Hi all

I'm hoping for some suggestions: I was in Tokyo last week and managed to leave my camera - a Contax T3 with data back and full case (which was a present from my wife in 2003) - in the toilets of a Starbucks in Shibuya. When I realised I went back but it wasn't there and to date it hasn't been handed into the police or to the Starbucks - which is quite remarkable for Japan, as lost stuff is usually handed in.

I'd like to get a similar camera, i.e., a smallish camera that takes better than average photos. A shop here suggested that the only current equivalent would be a Fujifilm Finepix X100. What I was wondering though is whether, these days, that camera would take any better photos than something much cheaper. Or is the 4/3 format worth considering?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Edited by Arapiles on 10/10/2011 04:01:02 MDT.

I'd say the X100 is about the only digital equivalent.

The micro four thirds non-EVF bodies are smaller and a bit lighter, but I found the GF1 useless without the add-on EVF. The X100 dual viewfinder is excellent and it has a larger sensor.

I now alternate between the X100 as the smallest/lightest option and a Panasonic G3 with the 14-140 lens for when I want something more than a fixed focal length.

Hi Arapiles, sorry to hear of your loss, hope the insurance coughs up for you. I'm sure there will be several suggestions. I recommend you answer a few questions and then everyone can help narrow down to something suitable.

Do you want to be able to make big prints?
Do you want a big telephoto capability? Or extreme wide angle? Or both
How much weight are you prepared to carry?
Is a viewfinder a 'must have'
What is the budget?

Interchangeable lense cameras are the latest fad, but you can shave weight and get quality images from fixed lens cameras once you decide which compromises you can live with.

Fixed lens picks:
Big zoom with good video around 20oz - Canon SX30iS
Bright lens with smaller zoom around 10oz - Olympus XZ1 optional EVF
ditto Panasonic LX5
ditto Fujifilm X10 @ 12oz
or X100 @ 16oz if you have deep pockets.

Interchangeable lens:
Olympus PEN cameras
Panasonic G series
Samsung NX11

Edited by tallbloke on 10/10/2011 04:48:30 MDT.

Thanks Neil, thanks Rog

I'm more focussed on light weight and convenience so I accept that I won't be able to get strong telephoto - I do have an SLR I can use for sports events but it's a bit much to carry bushwalking and it's not really discreet when I'm travelling. I used to just use disposables but the photo quality was often disappointing - kind of like the disc film and nexus cameras I used on occasion. The Contax was really good in that respect.

I would prefer a viewfinder though as I find it hard to stare at a screen ...

Unfortunately I suspect that insurance won't cough up, because the camera wasn't turned in rather than being actively stolen.

What a shame. The T3 is/was the best compact 35mm camera made and clean used ones go for big bucks.

The X100 would certainly be a good digital replacement as would the just announced X10, at considerably less money. The Leica X1 is spectacular but absurdly priced, and the Sigma DPs are very good cameras but as quirky as cameras can possibly be.

A micro-four thirds body with pancake lens would be nearly as compact and offers system expandability as time goes on. The smallest bodies are really quite tiny. The NEX system is not nearly as vast as µ4/3 but very high quality. They're limited WRT compact lenses and accessories. The Ricoh GXR system is gathering quite a following and worth a look as well.

Almost too many avenues, to be honest.

Good luck,

Rick

If you want to stick with 35mm film I have an old Ricoh compact which takes great photos, though you need to tape up the rear door as it leaks a little bit of light.

Thanks guys. I'm actually tempted to buy one of the mint T3s on ebay at the moment: digitals just seem a bit complicated.

Way to go. Don't let the light-fingered make a difference to your enjoyment.

This is my little Ricoh. Great camera for the money, the Rikenon 1:2.8 40mm lens is really sharp.

.

Edited by tallbloke on 10/11/2011 08:20:00 MDT.

You could try getting an Olympus trip 35 off ebay. I have one, which I'd give to you but I'm thinking of getting into film photography (once I get over the costs involved in developing, scanning etc). You can get them for $20 or less on ebay if you keep your eyes open.

Something I regret is that when Kyocera decided to stop making cameras the shop where I bought the T3 had all of the Kyocera brands for sale really, really cheap - I remember a new Yashica point and shoot being about Y4000 - I should've stocked up.

As Rick was saying the new Fuji X100 and the upcoming X10 are both probably just what you are looking for. THe X100 has been getting RAVE reviews everywhere.

I have the RIcoh GXR with all their lens units but the M Mount (which I'm considering, because I love manual cameras). One great reason to consider the GXR or the recently released GR Digital 4 is that Ricoh's software interface is perhaps the best on the market... it's so intuitive that when I first got my GX200 three years ago I was able to work all the controls in the dark on the first day I used used it. I absolutely love Ricoh cameras. (I still have my little 35 mm GR1s, which was a superb compact camera)

I'd consider the GXR, but if a fixed, wide angle lens is all right, I would seriously consider the GR Digital 4... may street and travel photographers consider the GR series one of the best compact cameras ever made.

After a week of toting the Oly E410 I bought on the 'bay around Tuscany, I'm putting it back on the market. I just pulled the trigger on a Ricoh GX200 with EVF in it's original box for a fair price.

Any advice on external flashes appreciated.

I'm seriously interested in an Olympus Trip 35 - my sort of camera!

I'm seriously interested in an Olympus Trip 35 - my sort of camera!

A completely automatic camera that is solar powered and needs no batteries! I miss the days of cameras that don't need batteries.

Konica Hexar
Fixed 35mm lens - pin sharp
Manual control as well as aperture and program.
Film
Choice!

"I'm seriously interested in an Olympus Trip 35 - my sort of camera!"

It seems you're boinging around a bit as to what direction to head, especially film vs. digital, which is a distinct fork in the decision path. What are your photographic goals? How did you use the T3? What did you photograph? Did you shoot slides and if so, how did you use them? Or did you shoot negatives and have your film scanned at processing and printing?

I didn't "surrender" to digital until losing many of my film and processing choices. I still shoot it occasionally but the changeover to digital is so all-enveloping it's not easy to make time to go back and "do it old school." And may I add, it's painful to budget the number of shots on film after learning to shoot like mad with digital. A whole different mindset.

Cheers,

Rick

"It seems you're boinging around a bit as to what direction to head, especially film vs. digital, which is a distinct fork in the decision path. What are your photographic goals? How did you use the T3? What did you photograph? Did you shoot slides and if so, how did you use them? Or did you shoot negatives and have your film scanned at processing and printing?"

Miguel wrote almost exactly what I very nearly wrote in my post:

"A completely automatic camera that is solar powered and needs no batteries!"

An idiot proof sustainable camera, still working 40+ years after manufacture? Sounds perfect to me.

I'm not a serious photographer and I used the T3 as a point and shoot. I'm embarrassed to say that I shoot a role of film and then have it developed, often without being scanned digitally. (I seem to be not just a late adopter but actually regressing: I'm seriously thinking of taking my house off the power and water grids, even though I live in the inner city: so, not even one generation using centralised power generation (my parents' farm had a generator until just before I was born)).

I get the "shoot lots" advantage of digital though - I bought my 3.5 year old a Lego digital camera when I was in Tokyo last week and she's got about 400 photos in her portfolio so far.

Edited by Arapiles on 10/14/2011 20:22:45 MDT.

"Konica Hexar
Fixed 35mm lens - pin sharp
Manual control as well as aperture and program.
Film
Choice!"


This one would be nice, but a bit outside my price range:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-SET-Konica-Hexar-RF-Limited-w-Hexanon-50mm-F-1-2-Leica-Noctilux-006973-/380366368957?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item588f9a30bd#ht_13113wt_1128

Edited by Arapiles on 10/14/2011 20:51:00 MDT.

Nice lens!

item 120793808178