Some comments: The X100 has no zoom at all and a fiddly menu system, according to Steve Huff and other reviewers, but its smaller brother X10 does! Going through B&H's huge list of UW housings I even found one for my Sony DSC-HX9V, that several tests have shown to be the best compact video camera just now - and it has a long zoom to boot! It has a fairly small sensor, so not very useful in low light (better than past generations, but that's about it). The PT-050 housing for the Olympus XZ-1 gives you an excellent grip, and soundless camera operation. If one is a bit younger you can hold your camera close to your face and still see how your framing of the shot will be - at my age it is pretty hopeless, of course! Not been that comfortable using my Hoodman Loupe, attached to a compact while doing photography, but for checks afterward, in the field, it is brilliant! Will wrote: > > Whichever point & shoot you choose (I have the Canon S95, which can now be had for well under 300 at reputable online dealers), > one of the problems with shooting "screen viewfinders" is that glare and other brightness issues impair your ability to frame and compose a shotb& > you're shooting blind much of the time and trusting to the camera's built-in abilities to pre-set "scenes" on auto, or your experience with manual overrides. > > For those of us who grew up shooting through rangefinders or SLR cameras, the transition to framing a picture by holding your camera away from the face is, well, counter intuitive at a near muscle memory level. > > You may wish to look at viewfinder cameras as well. Canon, Nikon, Fuji etc. all have pro-sumer models that all allow either LCD composition or viewfinder. They are smaller than Leica rangefinders, weigh less, > and are only marginally bigger and heftier than the best of the point and shoots. The do come with a price tag, though, and some have limitations. For example, right now the Fuji X100 is a very hot productb&but > it's lens is essentially geared toward street photography, has no zoom to speak of, but takes incredible pictures and uses a rangefinder-ish viewfinder (in addition to the familiar back panel). They are hard to get > because supply can;t meet demand. But one would imagine the next iteration will include either interchangeable lenses or a version with a lends with better range. > > I'm not sure why you are concerned with the difference between 1.8 and 2.0. Unless you plan on shooting available light or the 1.8 will allow you the sort of bokeh that makes portraits pop, that just seems a non-issue. > Lenses do not tend to be at their sharpest at either extreme end of their f/stop range. If low-light is an issue for you, better to get a 2.0 that shoots more successfully at higher ISO ranges w/less noise. > > I also think manual override and ability to shoot in RAW are critical. RAW will enable you to save shots otherwise lost, correct white balance and other small glitches in post-processing (easily). SDHC cards are cheap now, > so getting 8GB or 16GB cards is not prohibitive. Just get the pelican/otter type card cases that effectively seal and protect your cards from the elements. > > The last item I'd suggest you look at, if you are going to shoot a lot of outdoor shots in glare or lighting conditions that make a screen viewfinder problematic, is a Hoodman: > > http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1017 > > > For those of us aging boomers who also need diopter adjustment, the Hoodman allows a +3 to -3 adjustment and can be mounted to cover the rear screen so that you have, in effect, a very large viewfinder and you can shoot from your eye > instead of blindly aiming. Hoodman also comes with a neck leash so that you can use it as needed, stash it when not. I use mine in the field all of the time on my DSLR's to check shots without having to switch eyeglassesb&I dial in the diopter on my camera to that of the Hoodman and I can forget about having to use my reading glasses at all. > > > Also, get a grip. Literally. These add ons make either of your choices more easy to handle and carry one handed with security: > http://www.kleptography.com/rf/ > > And this guy sells filter adapters and filters that you will find exceptionally helpful: > > http://www.lensmateonline.com/store/s90.html > > > I use these products but have zero financial or personal connection to their sale or manufacture. Standard disclaimer. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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