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01-13-2014, 07:52 PM   #1
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Thin P&S - low light, wide angle

Evening Everyone,

My son has graduated from college mid last year, and is now a managing chef at a 5 star resort & spa (just 1 of the property's 10 restaurants, along with the Spa restaurant and the VIP Concierge Club). He worked as a line cook at another 5 star resort property, while in college. He needs a camera - and his company provided smart phone (more of a 2 way radio) has no camera (personal smart phones are not allowed). His intent is to shoot various plates of food, plating styles, the buffet line, etc. Interiors, with low available light. Not for publication. Instruction manuals for training, etc. For publication quality, the resort has their own photographer (FF, 645D and a LF view camera).

I have a couple Pentax dSLRs (way too large), a Panasonic LX3 (he likes it a lot, especially the f2 lens and the 24mm focal length - but the lens protrudes out too far and it does not fit into the pocket of his chef coat), and a Pentax Q (good size however the lenses protrude way too far out).

So, its a point and shoot - with a .....
  • Fast collapsible lens - f2, f2.8 - the faster the better
  • A reasonable sensor size for good definition - anything above 6MP is just fine. Needs to have good color. JPG, RAW is a bonus.
  • Absolutely needs to fit in his chef coat jacket (think of a shirt pocket)
  • Wide focal length - 24mm (35mm equivalent) is good - low zoom 2x is perfect. It also can be no zoom.
  • Thin - about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. This is the primary overriding requirement.
  • Budget - He says anything south of about $400 (somewhat arbitrary) is good (he has saved every dollar he has ever earned - the deal was, he makes a B or better and I pay, other wise he pays. Plus, he could not squander his paycheck - or he could pay for his own education. He graduated with honors).
He is an expert with the LX3 and the Q. Through school he used my old Canon SD500 - which worked VERY well, until it met an dreadful fate. Then he "borrowed" the LX3 - which came back whole (I was somewhat surprised). If he leaves the camera in the office - he will not have it when he needs it - thus the need for thin and compact.

It can be a current model or older. Any manufacturer - he is not particular.




Last edited by interested_observer; 01-13-2014 at 07:58 PM.
01-14-2014, 04:15 AM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by interested_observer Quote
Fast collapsible lens - f2, f2.8 - the faster the better
A reasonable sensor size for good definition - anything above 6MP is just fine. Needs to have good color. JPG, RAW is a bonus.
Absolutely needs to fit in his chef coat jacket (think of a shirt pocket)
Wide focal length - 24mm (35mm equivalent) is good - low zoom 2x is perfect. It also can be no zoom.
Thin - about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. This is the primary overriding requirement.
Budget - He says anything south of about $400 (somewhat arbitrary) is good (he has saved every dollar he has ever earned - the deal was, he makes a B or better and I pay, other wise he pays. Plus, he could not squander his paycheck - or he could pay for his own education. He graduated with honors).
My Canon S95 or it's later iterations fits the bill perfectly as far as I can tell - very high quality both in build and output, excellent low light performance, and easily fits in my shirt pocket.

Canon U.S.A. : Support & Drivers : PowerShot S95

Last edited by wildman; 01-21-2014 at 03:21 AM.
01-14-2014, 06:16 AM   #3
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Fujifilm XF1. Fast lens, fair-sized sensor, interesting EXR low light handlehd exposure modes, manual zoom ring (!), cool styling.

Discontinued, therefore reasonably priced at below 200$ some places. Available in black, tan or red.

Regards,
--Anders.
01-14-2014, 06:23 AM   #4
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Your requirement of the thickness being 1/2"-3/4" sounds almost impossible.

01-14-2014, 06:31 AM   #5
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 Digital Camera

QuoteQuote:
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Full HD 1080 Video Recording
RAW and RAW+JPEG Recording Options
Trust iA and iA Plus Modes
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Time Lapse Shot Function
$287 with free shipping at B&H.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 Digital Camera (Black) DMC-LX7K B&H


01-14-2014, 09:33 PM   #6
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Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by wildman Quote
My Canon S95 or it's later iterations fits the bill perfectly as far as I can tell - very high quality both in build and output, excellent low light performance, and easily fits in my shirt pocket.
That does look like a good candidate.

QuoteOriginally posted by asp1880 Quote
Fujifilm XF1. Fast lens, fair-sized sensor, interesting EXR low light handlehd exposure modes, manual zoom ring (!), cool styling.

Discontinued, therefore reasonably priced at below 200$ some places. Available in black, tan or red.

Regards,
--Anders.
And another one!!!


QuoteOriginally posted by stormtech Quote
Your requirement of the thickness being 1/2"-3/4" sounds almost impossible.
I think you are right. Just going with a straight plane point and shoot, but going with something with a better lens, thickens it up.

QuoteOriginally posted by jogiba Quote
$287 with free shipping at B&H.
The LX7 is the newer version of the LX3 that he really likes, but the lens protrusion makes it too thick. But that lead me to the Panasonic LF1, which is essentially the same camera as the LX7 with the lens reworked a bit to pull it in to the body of the camera.

So, right now the comparison looks like this... It also looks like 1.1" is about the thinnest available. Plus, this camera segment is very mature and rich with options. There are very capable cameras a year or two old, whose price is extremely competitive.
Excellent suggestions!

01-14-2014, 10:22 PM   #7
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I've been looking at similar cameras recently. I'm assuming you want something where the lens retracts almost flat. I think the Canon S90-120 series and Fuji XF are okay, but Fuji now has the XQ1 out, which combines the best if both in my opinion. I don't know the US price, but in Japan it is about $400. Another interesting option is a GRD IV, which has a f1.9 fixed 28mm equivalent lens. Some may scoff, but with my GRD, I sometimes used the digital zoom with reduced file sizes when I only wanted small pictures for my company's intranet and they came out alright. It's also a lovely camera to use, but not easy for beginners.

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