Well well well, I was skiing with some friends today, when one of them whips out an LX3 and asks me to take a group shot. Excellent! Played with it for a while and very impressed with handling and the fast lens, not pocketable but just what I'm looking for, now to find one on-line at much cheapness!

LX3 for me too. Cracking bit of kit, and these days is getting used more than my Canon DSLR.

Nick

Another vote for Ricoh GX100 here.

Getting on a bit and not without its flaws (small sensor gives noisy images above ISO 400, dynamic range not brilliant) but it's great to use; very customisable, responsive and everything falls to hand perfectly.

I don't know about the competitors, but the GX100 has got a brilliant lens, particularly good for macro shots.

Have a look at this set on Flickr – all taken with this camera.

LX3 if you dont mind noisy low light shots but want a cracking lens and excellent colour rendition.

S90 if you want a 'safe' compact that isnt spectacular except for noise control.

g11 if you want Dslr quality pics from 80% of occasions, and flexibility that other compacts havent got.

S20 and SX1 arnt compact really!

P6000 has got some sciving reviews, and is a bit of a grandad compared to other cameras.

Pen and GF1 arnt compacts either. They look pretty, but if you are going to spend that much on a system with a removeable lens, Id pay a little extra and carry the SLR in a proper bag…

F200 isnt bad but isnt a pro-compact still.

Id definately keep the Ricoh/G11/S90/LX3 in mind. Thats my personal opinion coming from what Ive seen, used and tested instore with most of the above.

some good stuff there stuartie_c – I own a GX100 too.

Its been around for about 3yrs which I suppose does make it "getting on". The current GX200 doesn't offer much over the GX100. I wish it were a bit more solid buildwise but other than that it still compares well to the competition.

This is a current STW thread about the LX3 + some others

Might be worth a look.
I've had an LX3 for maybe 2yrs and love it. £300-ish.
Very, very pocketable.
2x pics from this morning

This is the site to get more info: dpreview web site

go on Bez – give it a go 🙂 The Leica CL is also a great camera, smaller than the CLE but manual only.

I use film for two main reasons:

1) better low-light performance than a small-sensor digital, whether compact or SLR. I scan in all my film so I get the best of both worlds.
2) availability of small wide angle primes for sensible money. Unless you go for a full-frame sensor you can't really get a wide angle prime for a DSLR – but my Minolta CLE along with 40, 25 and 15mm lenses and a couple of films takes up about the same space as my D300 and a big zoom.

There are of course plenty of reasons to stick with digital – and I still mostly use my D300 and my G10 – but in certain situations I like to have an alternative.

Without going into it to much (I'm sure it has all been covered) with the exception of the canon S90 I would say none are proper pocketable compacts, having owned the ricoh gx100 it just doesn't fit in your jean pockets comfortably, so you chuck it in backpack.

You might think this is fine, but I guarantee when you are try to get that quick snap you'll be thinking I wish this was smaller. LX3 comes close but the lens protrudes further than they state, G11 massive. If you are happy with getting it out your pack first thats fine. If the S90 had a viewfinder it would be no contest.

sfb

Reviews of both GF-1 and EP-1 are available. I believe they are not made by Nikon?

http://www.bythom.com/olympusep1review.htm

http://www.bythom.com/panasonic_GF1_review.htm

The G10 is fairly big, but with the leather case and the neck strap it is in some ways easier for cycling than a smaller compact as you can have it round your neck and ready to go at all time. You might not want to if you're cycling fast in case you come off and the camera breaks a couple of ribs, but for a wimp like me whose wheels never leave the ground it fells pretty safe…

I'm hankering after the GF1 too. Had a G10 and found the low-light performance sucked too much – with two young kids and an aversion to the look that you got with the flash I struggled to get on with it for it's primary purpose which was family pics.

I'm currently loving our recently bought 500D with pentax m42 fast primes – I picked up an f1.4 f50 Super-Takumar for £30 odd and it's fantastic. Means I can get decent images in low-light (and the HD video is a bonus too). As mentioned above, the majority of the suggested cams aren't truly pocket-sized (the G10 certainly wasn't), to be honest the 500D is so lightweight and small for a DLSR that even with a lump of metal like the 50mm stuck to the front it'll sit nicely in a small bag. Unlike my old D300 which was a tank of a camera, excellent as it was…

If I had the money to spare (and I don't) I'd consider going back to film. I miss my Leica rangefinder.

I have one similar to this that's all weather.
It's simplicity itself.
In it I have the LX3 + some bubble wrap.
It's so good, so easy to use and produces such cracking images I used it to photograph the Montane Kielder 100 race back in September whilst also being a race competitor – see MBUK from 13 January for the resultant images.

sfb
Reviews of both GF-1 and EP-1 are available. I believe they are not made by Nikon?

ah, yes, well spotted, right there on the "Nikon" tab 🙂

Ti29er – any idea where I can get one of those bags – particularly a weatherproof version?

Cheers,
Nick

Nick: I thought it might have been CRC or Wiggle. But can't find it on either.
I'll keep looking as these are the main sites I buy from.

Charlie Waite's 2nd favourite camera is…. LX3.
He's best know for his LF landscape photography. Google this photographer for inspiration!

He's running a free master class through the http://www.swpp on Sunday 18th January in central London.