I need some help for a birthday present for the wife. She has a nikon d90 and its too heavy to take on the trail with us.

I want to buy her a nice ul camera to take with us in place of her nikon.

What should I get her for our week long trips.

Canon S95

or

Panasonic GF1 or GF2

Those are some options that will offer your wife the image quality and control she's familiar with in a bulky DSLR, but in a much smaller package.

Yup, those or the Oly XZ-1 or Panny LX5 or Oly E-PL2 and she'll be a happy camper.

Cheers,

Rick

Add the S90 to the list also. From what I understand, it's the same camera as the S95 minus HD video recording (yes, it still does video). You may be able to pick one up discounted.

I've a s95 and it can take an excellent image, has RAW capacity and gives a level of control like a DSLR.

I had a G11 but the s95 has the same sensor etc and is half the weight (196g with battery)

There is probably smaller/lighter point and shoot cameras out there but as a fellow DSLR owner/user I like the extra control and image quality the s90/95 will offer.

Don't forget the Sony NEX 3 or 5. Those are apparently extremely good cameras that outperform quite a few full sized SLR's. A compact is smaller of course and probably a bit cheaper as well.

I have been using a Nikon D700 for a few years. I have tried a few smaller camera's and even MF film but have not been happy with the results and or use of the camera. I much prefer using a good large viewfinder as I use filters. From what I have looked at EVF just doesn't do it for me. I am interested in the Fujifilm X100 at 16 ounces. EVF for filters and optical for composition. Bottom line is I will probably lug my D700 with one lens and tripod around when hiking overnights.

I believe the NEX's are the smallest and the lightest of the large sensor compact cameras. The image quality is great and the LCD is really easy to look at outside under the sun.

I'm looking for a lighter camera myself for the my PCT thru hike. Currently use a Nikon D300 with loads of lenses, but it is all way too heavy. My favourites at the moment are the Panasonic GF2 or Olympus E-P2. Sony, Panasonic and Olympus are all announcing their new micro 4/3rds camera this month though, so I'm going to hold out an see what they announce.

If she likes the image quality and handling of an SLR, get her a Micro 4/3 camera. The Panasonic G3 with a 14-42 and 45-200 would be an excellent lightweight kit, with outstanding image quality. (I think this is the second post I've written about m4/3 today.)

I have a lot of cameras, including point and shoots, m4/3, and big DSLRs. The point and shoots aggravate the &$%^ out of me when shooting, and again when looking at the cr@ppy image quality. The big Canons are too big and heavy to carry hiking. The GF-1 with the 20mm f/1.7 lens is my favorite camera ever, with my wife's G-1 right behind it.

I take either my Canon DSLR or my S90 on my backpacking trips. What I love about the S90 is the quality of the photos, the small size (given its capabilities) and the fact that it takes RAW format so that I can tweak white balance and other aspects of the photos after the fact. I highly recommend the S90/S95.

If you get the S9x, also check out http://www.kleptography.com/rf/#camera_s90 for an improvement on the stock grip, without changing overall dimensions.

/Jason

Sometimes Canon has extra discounts on their refurbished stuff on their website. I bought a s90 for a screamin deal a few months ago. Excellent images and control for the size and weight. You can probably find smaller and lighter but I don't think there's anything that touches the s90/s95 for high quality shots for the weight, although there does seem to be more and more high quality compacts being released.

The S90 and the S95 will *not* offer you anywhere near the same image quality as the D90. There's no comparison, the sensor is too small -- I couldn't print the images I got from it, so I gave up on it quickly -- especially when I learned about the Nex.

I picked the Nex over the micro 4/3 mainly because the Nex is smaller, even though it has a larger sensor. The Nex sensor is the same size as the sensor in the D90 and the D300. As far as image quality goes, it's comparable to the D300, and it was the digital camera that I used when I climed Kilimanjaro. The images won't print at more than 15x20 or so without up-resing, but they look excellent up to that size, both in terms of color and sharpness.

So you have to first determine priorities; if you want to be able to make reasonable prints, meaning larger than post card sized prints, then no current point and shoot other than a Sigma with a large Foveon sensor will live up to expectations. The micro 4/3 and Nex platforms are the best currently out there, though there are a couple of competing formats in the works from Pentax and Samsung.

The micro 4/3 cameras are great cameras also; a bit bigger than the Nex cameras, but the Panasonic flavors in particular are better for video recording than the Nex. Also, the Nex does not have a viewfinder option yet, unlike the micro 4/3 (Panasonic has an optional add-on viewfinder for the models that don't include viewfinders) cameras.

I second the recommendation of the Sony NEX system. I have had one for about 6 months and we just got my wife the s95 for an upcoming trip. They are both great cameras but I would recommend the NEX for your wife being that she is already familiar with the DSLR experience. As a side benefit, you could purchase an additional adapter for the NEX which would allow you to use most of your Nikon lenses in manual focus mode. I've gone the Pentax lens route due to having some vintage lenses from my parents and have been liking it very much. I probably wouldn't be taking these lenses backpacking, but they are great to shoot with on my walks around town and to the park.

Hmmm, the D90 is pretty small as dslrs go. You would have to spend more to go smaller/lighter and still won't get the IQ and capability the D90 has now. Plus she already has an investment in the Nikon SYSTEM including a learning curve. Switching camera systems makes for alot of headaches. If she was starting from scratch, the micro 4/3s like the sub-$400 Olympus PEN E-PL1 kit for sure.

Maybe a small prime like the Nikon 35mm f1.8 if she doesn't have it? And/or offering to carry the camera for her may be the best present from her view? Women luv these gestures. Afterall, weight-wise its about the same as a liter of water.

Otherwise, the Nikon D3100 is a nice small complement to the D90.

Edited by rmjapan on 06/03/2011 17:20:04 MDT.

I got a PM about the Panasonic, and did some digging, and as far as I can tell, the new G3 won't come out for a week or two, and the older G2 has been discontinued. It's still available in some places. Amazon has a black G2 with the 14-42 for $500 (from Samy's Camera, a reputable shop.) Adorama has a lot of G2 cameras with various lenses, but none with the kit 14-42. B&H has the red G2 with the kit lens for $500 (and the red makes it different, which might be cool.)

When it comes to electronics, my advice is usually to buy what you need when you need it. One can spend an eternity waiting for the next new shiny thing, and never actually have a camera/computer/cell phone. The G2 is a fine camera. However, in this case, if one can wait a couple of weeks and either pre-order or get lucky at B&H, Adorama, or Amazon, the G3 looks like a good upgrade in terms of image quality.

I appreciate all the responses.

I have talked to several of you off line and the advice seems to be the nex or the new g3. For that kind of money I am going to bring her into the decision, I would have popped for the s95, but since the other ones are so much better but have that learning curve thing, I want to make sure she is good with it.

BTW I have a curse when it comes to cameras....she wouldn't let me carry it for the world...doesnt have any issues with the tent however lol :)

Get a holga or a diana. Plastic, weighs like 6 ounces, costs $30 and shoots film!!

spec
Photo 500mega pix，2560*1920 pixels
Video VGA,1280*960@30fps
memory Micro SD support 16Gb
battery 220mAh

WEIGHT :46g!

i think this is the most UL camera !
but if shooting in night time really no good..

I wonder if there is a readable menu on that thing.

--B.G.--