Originally posted by Art Vandelay II If tiny size is a persons ultimate goal then a Canon S95 makes more sense. It's smaller, will fit in a pocket with a zoom lens, and has a larger sensor to boot.
Sorry, the S95 makes zero sense to me.
I don't want a zoom lens, I want a prime lens - I hate zoom.
And I want control over shooting parameters.
What I want basically is a camera with controls and a prime lens shrunk to the size of a compact. Which is exactly what the Q is. There is nothing else even remotely comparable.
The closest equivalent is the GF3 with the Leica 25mm lens. I have played extensively with it, even took some sample photos. The image quality is good, but I am incredibly frustrated by the dumbed down user interface. Very poor control over shooting parameters, the touchscreen is not responsive, the icons on screen hard to read, and lots of frustrating quirks (for example, not being able to close focus in anything other than iA2+ mode - what's the point of buying an interchangeable lens camera if the only usable mode is point and shoot?)
The new Olympus E-PL3 looks more promising, but way too large (judging by comparison photos between the E-PL3 and the GF3 on the net).
Size and weight is absolutely crucial to me. The problem with the NEX and micro 4/3 is that they are smaller, but not significantly smaller. The K-5 plus FA43 is already quite small, so there's no point in buying something that's slightly smaller, slightly worse in quality, less controls, with a poor choice of lenses.