I'm looking for a compact digital camera with a fast wide angle lens.

April 22, 2004 6:34 PM

I'm in a twisty maze of compact digital camera reviews, all alike ... and I know digital cameras have been asked about before ... but I'm looking for recommendations for a basic compact digital camera, preferably with a lens that is fixed-length, wide angle (<=35mm), and fast. I can't really find one, apart from the new SONY Cybershot DSC-P43, but they have to be out there, surely? Basically, I want something digital to replace my beloved Yashica T4.
posted by carter to shopping (11 comments total)

Well, Leica.
posted by the fire you left me at 6:43 PM on April 22, 2004

I know, I've been drooling over the Digilux 1 (on sale at Amazon). But it's kind of outside my budget, although I get a little bit more convinced every time I take a look at that big fat lens. It would kind of mess with my future plans to get a Nikon D70 though :(
posted by carter at 7:09 PM on April 22, 2004

When you say fast do you mean big aperature or rapid shutter release? Shutter lag is a problem for lots of people, but since you mentioned "big fat lens" I thought you might mean fast lens, not fast shutter. Which?
posted by scarabic at 7:58 PM on April 22, 2004

I did mean a fast lens rather than a fast shutter speed. I'd like to be able to be able catch scenes in natural light wherever possible, especially in urban settings/city streets where light might be lower than out in the open. I like taking pictures of architectural details, indoor situations next to windows, people shopping, and so on. That's one reason why I'm not too bothered about getting a zoom, as most zoom lenses seem to be a bit slower (and are a lot slower at long focal lengths). I think I'd rather have a macro than a zoom.

I don't know, when I started looking I thought that there would be a variety of basic 'entry level' models out there with no frills; but even the most basic models seem to offer digital zooms and other geegaws at the expense, it seems to me, of basic lens quality.
posted by carter at 9:05 PM on April 22, 2004

This is a good article that looks at the two classes of digital cameras.
posted by stbalbach at 9:25 PM on April 22, 2004

I love my digilux 1, but it isn't as fast as you'd hope (meaning, if you want people in the shot, you need a shutter speed of 1/60 or things start getting fuzzy - 1/30 with a really steady hand and an eye like a pro). You have a tremendous amount of flexibility, but like any leica, it needs light, lots of it. That being said, with the digilux 2 out, you can probably find one for pretty reasonable. Oh, and the shutter time between pics is faster than anything I've come across. You can even get some decent sports photos (if the light is right).
posted by jmgorman at 9:26 PM on April 22, 2004

Canon has a number of compact digital cameras with prime lenses: Powershot A300, Powershot SD10, the announced Powershot A310. If you want anything substantially faster than f/2.8 you'd have to go the digital SLR route. The newer consumer cameras are much better about shutter lag.
posted by brool at 1:41 AM on April 23, 2004

carter, I'm a Yashica T4 and Ricoh GR1s user and I love my Canon Ixy 400/Powershot 400. It's one of the few, if maybe the only 4 MP compact digicam to receive a Highly Recommended rating at dpreview.com, a site that I hold in pretty high regard.

It isn't perfect (shutter lag is present, and the autofocus could be faster) but for a compact 4MP digicam, you cannot do better than the Canon.
(This coming from a guy who works at a competitor!)
posted by gen at 1:47 AM on April 23, 2004

I have a Sony P72 (3MP, 3x optical zoom). It is fantastic at natural light pictures where things are relatively still. It's not at all bad at inside pics, providing there is some natural light or artificial light. The problems are (i) shutter lag - about half a second, which is problematic when taking pictures of fast moving kids and (ii) shutter speed - don't know the specifics, but if anything is moving, you get a blur (problematic when taking pictures of... etc).

However, I love its size, its features, and the quality of the images. If I was to upgrade, I'd want to spend a lot more money on something like the Canon Rebel or the new Nikon Digital SLR. A friend has another Sony, and like me, is amazed at the picture quality. At 3mp, it's capable of superb prints at 11x8. Happy to email you some samples if you want to get in touch.
posted by humuhumu at 3:12 AM on April 23, 2004

Wow, thanks y'all. You have no idea how much time I have spent trying to compare these things; and to have pointers towards a few models that are recommended/well reviewed across different sites is *very* useful. Also, stbalbach's article. Go AskMe!

Don't stop making suggestions btw ;)
posted by carter at 6:02 AM on April 23, 2004

One thing you might check out is certain used Olympus cameras (on ebay or wherever). Their 3040 and 4040 models in particular have f1.8 lenses, pretty darned fast, and they had a good rep in general. I think they're still making the 5050, which has the same lens but is a 5-MP camera.

Here's the DPReview of the Oly 3040.
posted by adamrice at 6:59 AM on April 23, 2004