5 Great Compacts for Digital SLR Owners
If you own a digital SLR it’s reasonable to assume that photography is a passion or at least a strong interest. Whether photography is your pastime or 9 to 5 (make that 24/7), photographic opportunities are always there and you notice them. The spanner in the works is that hefty kit bag, which isn’t always by your side. What’s the solution? A compact digital camera that can be carried everywhere, and replicates the feeling, image quality and functions of a digital SLR.
What are we looking for?
Choosing a digital SLR substitute boils down to how you’re going to use it and your favourite subjects. The common scenarios which spring to mind are:
- Scouting a scene which you’re planning to return to with a full-kit.
- Candid street photography and detail shots on the way to work.
- Photos of friends and family that are more than ‘snaps’, but the DSLR is under curfew.
- The scenario you thought up between points 2 and 3 (make sure you leave a comment to tell us what it is, or if it’s top secret then just a clue!)
Hopefully a few ideas around how you’d use a pro compact are running through your mind. The next step is researching a camera. What are the qualities of the perfect compact camera for a digital SLR owner?
- RAW file output for optimal quality and maximum post production potential.
- Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority & Manual modes (PASM modes).
- Responsive controls and minimal shutter lag.
- A high-quality lens, preferably with wide-angle coverage (24-28mm) and a fast maximum aperture.
Advanced compact camera features that are ‘nice to have’ rather than essential include: Support for an electronic or optical viewfinder, optical image stabilisation, HD video capture, a teleconverter or threaded filter support and a hot-shoe for flashguns.
The Five Candidates
Running the extensive wish list of features through the Warehouse Express magic 8 ball has produced a short-list of five candidates:
Canon PowerShot G11
- 10 megapixel CCD sensor
- 28-140mm f2.8-4.5 lens with optical image stabilisation
- 23MP/cm2 pixel density (the lower the better)
- 80-3200 ISO range
- 355g weight
- Canon PowerShot G11 review @ PhotographyBlog
If you ask a photographer to name an advanced compact, their response is likely to be the latest camera in the PowerShot G-series and that’s definitely a good answer. The Canon PowerShot G11 offers the greatest focal range (5x zoom) of the compacts on parade and has dedicated dials on the top plate for exposure compensation, ISO and the exposure mode.
G11 Pros: Superb external controls and handling, articulated LCD screen, focal range
G11 Cons: Neither slim nor light by compact camera standards, only VGA movies (640×480)
Ricoh GR Digital III
- 10 megapixel CCD sensor
- 28mm f1.9 lens
- 23MP/cm2 pixel density
- 64-1600 ISO range
- 208g weight
- Ricoh GR Digital III Review @ PhotographyBlog
If you’re into landscapes then the Ricoh GR Digital III is crying out to be in your pocket (and hands). The fixed 28mm equivalent wide-angle lens keeps your focused on composition by foot and the fast f1.9 aperture & 5 frame RAW burst make it suitable for fast moving scenes.
GRD III Pros: Fast prime lens, 12EV dynamic range with ‘double shot’ mode, open format DNG RAW file.
GRD III Cons: You’ve got to love the 28mm focal length!
Sigma DP2
- 3x 4.7 megapixel Foveon CMOS sensor
- 41mm f2.8 lens
- 1.6MP/cm2 pixel density
- 50-1600 ISO range
- 280g weight
- Sigma DP2 Review @ Dpreview
The understated design of the Sigma DP2 makes it ideal for reportage and the Foveon sensor produces superb colour rendition by capturing red, green & blue at every pixel location. The DP2 is undoubtedly a niche product (just like the Sigma SD14 digital SLR) but the big sensor in a small camera ethos is sensible and hopefully other manufacturers will follow this path.
DP2 Pros: Colours captured by the Foveon sensor, large 20.7×13.8mm sensor (APS-C is 23.6×15.8mm)
DP2 Cons: Relatively slow aperture for a prime lens, 28cm minimum focus distance
Ricoh GX200
- 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor with image stabilisation
- 24-72mm f2.5-4.4 lens
- 28MP/cm2 pixel density
- 64-1600 ISO range
- 260g weight
- Ricoh GX200 Review @ PhotographyBlog
The Ricoh GX200 is an all-rounder; the versatile 24-72mm lens, optional external viewfinder and reasonable 1.18FPS continuous shooting all blend together to make a refined photographic tool. The GX200 supports .DNG RAW files, like the GR Digital III, which allow you to use 3rd party software like Photoshop and Lightroom with ease.
GX200 Pros: Optional tilting viewfinder (electronic), 24mm wide-angle to reasonable telephoto range
GX200 Cons: Highest pixel density complicates high ISO performance
Panasonic Lumix LX3
- 10.1 megapixel CCD sensor
- 24-60mm f2-2.8 lens with image stabilisation
- 24MP/cm2 pixel density
- 80-3200 ISO range
- 265g weight
- Panasonic LX3 Review @ Dpreview
The Panasonic LX3 is a Leica D-Lux 4 in disguise; hence the LX3 sports a high quality Leica lens. The lens is sharp & fast – the wide apertures available allow a shallow depth of field to be obtained and in combination with image stabilisation you can avoid high ISOs.
LX3 Pros: Optical quality, widest aperture zoom lens, 720p HD video
LX3 Cons: The 60mm telephoto reach could be limiting, small controls, weak pop-up flash
A Confession & Conclusion
The photographer’s compact is a niche which is maturing rapidly; there are several great options available right now and competition from slim micro Four Thirds cameras like the Panasonic GF1 will undoubtedly raise the bar even higher for the next round of high-end compacts.
It’s time for the confession. Despite working for Warehouse Express, a photographic retailer packed full of photo-enthusiasts, virtually living and breathing cameras, my digital SLR only escapes from its bag a couple of times per month. So I’ve decided to put my money where my mouth is and buy a Panasonic LX3 to use as a weekday warrior.
If you’re contemplating a pro compact to compliment your DSLR, are already ahead of the game, or just have some thoughts to add, it’d be great to hear from you in the comments section!
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What about the Canon S90 ?!
SteGood point Ste. I tried an S90 the other week – it’s a bit light on external controls, but the control ring on the lens & f2 aperture are fantastic.
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-canon-powershot-s90-black-digital-camera/p1033070
Oliver (author)How about an update ( & regular update at that!) to this topic please? The same criteria still exist for many of us DSLR owners, but new compacts are turning up quicker than the Nikon V1 can shoot frames per second – some thoughts on the current pick of the bunch – perhaps divided into a couple of price categories (above/below £400?) – would be great!
Max BolideHi Max,
Thanks for the suggestion, we’ll definitely look at getting an updated version of this post up.
Thanks,
NatalieNatalie