Serious Compact Camera?

[California L33]

This has probably been discussed several times before, but in a quick search of the forum I didn't find any recent threads, plus camera models seem to change minute by minute. I've been shooting 35mm SLR for many years. I have a little compact digital for family pictures. I shoot mostly landscapes, and have been hauling cameras and lenses up to very high places long enough that loosing some of that weight would be great (as well as having a camera small enough to take anywhere). Small digital cameras seem to take pretty good pictures, but they also seem to have some compromises. What I'm wondering is if there are any serious pocket sized cameras. By serious I mean-

-8 megapixels or more for large prints (seems quite common)

-has a lens threaded for filters (I know, hard to make with the built in lens caps most employ, but it's something I'd like)

-has a manual mode with bulb setting

-tripod mount (seems pretty standard)

-and I know this one's a dream, but- has the ability to IR pictures (with an IR filter)

[fx101]

This has probably been discussed several times before, but in a quick search of the forum I didn't find any recent threads, plus camera models seem to change minute by minute. I've been shooting 35mm SLR for many years. I have a little compact digital for family pictures. I shoot mostly landscapes, and have been hauling cameras and lenses up to very high places long enough that loosing some of that weight would be great (as well as having a camera small enough to take anywhere). Small digital cameras seem to take pretty good pictures, but they also seem to have some compromises. What I'm wondering is if there are any serious pocket sized cameras. By serious I mean-

-8 megapixels or more for large prints (seems quite common)

-has a lens threaded for filters (I know, hard to make with the built in lens caps most employ, but it's something I'd like)

-has a manual mode with bulb setting

-tripod mount (seems pretty standard)

-and I know this one's a dream, but- has the ability to IR pictures (with an IR filter)

I doubt you'll find a Point and Shoot (PS) with a bulb setting, and newer cameras block IR so you can forget about that . Look at the Nikon P80, the Olympus UZ models, and the Powershot G9. Not sure about filters but if I remember correctly Cokin made adapters for P&S cameras a while back.

Honestly, if you're worried about weight get a polycarbonate body DSLR like the Nikon D80 or the Canon EOS Rebel series (not D200, D300, etc. or EOS 30D, 40D, etc. because these have magnesium chasis'). Then toss in a really good polycarbonate body lens like the Nikon 18-200 and you have a nice light and top notch combo far better than any PS camera out there.

[California L33]

--The camera's role is not to interfere with the photographer's work--

We're not nearly there yet.

I doubt you'll find a Point and Shoot (PS) with a bulb setting, and newer cameras block IR so you can forget about that . Look at the Nikon P80, the Olympus UZ models, and the Powershot G9. Not sure about filters but if I remember correctly Cokin made adapters for P&S cameras a while back.

Honestly, if you're worried about weight get a polycarbonate body DSLR like the Nikon D80 or the Canon EOS Rebel series (not D200, D300, etc. or EOS 30D, 40D, etc. because these have magnesium chasis'). Then toss in a really good polycarbonate body lens like the Nikon 18-200 and you have a nice light and top notch combo far better than any PS camera out there.

OK, IR is fantasy. Bulb shouldn't be, but is, but longer than 8 second exposures would be nice- some of us do have tripods- very lightweight tripods at that But what's with no manual mode on most of these cameras? I know they're consumer models but is it that hard to implement, and might lead beginners into more advanced photography, and more expensive cameras. The Pansonic DMC-TZ5 would be interesting if it had a manual mode, or at least an aperture priority mode.

I've looked at the G9- not bad, but a bit big and for the price, if I were leaning towards it, I'd go with a digital Rebel, but if I did that I know I'd end up taking my EF 35-350, and that's like carrying three bricks glued together. The reviews on the A650 aren't bad (if you're not shooting high ISO), but it's a bit big also for a 'take everywhere' camera.

[California L33]

This has probably been discussed several times before, but in a quick search of the forum I didn't find any recent threads, plus camera models seem to change minute by minute. I've been shooting 35mm SLR for many years. I have a little compact digital for family pictures. I shoot mostly landscapes, and have been hauling cameras and lenses up to very high places long enough that loosing some of that weight would be great (as well as having a camera small enough to take anywhere). Small digital cameras seem to take pretty good pictures, but they also seem to have some compromises. What I'm wondering is if there are any serious pocket sized cameras. By serious I mean-

-8 megapixels or more for large prints (seems quite common)

-has a lens threaded for filters (I know, hard to make with the built in lens caps most employ, but it's something I'd like)

-has a manual mode with bulb setting

-tripod mount (seems pretty standard)

-and I know this one's a dream, but- has the ability to IR pictures (with an IR filter)

I thought I'd answer my own question since I was a bit surprised by some of the answers when I started researching. Does the ideal carry everywhere yet can take pictures like a large format film camera exist? Not yet. Is there a camera that will do until one comes along? Surprisingly, yes.

I just bought the Canon A650 IS. It has most of the features I was looking for, or at least good approximations. I haven't used it much, but I'll give first impressions-

Size- its biggest drawback. You can't slip it into standard pants pockets. It might fit in cargo pants, or a jacket pocket. It's about 2/3rds the size of my 35mm SLR bodies, the lens retracts into the body, and it's light.

Image quality- 12 megapixel, looks good at 80, 100, and 200 ISO. I generally shoot with a tripod so haven't tested it at other sensor speeds. The lens shows some pin cushioning at wide angle, so it might not be especially suited for architectural photography. At 2.8 it shows definite softening at the corners. By the time it's down to 4.0 or smaller it would be quite acceptable for large prints of highly detailed subjects. For such a small lens it's very impressive, and it's 35mm coverage of 28-250mm is quite good.

Threaded for accessories- yes, with an optional tube (about $20) that clicks into the base of the lens. It's not an ideal setup since it increases the envelope of the camera- not exactly sure why they didn't just thread the lens, but it works.

Manual mode with bulb setting- manual mode, yes. Bulb setting, no, but it does have a 15 second exposure, which isn't bad. You can also load the after market (and free) software CHDK which allows you to increase that exposure to 65 seconds, and do a lot more as well- see below.

Tripod mount- yes, no big surprise there.

Infrared- most surprisingly, yes. I've only tried it with a R72 filter, and not a 92, but the results were impressive. I'm uploading an example. It was shot with the 72 filter, balanced for tungsten, then converted to gray scale. There was some noise in the sky not apparent before the gray scale conversion, but a stock setting noise reduction removed it easily.

Other considerations- with the CHDK software it can shoot camera raw in addition to compressed jpeg. It's a proprietary raw format, and though I read on the web that Picassa could convert it to dng I was unable to get it to do so. The also free software, DNG4PS works like a charm. CHDK allows the camera to run scripts for AEB, focus bracketing, and motion detection claimed fast enough to trigger the camera to shoot lightning, though in my tests I've just used AEB, which works quite well. The 'allbest' version of CHDK allows exposure bracketing without a script, when in continuous shooting mode. CHDK also allows you to create a USB cable release, or even remote control. It also runs on standard AA batteries- another big plus. You can get them anywhere.

Edit: In the photo below I framed the house as something still to definitely be in focus. It was a windy day, and the exposure time was about 8 seconds. I love to take 'wind' photos, but I did want a solid in focus reference in there as it was a camera test.