"Nige" <nigel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:280120081238210213%nigel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Last year, I 'bit the bullet' and splashed out on a Canon EOS 5D
> semi-pro model - on the basis that I didn't want to spend the next
> five
> or ten years looking to upgrade cheaper DSLRs and losing money as I
> went. A camera for life, you might say. And in most respects, the 5D
> is
> exactly that. With its 24/105 lens it takes truly excellent photos
> that
> can be printed up to A2 (or even bigger) at superb quality.
>
> What I hadn't reckoned on was the time it takes to get the camera into
> a shoot-ready state in anything other than full auto mode. Really,
> this
> isn't camera that likes to be rushed and it can be rather unforgiving
> if things aren't set up absolutely right. (Maybe all cameras of this
> quality are similar in this regard - this is the first time I've used
> one regularly).
>
> The other main problem with the camera is its size and weight (- the
> latter not being something I remember being mentioned in any of the
> reviews I read). Really, a couple of hours with the EOS 5D round your
> neck and you need to think about booking an appointment booked with a
> chiropractor. On a recent holiday to the US, I actually left the
> camera
> behind on several days because I couldn't face lugging it around - not
> something I'd ever normally do.
>
> In fact, I've had to face facts and acknowledge that since I bought
> the
> camera, I'm actually missing a good percentage of the shots I'd have
> normally taken, simply because I can't get into a shoot-ready state
> quickly enough - or worse (I'm ashamed to say) because I convince
> myself that a particular shot probably won't be worth the effort.
> Needless to say, this is very antithesis of what digital cameras are
> all about.
>
> All of which brings me to the point of this post... I'm looking to buy
> a second camera, preferably a compact model of around 8 megapixels or
> more. What I really need is arguably the very opposite of the EOS 5D -
> a small, light model that is super-intelligent, ready to use in a
> couple of seconds and can be relied upon to produce decent results
> under most conditions. OK, it may not produce anything like the same
> quality as the EOS 5D, but I figure that if it allows me to nail the
> more 'op****tunistic' shots that occasionally come along, that's better
> than not getting the picture at all.
>
> Does anybody have any advice on a suitable model to buy? I've looked
> through all the camera mags, but the sheer breadth of choice gets
> bewidering in this area of the market. I particularly like taking
> night
> and low-light shots and would ideally like a model that would be able
> to deal with this and not try to 'correct' the exposure or fail to
> auto
> focus. As I say, the smarter the better...
>
> Having spent so much on the 5D, I can't really justify spending a huge
> amount, but I do want a camera that I can keep with at all times and
> will produce decent results in most situations without me doing all
> the
> thinking for it.
>
> Any advice would be gratefully received...
>
> Nige
If you like Canon then an Ixus 60, Ixus 65, or Ixus 70. I have a 60
(against my Nikon D70s) and it is often very difficult to decide which
camera has taken which picture.
Beware of the pixel race. Your 5D has a full frame cell, whereas the
compact (almost any make) will have a much smaller cell. On a compact
6Mp is plenty good enough to print at A3 from full frame - indeed any
half decent 3Mp will do A4 from the full frame. If you go much above 6Mp
you will start to get noise in saturated colours - mainly thermal noise.
You will also find that the more pixels the 'higher' the ASA will go
usually at the expense of the slow end - many have 200ASA as the
slowest!
You also need a camera that has a good optical lens - it's no good
having bucket loads of pixels if the lens does not have the resolution
to go with it. Makes such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic/Leica are
up to it but others not from the 'traditional' camera manufacturers are
not.
The main problem with compacts is shutter lag - which you are not used
to on the 5D. Canon, Ricoh, Casio and Fuji tend to be some of the
quickest, Nikon and Olympus traditionally the slowest.
At the end of the day go to a good shop on a quiet day and play with
them. Like as not one of them will feel right - if you are unlucky more
than one will feel right, then it comes down to bells and whistles and
price. Jessops and Jacobs are two of the better places to go. Currys
seem (to me) to have a limited range and all too often have neither a
memory card to hand or (more usually) a charged battery.
--
Woody
harrogate three at ntlworld dot com
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