New S90/g12/lx5 killer from olympus

I have resisted buying a point & shoot for all the same shortcomings that everyone has pointed out.
We own a bunch typical ones in our family and never found them much better than the camera in my iPhone 4.
I was given an S95 by my kids recently.
I would say this: the size is about perfect as the largest object one can comfortably place in a pocket of a business suit and not be obvious. I took it to a VERY dark restaurant on new years eve and was frankly amazed at the quality of the pictures & video (AV f/2 28mm) I made no great effort at camera steadiness and was surprised to see pictures that were quite good at f/2, 1/13 sec, iso 1600. I did some SD video that was surprisingly good, both indoors and outdor night traffic etc.
For sharing purposes SD video has many advantages & I haven't even used the 720p capability.
For 1080p I'm not sure a P&S would be my first choice.
I own 1Ds III's & a 7D. It's clearly not in that league but I'm very impressed.
The Lumix or the Olympus might be even better, but in my opinion there would be many more times when I wouldn't carry those..
For many years I travelled with a little Olympus XA clamshell with a 35mm f/2.8 this camera reminds me of that one.
I do miss an eyelevel viewfinder, and if you have big hands (I don't) it borders on being too small (but if you have big hands you might also have bigger pockets)
It's not a perfect camera, but a surprisingly good one.
To those contemplating the purchase of one of these from any manufacturer, my advice would be this:
1,They're all very capable (though I only have direct experience with one)
2.My opinion is that the primary advantage of this type of camera is that it can be WITH YOU more than your big cameras.
3.The key to choosing the right one is more about being really honest with yourself about how big is too big to carry all the time. ---I know I'd love a viewfinder but I also know I'd carry one with an EVF less. (I've even experimented with carrying the fold flat waist level Hasselblad viewfinder in my other pocket)
4. The reason I feel this way is because (it's my opinion) If I know that I'm going somewhere with good photographic potential an S95 or similar camera will never be the camera of choice.(it may be the camera of necessity)
So the pocket camera's PRIMARY VALUE is acceptable image quality in a package that you are LIKELY to carry. This "size" will vary by person, for ME the S95 hits the sweet spot of Size/quality
Just one person's opinion.
Michael

^^^^(i didnt want to quote you cause what you type was so large.)


You make a very good point! What good is a camera if you dont have it with you! I think the new oly could be something that i would possibly always have with me, but i would REALLY have to see it in real life in order to know for sure. The LX5 seemed almost perfect for me. Im still leaning towrds it due to it having a 24mm wide angle over a 28....Its a hard choice! competition is good!

Combatmedic
I notice you shoot with a D700.
I'm familliar with the high ISO performance of the D700, you won't see anything like that. My comments were more against my expectations for a tiny camera and against the many little Nikon & Canon P&S cameras my family has had over the years.
Re Size: Only you can decide how big is too big for you - but if it's a toss up, go with smaller.
I've probably shot 100 pictures total over the past week or so, and 95+% of them are 28mm @ f/2
It's a pleasing wide field view and I try to zoom with my feet..
Now, as I said, the choice was made for me, it was a gift. Left to my own devices, I'd probably still be waiting, the steady march of technology has taught us that there is always a newer better one around the corner. So it's easy not to dive in. I'm happy for the gift.
One other issue is that these are all deep and powerful little machines with deeply nested sets of functions and too few direct controls, but each has a bit of customization.
Another differentiator is to pick the way you would like to work with the camera and see which of them best fits your style.
For me, it's RAW, 28mm f/2 AV mode, Auto iso with limits, flash off most of the time, dial in exposure comp. --I do fumble around turning the flash on & off
Speaking of fumbling around, -for a camera with good low light performance , it's black on black motif and tiny buttons are impossible to see in the dark,-- so having a predominent way of working is even more important.
I hope this helps
Michael

Not shooting with the D700 yet...it should be at my steps tomorrow(switched from a 5dmk1). I have shot with it and its iso is very very good. I wouldnt expect that out of a point and shoot. maybe in the next 5 year. but not right now.

I'd use the point and shoot for hiking when i dont feel like carrying the extra 5 pounds.

Holy shoot, this is amazing. I figured I'd hold onto my s95 for several years at least, but this is something I'll really have to think about!

XZ-1 Began shipping yesterday and arriving at stores today in EU. There are a couple of people that have it now and are going to compare with with the LX5. B&H also now has it for pre order which means its launch isnt to far away in the US! I dont think ive ever been this excited about a P&S!! Hahahaha.
From the reviews ive read so far... Look to be the exact same as the LX5 in IQ and noise(so usable P&S wise to ISO800 like the rest) (which is a shame since oly put the new true pic v processor in it.)

Bad things i have heard are.... no AE/EC button and can only bracket +/- 1.7. (Though i have seen video's that show EC on the rear screen)
The ND filter affects the IQ at and only at 28mm 1.8.


Good things
Can zoom making video's
AF's making videos
The lens is pretty dang good. At its best at F4....diffraction starts at 6.3
The AF is just as fast as the Pens...Which is a very good thing. Very good AF.
Picture tones are very good.

Combatmedic870 wrote in post #11692363
XZ-1 Began shipping yesterday and arriving at stores today in EU. There are a couple of people that have it now and are going to compare with with the LX5. B&H also now has it for pre order which means its launch isnt to far away in the US! I dont think ive ever been this excited about a P&S!! Hahahaha.
From the reviews ive read so far... Look to be the exact same as the LX5 in IQ and noise(so usable P&S wise to ISO800 like the rest) (which is a shame since oly put the new true pic v processor in it.)

Bad things i have heard are.... no AE/EC button and can only bracket +/- 1.7. (Though i have seen video's that show EC on the rear screen)
The ND filter affects the IQ at and only at 28mm 1.8.

Good things
Can zoom making video's
AF's making videos
The lens is pretty dang good. At its best at F4....diffraction starts at 6.3
The AF is just as fast as the Pens...Which is a very good thing. Very good AF.
Picture tones are very good.

To me, the AF speed is extremely important. Saying it's as fast as the e-pens is nothing to brag about unfortunately When I had my e-p1, I was constantly groaning due to missed shots, thanks to the horrendously slow AF. Without a doubt, the AF on my s95 was much faster.

Still, the point of this camera wouldn't be for action photography (at least for me), but as a do-everything compact, especially for low-light. I can't wait to see some reviews!

MOkoFOko wrote in post #11693066
To me, the AF speed is extremely important. Saying it's as fast as the e-pens is nothing to brag about unfortunately When I had my e-p1, I was constantly groaning due to missed shots, thanks to the horrendously slow AF. Without a doubt, the AF on my s95 was much faster.

Still, the point of this camera wouldn't be for action photography (at least for me), but as a do-everything compact, especially for low-light. I can't wait to see some reviews!

well...there are reviews out right now...Most say the AF speed is faster then the LX5...So to me that is important since these are the 2 im considering.
Do a Google search for the last week "olympus XZ-1 reviews".

I found alot of stuff.

Heres the aperture changes vs FL

Around about in this area, might me off by a mm here and there. I got this from an owner of a xz-1 on dpreview. He told me when the F stops changed, I filled in the gaps

28mm 1.8 - 34mm 1.8
35mm 2.0 - 64mm 2.0
65mm 2.2 - 95mm 2.2
96mm 2.5 - 112mm 2.5

with about 16 steps zooming(if you want it to step)


Oh! people with worries about the lens cap check this out!!!

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1295732​586&sr=8-2

They have auto lens caps like that with the tl500 as well.

Im sure it wont take long for the olympus to have one as well!

I also read a review saying the lens cap will pop off when you turn the camera on. You just got to put it back on...or get one of the ^^^^

Heres where i got alot of info from

http://www.dslrmagazin​e.com …ympus-xz-1-la-prueba.html

Combatmedic870 wrote in post #11693438
well...there are reviews out right now...Most say the AF speed is faster then the LX5...So to me that is important since these are the 2 im considering.
Do a Google search for the last week "olympus XZ-1 reviews".

I found alot of stuff.

Heres the aperture changes vs FL

Around about in this area, might me off by a mm here and there. I got this from an owner of a xz-1 on dpreview. He told me when the F stops changed, I filled in the gaps

28mm 1.8 - 34mm 1.8
35mm 2.0 - 64mm 2.0
65mm 2.2 - 95mm 2.2
96mm 2.5 - 112mm 2.5

with about 16 steps zooming(if you want it to step)


Oh! people with worries about the lens cap check this out!!!

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1295732​586&sr=8-2

They have auto lens caps like that with the tl500 as well.

Im sure it wont take long for the olympus to have one as well!

I also read a review saying the lens cap will pop off when you turn the camera on. You just got to put it back on...or get one of the ^^^^

That "lens cap" is superb! I was about to comment on the annoyance of having to always cap a P&S for quick pictures, but such a product would make that irrelevant.

The maximum apertures are highly impressive at all focal lengths. I can't wait to see how this thing performs in low-light conditions--even zoomed out!!

Translated from spanish review about AF speed


We can say, and not without reason, that's why there are cameras like the E-PEN E-PL1 and PL2 .... but neither is the same size or brightness and versatility of the zoom are equivalent.

Regarding the autofocus, the options can be selected focal points, either automatically, either in our selection of hot spot location.
No complaints on speed and accuracy of focus, rather the opposite: it has seemed faster than the competing proposals.

Measuring and setting targets
Appear to be aspects that are taken for granted, and while SLR cameras and compact system ("mirrorless" Micro Four Thirds, etc.). the thing is certain, in compact results are not always as reliable ... except for the XZ-1 from Olympus.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #11693502
That "lens cap" is superb! I was about to comment on the annoyance of having to always cap a P&S for quick pictures, but such a product would make that irrelevant.

The maximum apertures are highly impressive at all focal lengths. I can't wait to see how this thing performs in low-light conditions--even zoomed out!!

With luck maybe the lx5's, tl500's or one of the ricoh auto lens caps will work with the XZ-1!

MOkoFOko wrote in post #11693066
To me, the AF speed is extremely important. Saying it's as fast as the e-pens is nothing to brag about unfortunately When I had my e-p1, I was constantly groaning due to missed shots, thanks to the horrendously slow AF. Without a doubt, the AF on my s95 was much faster.

Keep in mind that the E-P1 was pretty darn slow compared to the newer generations. The question is whether they mean as fast as an E-P1 or an E-PL1 (a good bit faster), and if E-PL1, whether it's wearing an Oly lens or a Panasonic lens (again, faster).

Probably faster than most small-sensor compacts, at the least.

I'm really excited for this camera. I wish Canon would come out with something in this size with a hotshoe and f1.8.

pxchoi wrote in post #11714638
I'm really excited for this camera. I wish Canon would come out with something in this size with a hotshoe and f1.8.

It might be nice, but I can totally see why they didn't put a hotshoe on the s95. Can you see the diminutive s95 with an 580exII attached?

At least with Olympus lenses, you can stick on the itty-bitty FL-14 flash.