Requiem for an LX3

bwana

New Member
Got wet in the rain in chinatown working hard at taking pix. Now looking for a replacement.

Olympus xz-1, Nikon 7100, Fuji X10

The camera needs to be quick above all else. Getting the shot is the goal. When you are trying to capture a moment be it in a city, on a ski slope, in the rain-there is no substitute. No amount of photoshoppig, denoising, etc, can sculpt a message.

But quality of image is a close second. Blur where that distracts needs to be avoided. loss of detail, chromatic aberration are not correctible flaws.

In camera pano stitching a plus.
Which of the above three cameras has the blessing of a serious compact photographer for these qualities?

I am leaning to the XZ-1 but I heard panny has an lx7 coming in 2012? Help me pull the trigger please.
 
Not to make your decision even more difficult, but have you considered the Olympus E-PM1? It is in the same price range (low side of your choices) and would only be a bit larger than the ZX-1 with the kit zoom attached, but pretty close with either the Panasonic 14mm or Oly 17 mounted.
 
If getting the shot is "the goal", have a look at the Nikon J1 or V1. The best compact AF street shooter these days. AF speed and accuracy is at good DSLR level, beating everything in the compact class, no matter the sensor size. High iso performance and DR are in good mft territory.
 
thank you for the epm1 suggestion. i looked at the reviews online (and one recently posted at dpreview) but this comment turned me off
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By rsf3127 (Nov 24, 2011 at 20:46:32 GMT)
Hey, mature guy: everytime a manufacturer launches a camera with such a huge amount of noise in RAW and lack of detail in JPEG and with an incredible lack of access to controls at that price point, I believe I am allowed to make this statement.
BUT I am sure there are people who will find themselves comfortabe with such a poor photographic device.
The IQ gap between this thing and the NEX is so huge that maybe now we can understand why Olymus guys have decided to send abroad some money for their retirement before presenting this to their public.
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I dont really care for the big lenses of the sony (tho necessary due to the larger sensor) but that brings into focus the problem i have with the PEN system articulated well by another commenter

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But why should you want a pocketable body when you need a bag for the lens(es)?
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As for the negative remark about the excessive noise in raw....well , how can that be...? all the PEN cameras have the same sensor and they are a standard that others aspire to. Anyway, the smaller sensor of the xz-1 allows a degree of compactness that is much appreciated on a ski slope when you dont want your hands exposed to the cold for too long. or in the rain when that is the last place you want to be fumbling with changing lenses. And that's what appeals to me in the fuji x10 as well.

Also, sometimes i want to change from color to b&w with some processing on the fly. a mode dial makes that really easy. scrolling through menus would distract me and i'd miss the shot.
 
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