Sunday, February 06, 2011

Which Premium Compact Camera? XZ-1, LX-5, S95 or Sony HX9V!

After dropping the idea of the EVIL cameras as they are not as portable as I would like them to be (a kinda neither here nor there situation for me), I have been toying with the idea of a premium compact camera. However, I find the cost is a little prohibitive for my light pocket Sad smile !

xz-1-front

Lately, I have reading reviews of these cameras on www.dpreview.com (one of my favourite gear review sites) and they have a comprehensive Panasonic Lumix LX-5, Canon G12 and Nikon S7000 shootout, coupled with an in-depth review of the Olympus XZ-1.

xz-1-top

As you noticed, I am leaning towards the Olympus XZ-1, mainly because of the super large aperture (f1.8 – 2.5) even at the telephoto end! and the hotshoe for external flash.  However, it is a tad too large in my opinion and the Lumix LX-5 seems to fit the hands better.

Anyway, it seems that the major players are coming up with large aperture premium “compacts” (they are after all not that small!), including Samsung … but I find it interesting that Sony doesn’t have a similar product (or am I wrong?).  Their latest being the 16MP HX9V, which seems like a superzoom camera to me and nothing fancy about it …

HX9V_6

Waiting for Sony’s premium … when?  what?  … or are they going to position the NEX-3 as the alternative?

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