Sleeping Dog
Adventurer
Background - Context
Back in high school and through college, I was an avid photographer who enjoyed playing with exposures and lighting. During that time I built a dark room in my mother's basement plus had access to the ones at school if needed. Photo equipment was as you might expect, a couple of camera bodies, several lenses, light meter and a couple of flashes. Adulthood came and I moved across the country so the darkroom equipment was traded for a guitar. The cost and results of photo finishing diminished my interest and, at that time, professional finishing was beyond my budget except for special occasions. Needless to say I took many fewer pictures, though there was a revival when I began traveling on a motorcycle, I soon tired of hauling lots of gear. Eventually the camera's sat in the back of a closet.
A number of years ago I was traveling a lot for business and decided it would be fun to have a small digital camera that would slip into a suit jacket pocket. I picked up a Canon Powershot that met my two criteria at the time, a view finder and compact size. That camera was replaced by a smart phone, that takes better pictures, but the Canon still sits on my desk and is better than the phone for certain uses.
Retirement has me exploring old hobbies and photography is percolating to the top, but the DSLR's and even the mirrorless SLR's that I've seen are far too big for convenient carrying around and use as I anticipate. But it doesn't need to fit in my pocket either.
How will I use it? Quite likely it will be with me most of the time, slung over my shoulder in its leather case. I also expect that it will be found in a messenger bag or in the pocket of my riding jacket when on the bike and perhaps even hung around my neck
Here are my must haves.
Nice to have
I'm open to considering a replaceable lens camera as long as the body size is similar to the X100V/LX100V/D-Lux, so suggest away.
Thanks,
Jim
Back in high school and through college, I was an avid photographer who enjoyed playing with exposures and lighting. During that time I built a dark room in my mother's basement plus had access to the ones at school if needed. Photo equipment was as you might expect, a couple of camera bodies, several lenses, light meter and a couple of flashes. Adulthood came and I moved across the country so the darkroom equipment was traded for a guitar. The cost and results of photo finishing diminished my interest and, at that time, professional finishing was beyond my budget except for special occasions. Needless to say I took many fewer pictures, though there was a revival when I began traveling on a motorcycle, I soon tired of hauling lots of gear. Eventually the camera's sat in the back of a closet.
A number of years ago I was traveling a lot for business and decided it would be fun to have a small digital camera that would slip into a suit jacket pocket. I picked up a Canon Powershot that met my two criteria at the time, a view finder and compact size. That camera was replaced by a smart phone, that takes better pictures, but the Canon still sits on my desk and is better than the phone for certain uses.
Retirement has me exploring old hobbies and photography is percolating to the top, but the DSLR's and even the mirrorless SLR's that I've seen are far too big for convenient carrying around and use as I anticipate. But it doesn't need to fit in my pocket either.
How will I use it? Quite likely it will be with me most of the time, slung over my shoulder in its leather case. I also expect that it will be found in a messenger bag or in the pocket of my riding jacket when on the bike and perhaps even hung around my neck
Here are my must haves.
View Finder - either optical, electronic or both
Compact Size - more later.
Controls for ISO, shutter speed, aperture and aspect ration on the camera body and not buried in the display.
Nice to have
Built in telephoto - approximately equivalent to a 35-100mm lens for a 35mm SLR film camera
Classic styling - Frankly I like the looks of old film cameras
Neutral onBuilt in flash
Superior video capabilities
Tilt screen
Due to the lock down my search has been limited to the internet and a couple of camera's that seem to fit the bill for my must haves are the Fujifilm X100V and the separated at birth, fraternal twins the Panasonic LX100 II and Leica D-Lux 7. Size wise both fit the bill and hit my other requirements. My reticence with X100V is that it has a fixed focal length and is a tad expensive. The LX100 or the D-Lux was where I was headed until I began reading that dust infiltration is an issue with these cameras and given my intended use that is a concern. Perhaps someone could provide some perspective on that issue.I'm open to considering a replaceable lens camera as long as the body size is similar to the X100V/LX100V/D-Lux, so suggest away.
Thanks,
Jim
