Please help me choose an upgrade from Fujifilm F30

[AlexSalsero]

I am a proud owner of the legendary king of low-light photography Fujifilm F30. Due to my nephew's carelessness, it is now on it's last legs. It has served me well, but it is now time to upgrade.

What Im looking for in a compact pocket camera form-factor:
1) Great performance in low light with no flash on. This means a large sensor and a fast lens, also perhaps optical image stabilization, and low noise and high ISO(800 and up)
2) Manual controls such as aperture and shutter speed priority, custom white balance settings etc. Manual focus not really necessary as it usually doesn't work too well on cameras without a viewfinder anyway.
3) Solid build and reliable
4) Convenient controls, ideally a convenient access to most controls with 1 hand.
5) Ideally, a good battery life, though I don't think I'll ever find something that comes close to that of F30. At least something that can be charged easily.

Budget is flexible, Im willing to pay good money for something that performs well and lasts.

So far the best I found is Samsung TL500/EX1 The only thing I don't like about it is pretty pathetic video-recording performance. Although videos are not at all the focus of my activities, it's nice to have good quality video. Then, there is Panasonic LX3, with 720p video, but the videos it shoots are motionJpeg - extremely inefficient codec compared to h.264 that EX1 uses for example. Also, you can't use optical zoom while shooting. Finally, LX3 is a 2008 model, a bit outdated already.


I've looked at Sony NEX 5, and although I like it, it's too big to be considered pocketable with any lens other than the fisheye, also very expensive for what it is. Easily double the Samsung or Panasonic LX3 without the lenses.

Any other ideas?

 

[Formatted]

Sony NEX 5 would be a good choice. Also look at Canon G11 and Nikon P7000, both of which are advanced point and shoots, very well built.

it's nice to have good quality video

Your never going to get decent video off a point and shoot...

 

[AlexSalsero]

Thank you for clarifying that point about the video. Canon G11 is a good camera but too big - almost twice as thick as the Fuji F30. I need something more or less pocketable. Of course, it has 5x optical zoom, so it's not quite fair to compare it to Panasonic LX3 and Samsung TL500/EX1 with 3x zoom. Having said that, I do not need zoom. I will look into the Nikon model, thank you!

 

[Formatted]

The Nikon model is about the same size maybe smaller. I reckon you could pocket a G11.

However the best real pocket sized point and shoot is the Canon S90

 

[Dao]

And the successors of the G11 and S90 are G12 and S95.

If you are looking for compact point and shoot camera, S95 is quite good (from what I read). The Canon G series is also very good (bought the G11 for my wife).

Other choice will be those mirrorless cameras such as the Sony NEX3/5, PEN camera from Olympus such as E-PL1/E-PL1s/E-PL2 and the Panasonic GF1/GF2

 

[AlexSalsero]

Thank you so much for all the answers.

Question. Why does a premium model line like Sony NEX3 / NEX5 carry lenses that are so expensive when purchased separately($250-$350), yet are not very fast? How is it that a Samsung EX1/TL500 can have a zoom f/1.8 lens at the widest setting, while Sony lenses are f/2.8, more than a full stop darker?
Does it have to do with the sensor size? Sony APS-C sensor is gigantic compared to the 1/1.7" sensor in "advanced" compacts like Canon s95 and Panasonic LX5
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Would Sony NEX3+18-55mm lens still perform better in low light than any of these compacts, in spite of the fact that it's widest aperture setting is easily a full f/stop narrower?

 

[Dao]

If photos were taken with 2 different cameras at the same time and location, in theory, if they are popularly exposed, the photos should looks some what the same (exposure wise) regardless how fast the lens is (or say how wide the aperture is).

Just like when you take a photo with aperture set at f/1.4 and f/4.0, the results should be about the same in terms of exposure. Of course, shutter speed or ISO settings maybe different.

I do not know much about the Sony camera, but from what I read, Sony is quite good at making low noise high ISO type sensor. So under low light with high ISO setting environment, photos produced by the Sony camera may have less noise when compare to other mirrorless competitors.

Also, if you compare the point and shoot type cameras to the mirrorless camerass, the point and shoot type camera usually produce nosier image under low light high ISO environment partly because of the sensor size.

As for the lens goes, in general better the optics, higher the cost. In DSLR world, a lens cost higher if ...

- it has better optics, i.e. sharper, good control in CA, less distortion, produce image with vivid color and good contrast.

- it has a better build. A cheaply made plastic lens of course is cheaper than a metal based lens with solid feel that lass longer.

- it has a faster and quieter auto focus.

- it has build in image stabilization technology (for some brands only).

- it is weather seal.

- it has a constant wide max aperture throughout the zoom range or wide max aperture for prime lens (single focal length).

- it is a telephoto lens with long focal length (i.e. 500mm)

maybe more ...


Actually, $250-$350 for a lens is not expensive in photography world. It is on the lower costs end. You may find a lot of photographer has lens that cost much more than the camera itself. The values of my all lenses combine now cost about 6 times higher than my camera itself. And some people even has one lens that cost 6 times (or more) than the camera they have.

 

[AlexSalsero]

Thanks everyone 4 the ideas. Came close to getting the NEX. It is rather incredible how cheap it can be had here in Spain, it is even cheaper than in USA, but in the end the common sense took over. I realized that a camera that's tiny but with a huge lens is no longer pocketable, nor is it usable with so few external controls. Got the s95. I have to say, I was VERY tempted by Olympus's new offering, the XZ-1, it is quite the incredible package, especially the lens that stays very bright throughout the entire zoom range.

 

[Dao]

Yes, once you put a lens to the mirrorless camera, it become bulkier unless you get the pancake lens. i.e. 17mm f/2.8 lens.

As for the S95, it is a great little camera! Have Fun!