Thread: Welcome!

Thanks for joining our Serious Compacts community! Please start a thread in this forum to introduce yourself and get to know our other members. If you prefer not to start a separate thread, go ahead and introduce yourself in this one :).

Hello everybody, I have been fascinated with "serious compacts" ever since my first digicam (Fuji F601Z) back in 2003 -- when I found it was hard to find a compact camera that would even only allow setting apertures etc. Well, some things have improved, but in some ways, I still feel it's a long way till the digital equivalent of an Olympus XA, or Ricoh 500 GX, will be available -- if only because now, camera companies are run by sales people and "management", not camera buffs... Hope to see a whole of activity on these pages to convince camera makers to build the compact camera(s) we want!

Welcome to the new site!

Nice to see a site dedicated to this segment of photography. I have always been very fond of these types of cameras dating back to the orginal Contax T with the metal flip down lens cover and 38mm T* Zeiss Lens. I loooooooooved that little camera and still have for sentimental value. It took more memorable images of my son growing up than my pro Canon gear.

So as good as my L series lenses and ultra fast focusing Canon system is, it's not the easiest camera to just pull out when a you see a special moment happening. My first digital "Serious Compact" was the Canon S50 with its RAW capability and then 28mm wide angle zoom and aperture priority. That was a good one! But digital forces you to keep looking to see what's next, went to the Fuji Super CCD cameras and while everyone seem to gush over them, I had mixed feelings about them.

When Panasonic first showed their now-common 28-200 or 280 zoom compact, I got one of those but the IQ was terrible. Far worse than my little S50. That was when I started to understand the whole sensor size thing. Went to a Canon S70 from there and that was OK but some of the charm from the S50 was lost, maybe I was just hoping for more.

From there, I went to smaller DSLR, a Rebel X-something but that turned out to be still too large for those moments that made my Contax T a star. Bit the bullet and bought a Leica M8.2 but that too was still a bit too large for me as an easy go-to camera. It was nice though!!

Tried a Panasonic G1 and liked the size for the most part but the dynamic range was poor (to me) and this was not a pocketable camera.

So most recently, tried the Samsung TL500/EX1 and what a gorgeously built camera and optic!! This is the first camera that I found that came closest to remind me of what I enjoyed most of my Contax T. But image noise at ISO 400 and beyond was beyond what I'd hope for. Take the exact body and put a larger sensor in it, maybe add a rangefinder and perfection. Right now, I have the new Sony NEX 5, it's tiny though not as well built as the Samsung TL500 but the IQ is far superior to the TL500. Yes, the interface could be better and the kit lens is OK, not great. But there is real potential here. My only real gripe is the shutter sound is louder than I'd like. Wish I could turn off all noises coming from the camera to be able to shoot more than one candid before being noticed. Yes, I'd like a finder too but that screen is terrific and very flexible.

For me, this segment is and has always been of great interest. Like all here, I'm sure, awaiting to see what comes next from Panasonic for Photokina and if Canon and Nikon will enter this segment with a more worthy alternative. So happy to be a part of this community. Thanks for the site!!

Silat, thanks for taking the time to introduce yourself and also to help get some of the forums started! I'm confident that we can make a great space here :).

Let me start by saying that I'm glad for guys like Amin (and it always seems to be guys, now doesn't it?) who keep sites like these going, as I know just how hard they can be to keep fresh and relevant. And I'd like to encourage all of you out there to chime in with your own thoughtful views, since that's what makes sites like these fun and useful!

As a fellow serious compact enthusiast, my views are likely a bit more specific with regard to the segment. So I will be playing the more critical foil to Amin's more inclusive and generous description of the term! No offense folks! I will not be the guy who rails against the D700 or the 5D for being too big or heavy. I carry my bigger DSLR with me more often than most and won't complain about all the amazing things it can do. But I do recognize and value my serious compacts. Film and digital.

I believe firmly in the pocket compact. I know I will take more photos when I can easily carry my camera everywhere. The IQ trade-off can be pronounced when moving from a DSLR to an SC. So for me, the trade off had better be 1) convenient and 2) fun. Lately my iPhone has usurped my pocket compacts. It is both convenient and fun. The lack of flexibility actually frees me up to focus more on composition and form.

Welcome to the forum everyone! I'm glad to be here!

I'm intrinsically lazy and prefer carrying something small and vaguely all purpose (emphasis on the vaguely). Currently am using an LX3 and really enjoying it. While there are certainly some things I can't do with it, there is rarely a time or a place where I can't do something interesting with it nonetheless.

Amin, how do you perceive this site as differing from Mu-43 forum? There seems to be a lot of overlap, or is this just a broader net (both smaller and bigger)?

Michael

Hi Michael, I see this site as different in two ways:

1. The blog (home page of this site) will serve a similar function to the old S.C. blog, featuring original content from a group of contributors. By contrast, the mu-43 homepage is mostly featured forum posts and announcements without articles being written for the purpose of posting to that page.
2. The scope of this site is much wider. Mu-43 is totally focused on Micro 4/3, and I think there needs to be a place for that. This site is about great photography using small cameras with a liberal interpretation of what is small.

Good to see you here!

Good evening, I'm BBW AKA "BB" from Amin's other site mu-43.com and have always preferred small cameras...which is why I started out with an Olympus OM-1. I'm pretty new to digital, though have found that my Olympus E-PL1 with Aperture has opened up a new world. It would be way too easy to want to add yet another camera, especially a smaller one. I've often thought about the Canon S90, but that's all I've done thus far.

This site may prove to be just a bit too dangerous for me, as it might feed my camera lust too much.

Hi BB, welcome to Serious Compacts .