Hello,
I bought myself a Canon 500D last year and the photography bug has bitten pretty hard - I'm really enjoying making use of its features I've got some pretty good pictures out of it 🙂
I'd now like to take more good photos when out riding, but being honest I think I would find the SLR too cumbersome to take out riding, and it would detract from the ride itself.
I've got an old Ixus 50 which Ive been taking out and although fine for the odd snap, it's frustrating to use compared to the SLR. There isn't the level of fine control I want and it's also a big step back from the SLR in terms of picture quality.
So I'm thinking of getting a high end compact. Looking to spend up to around £400 I suppose. For that I want: easily accessible, decent level of control; great picture quality (obviously!); ability to shoot RAW. Other secondary considerations are: Size - the smaller the better; robustness / weatherproofing.
So far I've been looking at the Canon G11 and Lumixes LX1 and GF1.
Does anyone have an opinion to share on either of these?
Are there any others I should be looking at?
Erring towards the Canon at the moment - just because that's what I'm used to really!
Also how do you carry your camera equipment in an easily accessible manner when out riding? I've been carrying the ixus in a belt pouch, which is fairly unobtrusive. However I'm concerned a bigger compact might get in the way a bit more on the belt - are there any other options?
Mine sits in my camelback pack, inside a normal camera case. I worried it might suffer in an impact but I've landed on it a couple of times with no damage. I like canon compacts, but check out reviews with image quality pics, some of them have horrific noise when you compare them to the 500D.
the photographer in our club has his camera in a pouch on his chest attached to his rucksack straps.
and there was a photo on here recently of someone else doing it - simonfbarnes maybe?
Ricoh GX200 is light & small but limited zoom (24-60 IIRC)
Lowepro do a good range of protective and waterproof cases.
I carry my Ixus in one attached to my Camelbak belt, fallen off too many times - not broken it, yet...
I carry my DSLR on my chest, as suggested by Chipps, and it's so unobtrusive I once panicked thinking I'd lost it, only to look down and find it was there 🙂
Small padded pouch threaded onto chest strap of Camelbak.
Lumix compact, zeiss lens, metal body. No lens cap just a clever closing thing, one hand operation. Small lowePro padded pouch on teh camel back chest strap. I found a camera in my bag on my back seldom got used.
HTH
like this:
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case is a Lowepro Nova Mini AW
Small padded pouch on threaded onto chest strap of Camleback.
Same here.
I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC FX 33. Not "high end" but very good and easy to use. Would definitely buy another Lumix.
There's probably a CHDK firmware for the Ixus 50 (there is for my Ixus 75), which can enable RAW mode, and there may well be one for newer Canon compact if that's what you go for.
It's completely stealthy, and just sits in its own folder on the SD card, and never flashes the internal memory. You either use camera as normal or select the load firmware if you want the extra features.
Got a G9 which will be the same size as the G11 I reckon.
Berghaus do a semi hard case which clips on to your chest strap - its just big enough and no more. Also has a stowable waterproof cover for when it's really hosing it down.
Great combination
Or look on ebay for a CCS compact1 medium, best cases going. I got mine for £2 + post!!
Fits my G9 like a glove
See here - http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/panasonic-gf1-thoughts
except that concentrates on the camera itself rather than its use for biking ?
cheers for your opinions all. not sure it's making it any easier though!
[img] http://www.topeak.com/mediafiles/products/1055 [/img]
Check out www.dpreview.com
I have the Lumix LX3 and this Topeak bag.
Get the Pana LX3 for that kind of thing, I have mine on a pouch strapped on the straps of the backpack.
The new panasonic tz8 out in march looks like it might fit the bill. 25-300 zoom and full manual option
Ricoh GX100 in a Lowepro Apex 30AW bag is pretty compact with a rain cover for showery weather.
fujifilm do some cameras that are more compact than a SLR but almost as good (bigger than a compact though). I tend to carry in a well padded bag in my rucksack
I've recently got the lx3. Very impressed so far. It needs to be to hand unless your riding mates are very patient. On the shoulder strap or jacket pocket for me.
My Lumix TZ6 has been a real step up from my Ixus - wider angle lens, great zoom, some good 'idiot' modes (important for me!) so I'm very pleased with it. I've mostly carried it in a small seatpack, which just takes it in a LowePro case that has a little bit of padding too. I reckon it's fairly well out of harm's way in the seatpack, and is a lot easier / quicker to get to than keeping it in the Camelbak.
GX100's can be found for about £200.
Slower RAW processing and 10MP (rather than 12MP in the GX200).
Olympus EPL1 will drop in price and is a cheaper version of the PEN.
Otherwise GF1 does look good.
Went for the Canon G11 and Berghaus case in the end. I thought other cameras were too compromised in terms of features. Also the G11 is a lot smaller in the flesh than I thought from looking at pictures online. Lovely bits of gear and totally unobtrusive and easy to access when attached to the lower end of the shoulder straps on a bag.
Looking forward to making good use of these 🙂
A few snaps from today's ride in:
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Congratulations - those pictures look fantastic.
Liking my Lumix LX3 here and it gets used way more than my D300 cos its smaller, lighter and pretty blooming good.
Quick question re: those pictures - were they taken on automatic or did you have to play with the manula settings (i.e. could I take pictures like that !)
Thanks for the kind comments fubar 🙂
I think most of them were set on aperture priority to get a good depth of field. I kind of cocked up on the first two by leaving the ISO set to 400 for no reason - I could have easily gone lower.
Buggered about with the cropping and saturation once I'd got them on the computer in Picassa (google, free).
I also had great light yesterday morning which really is the magic ingredient. Last shot in particular wouldn't have worked without it.
So no it wasn't auto and I guess the above may sound a bit technical, but don't let that put you off. It's all about controlling the amount of light that gets into the camera and how sensitive the camera is to that light.
The rest is just having an eye for something that looks interesting and how to frame it so the subject comes though in 2D.
It's great fun to learn too 🙂
Hey, I'm no expert though. Some of my pictures are OKish but I see pictures an here that are truly amazing.
I managed to get a 'NOS' G7 for £130! I'd rather the G11 though for the RAW and flipable screen. Here's a pic from last weekend...
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Joco's Bladder 🙂
I carry an Ixus in a padded case clipped onto my chest strap. It's had plenty of scratched and bumps over the years, in all sorts of weather, but is still going strong.