Comments on: Quest for the Ultimate Compact Camera

By: rajat surey

rajat surey — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:48:47 +0000

I was looking for a Sony Nex 3, which has a APS-C sensor for DSLR image quality, but was confused whether the 3x optical zoom will be a hindrance for mountain photography. I needed a light weight for treks and this seems to fill the need on other counts.

By: Goodbye Sigma DP1, Hello Olympus E-420 | Mountain Photographer

Goodbye Sigma DP1, Hello Olympus E-420 | Mountain Photographer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:52:29 +0000

[...] my Quest for the Ultimate Compact Camera, last winter I bought a Sigma DP1. I have had two goals in this quest: to find a good complimentary [...]

By: Luisa

Luisa — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:23:22 +0000

Hello, very useful reviews. I have had both the Ricoh and the Fuji F30 for a long time, and I agree totally with your opinions. But if Fujifilm would produce a camera with a 24mm lens, I would buy it. I like the Fuji sharpness with low lighting.

By: snaff

snaff — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:42:55 +0000

The GX100 macros are awesome! and not noisy at all. The 24mm wide zoom can’t be beat either and can even go down to 19mm with the optional conversion lens. I find this camera a joy to work with and VERY responsive. I got the impression when I handled the DPI to be inferior in build and very slow in low light with a poor LCD. A great camera if you have all the time in the world though!!
Very fair review.

By: Richard P. Gunion

Richard P. Gunion — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:17:53 +0000

Right now I have the Canon A640 10MP camera. The Canon was rated highly by DpReview but the Sigma DP-1 looks tempting. It is obvious that people really like this camera-few places have it in stock and if they do not for very long. Has anyone here tried the double raw size file from a DP-1 that produces a 10MP image? I heard that if you do that the tiff file is around 100MB. I would have to buy a lot of external drives or start backing up to DVD’s if I bought this camera. Many people are skeptical of Sigma choosing instead to buy from the big three instead, Nikon, Canon and Olympus. If Sigma wants a bigger piece of the pie, they have to stress quality and service.

By: toasterflyer

toasterflyer — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:32:13 +0000

Interesting website, and lovely images. Regarding your compact camera reviews, specificlly the Sigma DP1, an FYI Sigma has fixed the green corners with a firmware update. And Im sure Sigma will also offer a ISO50 in a future firmware update, this is just a guess on my part. I would think IQ is of utmost importance and I have to admit the Ricohs macro image is bad and noisy. Check http://www.rytterfalk.com for DP1 info and images.
Good luck and keep on trekkin

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:01:37 +0000

Hi Jack, Great review and matches my experience with the GX100 and DP1. These are both great for going light and maintaing a level of quality! This is the first I’ve seen of your photographs and I’ll definitely check them out!

By: Michel

Michel — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:25:58 +0000

Hi, great review. I had the GX100 for some time and I think you are quite right. If it had a sensor with better noise characteristics to about 800 ISO, it would definitely beat everything on the market. I am considering the Olympus E-420 as an alternative. Not quite as compact, but still very small and light and definitely better than any small sensor cam (except maybe the Sigma DP-1 which is probably worse at high Iso. And it has two compact kit lenses covering an impressive range from 14 to 150mm (equivalent to 28 to 300mm on 35mm Full frame) which are supposedly of great quality. Plus the nice pancake 25mm (50mm).

By: Kendall Gelner

Kendall Gelner — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:23:16 +0000

Something to be on the lookout for is a firmware update and SPP release around 4/11, to address the green corner issue and a few other things…

By: Jack Brauer

Jack Brauer — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:42:13 +0000

Thanks, Paul. With the Ricoh I never go higher than the base ISO 80. Even then the noise can occasionally be a slight problem. Usually it’s ok though. One thing to clarify is that the noise isn’t your typically horrible red/green digital static type of thing; it looks more like a sort of film grain. My guess is that the camera does a good job of processing that noise.