>>After the recent discussions about what people carry as a "just in case" >>camera and one a few weeks back about the "look" of photos from different >>lens brands (SMC vs. Series 1, etc.) I got to thinking it would be nice to >>have a P&S with similar optice to my SLR lenses.
AC> I have bought my father the original 928 which has SMC zoom lens. However, AC> the optical performance isn't very good. For great results, I still prefer AC> compact with fixed lens. Apart from the very expensive but superb cameras like Ricoh GR1s (I like it! I wish I had the money for it, it costs like a SLR) and Konica Hexar (the same money), it's hard to beat the Olympus Mju:II (Stylus Epic in usa I think). The lens is really sharp (comparable to other good primes) at normal working apertures and medium distances (like 1-10m), it even has sort of spot metering and AF lock. However, it's plagued by two things: 1) lag - it focuses AFTER you press shutter release. 2) set options reset to defaults every time you turn it off (I would love to be able to set spotmetering and no flash as default, alas, every time I turn it off, it reverts to the "dumb" mode). Still, it's great camera into a pocket for little money, with lens comparable to SLR primes. If you have more money, look at the Ricoh GR1s, which is really small, has great 28/2.8 lens and aperture priority automation (!), and DISPLAYS selected shutter speed in the viewfinder! Plus many other goodies. Good light, Frantisek Vlcek - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
