Compact camera that does RAW?

The most often mentioned compacts that shoot RAW and have great IQ at base ISO are the Canon G10 and the Panny LX3.

Photos i've seen seem very good for the size and format

Enjoy Peru.

Ryan
I have the Leica d Lux 3 - similar to the newer lux 4 which can be fitted with an external viewfinder. Probably similar or identical workings to the LX3 referred to by Colin which will save you some money.
I used to have a G5 and my only criticism of that was the physical size - the lux or lx3 are much more portable.
I think the G10 has a built in viewfinder however if anything like the G5, it will be rubbish!!
The advantage of the G10 is that it will probably have similar control logic to your existing Canon and download software though this last point may be irrelevant if you load direct from your card and use photoshop or similar. The larger size probably provides better handling but it won't fit into a leg pocket of hiking trousers - this is where my d lux lives when walking!
My lux 3 shoots both jpg and RAW images for each shot. Also has a neat switchable widescreen perspective which is great for landscapes.
I think lux 4 is 10meg and g10 is 14meg but impressions are that the sensors on the compact cameras are small and don't currently benefit from higher pixel counts than 10meg.
As Colin says, best to stick with 100 ISO settings on these cameras for best quality, again presumably a function of the sensor size.
The leica lens on the new models offers the advantage for landscape shots of 24mm compared with 28mm widest angle on the g10.

All depends how compact you want your camera to be. The D40 is quite compact by dslr standards so I don't suspect that models like the Panasonic Lumix G10 would be worth the outlay - will have a bigger sensor than the compacts mentioned above.

Have a look here:

http://uk.leica-camera.com/pho...act_cameras/d-lux_4/

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Hom...erShot_G10/index.asp

Happy hunting!

Peter

Thanks Colin and Peter, I'll take a look at the Panasonic.

I'm not too worried about the software, as i use Aperture which is great, and picks up the camera without issue. Its RAW conversion is better than the Canon software as well.

Peter, the 40d is much larger than the entry level dslr's, such as the 400d which I had prior (well actually it was the 350d but there's not much in it). The 40d is equivalent in size to any of the proper full on DSLR's and frankly weighs a ton. Its great if i'm out just taking pictures, but when you're lugging it up a scramble or climbing then you really notice the weight in the bag.

Ryan

Ryan

I bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7 for my Himalaya climbing trip a couple of months back. It doesn't do RAW, but for a super compact I got great results from it.

It was worth it for the weight saving alone but the image quality was consistently good and the battery seemed to retain it's charge forever, even in the cold at altitude.

What are you climbing in Peru?

Cheers

Jim

Another vote for Leica
I've got a D-Lux4 and it's very good.
You could spend less on it's Panasonic twin, the LX3, but the combination of superior Raw editing software, better in-camera JPEG processing, and a 3 year warranty persuaded me towards the Leica variant.

The better half normally uses a Panasonic G1, but her compact is a Pana FX150. This also does RAW, and gives great images - however, it doesn't do Aperature or Shutter Priority, and the manual mode only gives a very limited choice of settings.

The FX150 has a broader lens (35mm equiv) 28-140mm

The Leica D-Lux4/pana LX4 only does 24-60mm, but at f/2.0-2.8, and the lens is exceedingly good.

Hope this helps


Mike

Ryan

The Panasonics and Panasonic derived Leicas are really great. However, with the trip of a lifetime that you are arranging I would not want to drop too much IQ from your 40D.

I suggest you consider the Olympus E-P1. Not quite as small as the Panasonics but much better IQ for large prints due to the larger 4/3rds sensor.

Julian

Jim, we're doing the usual Machu Piccu climb then heading further up towards the glacier....not decided yet what one we are going for, and are in the hands of the nutter organising it... which isn't me for a change.

Where in the Himalayas were you? We're hoping to do that next year.

RYan

Ryan

We made an attempt on Nanda Devi East. It's 7434M and had only been climbed a handful of times since the first ascent 70 years ago by a Polish team.

It's still only been climbed a handful of times as we backed off due to the snow conditions!

We did though make a first ascent of Changuch (6400M) as a fallback.

That was a hard trip physically but despite not summitting it was a great trip. I just need to figure out what to do next year!

I have a pic in the Nice Photos thread (page 48).

Cheers

Jim

You might consider the new Olympus Pen F...

This looks like a very intriguing camera and offers great High ISO performance in comparison to the other compacts out there.

Got one on the way for review, but it does use similar chip and processors to the E30, so it should be a major step up in image quality.

The Pen is really nice... but actually surprisingly big when you get it in your hands.

Rumours abound of a forthcoming Panasonic rival for the Micro FourThirds lens system. If these rumours are true the Pana may be slimmer (largely by way of ditching the internal stabilisation system, and relying entireley on the in-lens stabilisers).

Look forward to seeing the comparison if this model does arrive - as this is exactly wether I'm looking to go for the telephoto that my D-Lux doesn't offer.

Thanks guys for the replies so far.

Jim, I'd love to see some more pics from your hol. Could you send me a couple? Email address in profile.

Much appreciated.

Ryan