.
Discussion
7 repliesThe current model is the G11 which has a few different features but seems to do equally well.
That being said, the Canon G11, Panasonic LX3, and Canon S90 are the most recommended P&Ss from what I've seen. That's mainly because there aren't that many P&S cameras that record RAW that aren't of the "superzoom" variety. There's also the Sigma DP2, Leica X1, and Ricoh GRD, but they aren't really pocketable either.
Exactly.
With that in mind, I own the G11 and find that it works fairly well in low light with a (very) usable ISO 400. I can't think of any other p&s type camera that I would own to supplement my DSLR, but I was well aware of the limitations that David noted.
For all of my "informal" photography, this is all I use now - even though I have a 50D.
Ed wrote: "I've been using the Canon G10 for about a year now. Bought it because it was the only P&S that could shoot RAW." Not by a long shot -- but it us a common misconception that whatever Canon puts out must be the state of the art in the Canon Nixon centric world. I've used Canon G's from G1 through G9 but for most relevant purposes I like the Panasonic. BTW -- my G1 purchased in 2000 shot Raw files (not that I knew what to do with them back then).
I guess working pros need the full range of equipment that the twin leaders offer but in the P&S world I think it pays to explore.