Compact dSLR?

Hello everyone!

Yeah, this is "yet another "which camera to buy" topic". Basically, I 've been into photography for years but I wouldn't call it a passion. There are periods where I want to photograph everything and then periods that photography doesn't even exist in my life.

For a long time I've been considering giving dSLRs a try and that maybe buying one would "force" me to try and take more photographs in general. But then again the convenience of a compact camera that you can carry with you every day, everywhere, is important as well.

A friend of mine suggested that I buy Lumix LX3 as its compact sized and you can change its lens. But I want some more "professional" opinions and suggestions before I spend mone, so here we go, please help me: My budget is about $700 and I definitely need a compact one. If I can buy a dSLR as well it would be great. But then again I am not sure, maybe I SHOULD get a dSLR. What about the summer days when you only need to take a few quick shots?

Thanks in advance!

P.S: Yeah, you are right, I am really confused on the matter. Compact, dSLR, both?

Maybe you have trouble sticking with it because all you use it for is a few convenient quick shots??? You might find you like the results enough to stay with it if the purpose of what you are doing is the image. – TF

If you want to be able to create, you'll want a dslr. With lenses and settings you can let your mind be the guide and then figure out how to achieve it.
If you want to get nice pictures but don't want to get involved with equipment, techniques, learning what all the terms mean, get the point and shoot.
Its impossible to say whether a dslr and what can or can't be done with it will spark a passion or not. I suggest that you spend a little time(or a lot), just looking at things, people, events. Look big and small. If you start wishing you could capture what your eye and mind see to the point that you want to know how to do it and have the right tools to do it, then get the dslr.
Btw, the Lx3 is a highly acclaimed compact that can get very good pictures. It does not, however, have interchangeable lenses.
Try to figure out what you really want to do with photography and then research to try to find the best tool for that desire.

I was in a similar standing point few years ago, I bought a SLR to encourage myself and it worked. Also this forum has help me alot and pushed my forward in the world of photography.
Funny thing I was also driven into "compact" slr type of cameras, that is why I bought the Evolt E-420 which at that time was the smallest available, great camera BTW, now a days the "compact" market offers more options, all very similar in size and weight...now all brand offerer good options.

Give your self a chance, explore photography and encourage yourself by shooting and keep shooting!

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Originally Posted by sebkom

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A friend of mine suggested that I buy Lumix LX3 as its compact sized and you can change its lens....

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I don't think you can change the lens on the Lumix LX3.

Apart from that here's my 2 centimes worth:

A camera is a compromise between:

- Image quality. If the sensor is bigger (like in a DSLR) it collects more light and the image is more beautiful
- Picture-taking potential. Everybody dreams of having just one lens that does close-ups of flowers (macro) and landscapes (wide-angle) and sports (telephoto) and sharp pictures at night (available light). A lens like that for a DSLR would be huge and very expensive. So on a DSLR you can change the lenses but that means carrying them around with you
- Portability. Ideally you need a camera that is small and flat so you can stick it in a pocket. The architecture of a DSLR imposes a camera back with mirror box and lens on the front so it certainly isn't flat

I've given up on point-and-shoots like the LX3. I prefer the image quality of the DSLR.

Most of the time when I'm out I have a bag which can carry a basic DSLR with plastic zoom lens. This combination is light and doesn't bother me.

I have my Smartphone with me all the time (Sony Satio). This includes a real point-and-shoot camera with a fixed focal length f2.8 lens, vibration reduction, etc. This is good enough for most pictures I might see when I don't have a DSLR with me