If you couldn't bring your DSLR camera with you

[canadianx]

What compact digital camera would you bring (price under $1000) if there was simply no way to fit a DSLR or any of it's parts in the bag you carry to your next destination?

Key points:
- As close to a DSLR for options as possible (manual settings etc)
- Good picture quality
- Not too bulky
- Solid build quality

I love my Rebel XT but find I cannot take it with me all the time. But of course when I don't have my camera I always see something I want to take a picture of. I am sometimes forced to travel light and would like a camera that plays into that.

Thanks in advance for any input from the gurus that respond.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Some top Cameras are:

Sony H5/H9
Panisonic FZ50
Canon S5 IS
Sony R1 (good lens, has a DSLR sensor in it, but it's discontinued)

and my personal favourite the Fuji S9100. It has a manual zoom (most similar to DSLR) and zooming doesn't drain battery. It also has amazing high ISO performance and behaves in my opinion as close to a DSLR as you're going to get. Built really well too - this is the one I'd buy. It does not have IS though, so if that is really important to you it may not be the best option.

Some highlights on the previous fuji f6500 on dpreview:
- Class leading ISO performance
-Excellent battery life
-Very low shutter lag
- good movie mode (you can zoom during movies)
- fast effective face detection

I also think all of these cameras (or previous, similar, models) have been reviewed on Dpreview for some additional reading.

If you don't care much about manual zoom or need high ISO performance, it would be difficult to tell the difference between them all and they will all perform great.

[Hash_man]

My choice would probably be the Canon G7... It is significantly smaller than an SLR and a lot of high zoom cameras... downside to that being it has a 6x optical zoom instead of some of Mitsu's choices ^^ which have a lot more zoom. G7 is small, magnesium body and uses the same batteries as your XT which is always nice.

G7 is also going for like $450 at FS this weekend which is a crazy deal IMO.

[ex1z7]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt

and my personal favourite the Fuji S9100.

Word, one of my top picks too for non-dslr but similar to..

Or a Nikon coolpix 8800 - just can't find them anymore

But similar to the 8800 in terms of features etc. is the coolpix p5100 / p50 - VR ftw.

[D'z Nutz]

A compact digital with manual controls? Ricoh GR Digital or Caplio GX100!

Although Fuji is a good choice if you just want a point and shoot.

[aznlee]

Canon G7...or if you wanan do raw shots still G9

[BerserkerCatSplat]

I'd have an Epson R-D1s and a 28mm or 35mm. That'd probably be more than $1000, though.

[canadianx]

Originally posted by Hash_man

G7 is also going for like $450 at FS this weekend which is a crazy deal IMO.

HUH! Where is that advetised?! That would be a smoking deal. Website still shows $649 though.

I think the G7 is around the size I would like to go. The S5 and the like are probably a bit too bulky.

Any input from the Leica or Panasonic products in this class?

Where can I get my hands on Ricoh products?

[C4S]

Oh no .. Nikon 8800 .. no .. it is a good camera .. but .. SLOW .. I had it for few months .. couldn't use it at all .. so slow!!

Fuji is good! F40 .. F47 .. F50 ..

[Hash_man]

HUH! Where is that advetised?! That would be a smoking deal. Website still shows $649 though.

I think the G7 is around the size I would like to go. The S5 and the like are probably a bit too bulky.

Any input from the Leica or Panasonic products in this class?

Where can I get my hands on Ricoh products?

Lol... was in their flier for the big 4 type of sale this weekend... 10 a day per store from fri-sun... so i'd say if you want one, go first thing on sunday. And I know, its a crazy price... as far as I'm concerned there are not too many other cameras i'd rather have at that price. 449 is dirt cheap seeing as the g9 will be a lot more money, and IMO not too many advantages over the g7


Also, I like some of nikon's older offerings... and the new P5000 isn't bad... but they are still just painfully slow... I bet my old coolpix 4500 is about the same speed as most of nikons new cameras lol.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by C4S
Oh no .. Nikon 8800 .. no .. it is a good camera .. but .. SLOW .. I had it for few months .. couldn't use it at all .. so slow!!

Fuji is good! F40 .. F47 .. F50 ..

Yeah back in the day we had the Nikon 8800 and the Canon S2 IS at home, and the Nikon was better but it literally took 30 seconds to write a raw file to the card, and was slow in other areas too so we kept the S2IS but it was an awesome camera nonetheless.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by canadianx


HUH! Where is that advetised?! That would be a smoking deal. Website still shows $649 though.

I think the G7 is around the size I would like to go. The S5 and the like are probably a bit too bulky.

Any input from the Leica or Panasonic products in this class?

Where can I get my hands on Ricoh products?

If your looking for a smaller camera, I would suggest the Fuji F30/F31fd/F40fd/F50fd. They have manual controls, an excellent flash, outstanding ISO performance, and their built well out of metal.

I don't know how big the Sony H5 is but that camera is pretty well liked. Might be a bit big.

If you don't need high ISO performance then honestly all of the cameras will perform extremely similarly and you can put more weight into your decision based on what feels good in the hand, price, quality, etc. That's how I see it, anyways.

[Gibson]

My Casio Exilim EX-Z850 has manual controls, up to 60 second shutter speed/down to 1/1000. It was discontinued last year though, and I don't know if the successors had the same type of manual controls. Good image quality, but Casio is not known for their reliability or customer service.