At last.....

[Blew it]

.....a digital compact with electronic viewfinder.

At the moment, I have a choice of two cameras to take with me when riding.

A Canon Sure-shot A1100 IS. Good camera which has an optical viewfinder, essential for me as I cannot see LCD panels in bright sunlight. Easy to carry in a small pouch on my belt but, the problem is, it munches its way through a pair of AA batteries in no time at all.

Alternatively, I can use the Panasonic Lumix G2. Big capacity rechargeable battery pack, electronic viewfinder and zoom lens. The drawback; even though it's a bridge, it's still a bit of a lump to carry on a bike. To keep it in position, I use a chest harness to keep the camera tucked in against my tummy.

The good news, the September launch of the Lumix GX7. A brilliant digital compact sporting an electronic viewfinder and rechargeable battery pack....but it aint cheap.

LUMIX GX7

 

[flecc]

If you're patient it won't by that price for long, in no time it will be around with at least £200 off and later much more. Certainly looks a useful camera with some great features, though it won't suit my style of wildlife photography.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I've given up with digital cameras now. I know people are going to say that there's no comparison with a dedicated camera, but the quality of photos from a modern smartphone is good enough for me for all my pictures when I'm out riding my bike. Everything's automatic, which makes things quick and easy. I have 8 megapixels on mine, and on the same device, I can receive calls, navigate with GPS on a map with logging to analyse the journey afterwards while listening to the test match while riding along. What more do you want?

Look out for the Samsung Galaxy 3 with 8-core processor, 3 gig RAM, and 13 megapixel camera with image stabilisation - perfect for any self-respecting e-bike rider. Its coming in oupt 4 weeks time.

 

[flecc]

I agree Dave, for most people's purposes today's smart phone cameras do a good job as I've seen from my friends with them. It's mainly the more specialised areas like my wildlife photography where dedicated digital cameras come into their own.

The cross fertilisation is interesting, my newest camera having GPS built in, though with a different purpose. It records the precise location of each photo taken and software with it can print out a map with all the image locations shown on it. Handy for anyone on a wide ranging holiday.

 

[Scimitar]

Despite owning a smartphone with a decent camera built-in (Xperia Arc-S, 8Mp), when I want to take some proper pictures, the Pentax {1}goes with me. Horses for courses.

{1} or the Canon, Mamiya, P6, Agi, 'hof, etc.

 

[Blew it]

Despite owning a smartphone with a decent camera built-in (Xperia Arc-S, 8Mp), when I want to take some proper pictures, the Pentax {1}goes with me. Horses for courses.

{1} or the Canon, Mamiya, P6, Agi, 'hof, etc.

I have to agree, almost every day on this forum I see examples of very poor out-of-focus photos taken with smart phones. Phone cameras are fine for "snaps", but absolutely useless for macro work, essential for showing technical detail.

Personally, I prefer "seperates" for individual tasks. Phone calls and text messages sent on my now classic V3 Razor, PC's for internet access and "proper" cameras for photographs. Contrary to the opinion of some, I experience no lack of self respect in making these choices.

The simple fact is, any device with an LCD screen is useless to me in bright sunlight. An expensive failure being the Garmin Oregon. After carefully entering coordinates for riding a previously unexplored area, I was dismayed to find the LCD screen was almost invisible in bright sunlight, even on its brightest setting. Not so with my Garmin Edge 305, the display clearly visible on the brightest of days.

My problem with any device with an LCD display is of course due to the normal age-related loss of visual acuity, certainly not a valid reason for any loss of self-respect.

Returning to the thread topic, I will almost certainly go for the Lumix GX7, but only when the price comes down to a sensible level, as flecc advises, just a few weeks after the launch they will available on Amazon at greatly reduced prices...as was my Lumix G2.

All the best to you and yours.
Bob

 

[flecc]

Personally, I prefer "seperates" for individual tasks. Phone calls and text messages sent on my now classic V3 Razor, PC's for internet access and "proper" cameras for photographs. Contrary to the opinion of some, I experience no lack of self respect in making these choices.

Me too, I only use separates. The whole history of multi-function gadgetry is associated with poor performance. Anyone remember the drills from Black and Decker and Bridges that had accessory circular saws, jigsaws, lathes, vertical drill stands etc. And who actually goes to the trouble of using the food mixers with all their attachments for blending, mincing, juicing etc.

But I think the photo issue is a bit different. For most people's snaps today's smart phones are more than adequate, and it has to be considered that most of these same people often produced poor photos from their separate cameras anyway!