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a true point-and-shoot low low light?

cam

Active member
my kinseotherapist is looking to upgrade his camera from the Ricoh R7. nothing will be post processed, so RAW capability isn't important but good JPEGs are. (then again, this might be an issue where i would have to process the pics for him -- your call.)

his unhappiness stems from trying to take pictures in a church (whilst a service is going on). he thinks the flash is crap and everybody comes out dark and noisy and he can't tell who's who. (otherwise, hr loves the R7 once i explained he needed to hit the Macro mode to get focus when he shoved the camera in his girlfriends face at full zoom.)

i pointed to my Noctilux and said he didn't need a flash -- he wasn't amused :ROTFL:

i seriously don't know much about this particular class of camera. i don't think i've ever used a flash even when i probably should have. i am a prime girl and get confused by zooms. etc. and so on.

size may not be as much of an issue as he actually mentioned the G1 (which i promptly told him would be too noisy sound-wise). so what to look at? the G10? one of the Fujis? the Lx3 (though somebody mentioned it hunts for AF in low light)?

i could probably set up a special low-light setting for him on any camera, but i really don't know what direction to point him to.

thank you in advance.
 

Streetshooter

Subscriber Member
Sounds like the G10 would be a great choice.

After thinking about it, I had no real issues with the camera and made many good frames with it. It worked effortlessly in all respects , even dangling from my neck and making exposures 70 MPH from a Harley... and ......you should feel confidant in mentioning the G10....you will not hear any bad thoughts back...
don
 

cam

Active member
Will -- the fixed lens of the DP2 would drive him mad. he's a zoom freak.

thank you, Don, i will look into that... though i do think he may keep his R7 for cycling. ah, who am i kidding? that's what iPhones are for!
 

ecliffordsmith

New member
Hi Cam,

I am not sure that the camera that ticks all these boxes exists yet. It would be a big seller if it did though!

Bearing in mind the frustrations mentioned and that a G1 size could be acceptable how about a small entry level DSLR? These are quite quiet these days is all the beeps are turned off?

Good luck!
 
J

JCdeR

Guest
How about this new Fuji 200 thingie which is supposedly superb in low light due to some sensor change
 

cam

Active member
you may be right, Ed. he just doesn't understand....

i'm beginning to think it's time to nag him again and get a copy of what he found unacceptable -- and find out really what he's trying to take pictures of. he says "in church" as if the subject matter should be obvious :rolleyes:
 

ecliffordsmith

New member
Hi Cam,

There seems to be a real aversion towards DSLRs with people who are not, or at least are not yet what they describe as hobbyist photographers. Twice in the last year I have been asked advice by friends who have been to the camera shop and have been convinced they need a 15X zoom and face recognition auto focus etc and once the marketing has worn off they are unhappy with the shutter lag, poor high ISO/flash results etc.
 

Lili

New member
Cam,
If even the Panny G1 is too loud, then one is pretty much left with the P&S.
The new F200EXR not withstanding ( it not being available yet) Fuji still has several still-top-of-the-heap hi ISO compacts.
The little F50/60 can be got quite cheaply and perform very well up through ISO 800.

And still quite useable at ISO 1600

Both were snapped using my F60fd
 
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Amin

Active member
If he thinks the G1 is too loud, then I'd recommend an LX3. The LX3 and G10 are similar at any given ISO in low light, but the LX3 has a faster lens and better high ISO in-camera JPEG processing (IMO). The little Fujis, especially the F20/30/31, are true low light specialists, but I think the LX3 has them beat by virtue of the faster lens.
 

jonoslack

Active member
I agree with Amin here - and if he's flush then he might be turned on by the Leica d-lux4 (same(ish) camera, different body and menus) - it does very well in low light anyway, and that f2-f2.8 24-60 zoom and IS helps.
it has user defineable settings as well.
 
N

nei1

Guest
Get him a fuji s5 pro,very cheap,great dynamic range and the j pegs are just as good as raw.
 
N

nei1

Guest
sorry cam,just realised this is not whats wanted,too late to delete.
 

cam

Active member
no problem, Neil.

and thank you everybody for the suggestions!

i'm making him bring in the pics he found unacceptable... truly, this is not for even an amateur photographer. it's a guy, in love, with a few kids (his and hers) thrown into the mix who wants to, most likely, put stuff he can show off on his iPhone. that level.

Lili and Neil's nod to Fuji, along with all i've heard about them for low light, are making me think something like the newly announced S1500 might be the ticket (he really loves zoom). i think he'd have a blast with the auto-tracking :p
 

mazor

New member
LX3 definitely has proven to me to be an excellent performer in low light. Its small size ensures minimal attention drawn to it especially for use for general church shooting. Comparing with the G10, it is much bigger and at higher ISO sensor noise is more pronounced.


MAzor
 

Lili

New member
no problem, Neil.

and thank you everybody for the suggestions!

i'm making him bring in the pics he found unacceptable... truly, this is not for even an amateur photographer. it's a guy, in love, with a few kids (his and hers) thrown into the mix who wants to, most likely, put stuff he can show off on his iPhone. that level.

Lili and Neil's nod to Fuji, along with all i've heard about them for low light, are making me think something like the newly announced S1500 might be the ticket (he really loves zoom). i think he'd have a blast with the auto-tracking :p

It is unclear if the the S1500 has the Super HR CCD of the F200exr.
Fuji do make some nice super zooms and if this unti does have the lo light sensor it will rock.
The auto tracking feature does sound nice as well ;)
 

nostatic

New member
LX3/DLux4 is ridiculously good in low available light. I use it with the AF assist *off* and don't find that it hunts. Highly recommended.
 

mazor

New member
nostatic, I heard the LX3/D-Lux4 does not hunt as if it fails to lock, it defaults to 2m distance of something like that.

But still, image come out very sharp. I turn off the AF assist too as that way the camera is totally stealth and silent.

MAzor
 
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