The perfect compact camera...

[BernardLanguillier]

- 6MP sensor with a size slightly smaller than 4/3, pristine image quality at 100 ISO (noise less shadows and 11.5 stops DR), stays excellent up to 1600 ISO,
- 30-75 f1.4-2.0 equivalent lens with central spot AF-S that really works and can track moving subjects (one large central sensor is enough), manual zoom, filter thread,
- ETTR right exposure mode based on RAW data,
- screen usable in bright sunlight,
- sensor based anti-vibration,
- Auto ISO capability implemented a la Nikon,
- waterproof to -6m, bettery life optimized down to -20C with a real life capacity of at least 500 images.
- max 400 gr, no need to be shirt pocketable, trousers pocketable is good enough.

I would be willing to pay 800 US$ for this.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Very good set of specs, Bernard. If you make it, I'll buy it.   

For my own personal preferences I might be willing to sacrifice a little of the water-proofness (say, only down to -3m) to get a lens that starts at 24mm equivalent instead of 30. And, at the risk of pushing megapixels, I wouldn't object to 8mpx instead of 6. But those are tiny details.

Cheers,

Eric

[bill t.]

Except for most of your specifications sounds exactly like my Fuji F31.  It would take a camera like you describe to move me up from it.  I'd be happy with just great sensor and a sharp lens around 35mm equivalent that doesn't even retract.  Underwater?  Me?

I already have a featherweight tripod + panohead that lives under the car seat, if I only had a truly worthy featherweight camera I would probably have captured quite a few very interesting pano shots that ultimately got away.

[Jeremy Payne]

10MP
f/1.8-2.8
35-105mm
iso 80-200 really good, up to 1600 usable
waterproof, but doesn't need depth - just to protect it if the housing leaks
hotshoe w/TTL flash in manual mode and "commander" optical mode
lighting fast if autofocus is turned off
quality aluminum underwater housing and fisheye adapter

[francois]

I'd be more than happy with those specs but I'm not holding my breath.

[imagico]

- ETTR right exposure mode based on RAW data,

We are still waiting for this to happen in a DSLR, aren't we?

But apparently even after more than ten years of digital cameras the whole industry still thinks photographers prefer cameras that pretend to handle exposure just like film to actually getting the best image quality out of their equipment.

Greetings,

Christoph

[Chris Pollock]

We are still waiting for this to happen in a DSLR, aren't we?

But apparently even after more than ten years of digital cameras the whole industry still thinks photographers prefer cameras that pretend to handle exposure just like film to actually getting the best image quality out of their equipment.

Greetings,

Christoph

I've sometimes thought along the same lines myself. With a digital sensor, the correct exposure can usually be defined as "the brightest possible without clipping anything except specular highlights". It shouldn't be too hard for the camera to figure that out.

How about letting the camera take a series of test shots to determine the brightest exposure that avoids clipping? I do that manually when shooting landscapes, so it should be easy for the camera's computer to do the same. At least it wouldn't be handicapped by an unreliable histogram.

[Fritzer]

But apparently even after more than ten years of digital cameras the whole industry still thinks photographers prefer cameras that pretend to handle exposure just like film to actually getting the best image quality out of their equipment.

But isn't that how you achieve the best IQ ?
DSLRs have come a long way, but you still have to know how to use the features for best results, how could that possibly change ?

As for the original topic, I'd love to see a compact camera which doesn't compromise IQ; FF sensor, 15-20 MP, 35-70mm max lens for small size and decent lens quality, swivelling life-view display.

Lots of those back in the film days, loved my 40mm Leica compact .

[Ray]

I'd like in addition to Bernard's specs, more megapixels but the facility to bin pixels. More software capability for in-camera merging to HDR, autofocus bracketing, autoexposure bracketing of +/- 3EV up to 9 shots, and fast continuous frame rate in RAW mode of 9 fps.

Something along the lines of the Ricoh CX1 and CX2 with a few enhancemnts would be fine. The Ricoh CX2 has a CMOS sensor and is capable of 5 fps. Unfortunately, the sensor is a bit too small, the lens could be faster and it would be better if the camera had RAW mode.

There is tremendous potential to integrate the advantages of the small compact with sophisticated HDR software. Fast, high quality lenses are a tremendous advantage with the small sensor.  I guess the reason we have so few really fast lenses on compact cameras is because the price would be too high if the lens were really sharp at full aperture.

[Plekto]

But isn't that how you achieve the best IQ ?

No, the best way is to use it as a digital sensor that far exceeds human or film abilities.  Then in post-processing you can alter it to look like film if you want.

http://www.fullspectrumrgb.com/
Perfect example of the idea in action.  

Or leave it alone and do HDR, IR, UV, or whatever else you wish.

[BernardLanguillier]

I'd like in addition to Bernard's specs, more megapixels but the facility to bin pixels. More software capability for in-camera merging to HDR, autofocus bracketing, autoexposure bracketing of +/- 3EV up to 9 shots, and fast continuous frame rate in RAW mode of 9 fps.

Why more megapixels... 6 sharp mega pixels would go a long way...



Cheers,
Bernard

[Ray]

Why more megapixels... 6 sharp mega pixels would go a long way...

 .

Why more than 6mp? You've specified a fairly large sensor for a compact, almost the size of the 4/3rds, so one could expect at least the performance of an Olympus E-620 with 12mp, allowing for some technological improvements.

It seems to be a fact that smaller pixels on the same size sensor are inevitably slightly noisier, at the same level of technological development. However, downsampling always reduces the noise somewhat and binning further reduces noise, so the options for fewer pixels with increased quality can always be available. The reverse is not true, however.

The wide aperture of F1.4, in conjunction with a fast frame rate, auto focus bracketing, auto merge to HDR etc, should take care of most situations.

I have a wide-format printer, the Epson 7600. I'd prefer to make a 24"x32" print from a 12mp image rather than a 6mp image.


Edit: I see the EXIF data provides most of that information. You couldn't have taken that shot with your perfect compact camera, Bernard. You used a 300mm lens   .

[BernardLanguillier]

Edit: I see the EXIF data provides most of that information. You couldn't have taken that shot with your perfect compact camera, Bernard. You used a 300mm lens   .

Yep, 300 f2.8 VR on D3x.

This was shot at 3000m in the Japanese Alps, the heli was just bringing food and drinks to the mountain hut.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Daniel Browning]

I would be willing to pay 800 US$ for this.

IMHO, that would only be enough to cover the down payment on a camera with specs like that. But it's a great feature list. I would love all of those. (The only change I would make is 60 MP instead of 6 MP.) It's fun to dream...

[Ray]

Yep, 300 f2.8 VR on D3x.

Bernard,

24mp downsampled to 6mp! It's no wonder the helicopter looks so sharp. No compact 6mp camera could deliver such results.  

[BernardLanguillier]

Bernard,

24mp downsampled to 6mp! It's no wonder the helicopter looks so sharp. No compact 6mp camera could deliver such results.  

The original file looks just as sharp.

Cheers,
Bernard

[Christopher]

The original file looks just as sharp.

Cheers,
Bernard

What would be the normal next question ? 100% crops crops crops  

[Plekto]

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/digita.../exr/index.html

The new Fuji cameras look very good and have *excellent* low-light performance.   IMO, it comes close.   And it looks tons better than a typical Bayer pattern sensor.

I found this quote at a review site:

**
Once switched to Pro Lowlight Mode, the camera will take burst of 4 high sensitivity images using Pixel Fusion Technology * in quick succession.  It will then deploy Multi Frame Technology to overlap the 4 images to create one, single image with extremely low noise.
**

Yes, that's on-chip bracket and blend.   Use this during the day and instant HDR results.  With no blurring or idiocy or needing a tripod.