wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Share #1 Posted April 24, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I do have an excellent medium sized back up for my M8, a Ricoh GX200. However I wanted something even smaller, that could fit in the small man-bag that I usually carry around in France. As a Minox 8 x11 user for some years, I thought of just getting one of my film Minoxes out of the drawer and using that but the film is now expensive and the developing horrendous (B&W = £50+ for develop and print). I decided therefore to get the new Minox DSC (Digital Spy Camera), which I had seen at Photokina. My strong advice to others considering this move is DON'T BOTHER! The picture quality is truly horrible - it makes photos taken with my iPhone look good. I had wrongly assumed that the picture quality would be about the same as that of the quite acceptable images from the Contax SL300R* 3 megapixel mini-camera I had some years ago, as the Minox has a 3.2 MP CMOS sensor interpolated to 5 MP. Not so I am afraid. The definition is poor, the noise high and the JPEG artifacts all too evident. It also takes hours to charge for not very many images from a charge. Apart from all that - it is just fine! A clever idea spoilt by hopeless execution. In reality, it is a silly toy that I wish that I could have tried before buying. I now have "MUG" tattooed on my forehead. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 24, 2009 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi wlaidlaw, Take a look here Really, really small back up for M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted April 24, 2009 Share #2 Posted April 24, 2009 Wilson, I'm not familiar with the camera but sell it on e bay, you might not lose much, and buy a Clux2, my carry everywhere camera - it's about the smallest decent quality digital camera I could find, which doesn't need a case and has a good zoom range of 28-100mm approx (I have the Panasonic version though). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted April 24, 2009 Wilson, I'm not familiar with the camera but sell it on e bay, you might not lose much, and buy a Clux2, my carry everywhere camera - it's about the smallest decent quality digital camera I could find, which doesn't need a case and has a good zoom range of 28-100mm approx (I have the Panasonic version though). James, I had thought of the C-Lux but my wife's experience with C-Luxes has been very poor - 3 failed to date, all electronic glitches, leading to permanent SDS - the last time out of warranty. It is also a bit too big. I have sent a crisply worded email to Minox with some examples (very disappointed long term Minox user etc.) I took a photo in sunlight this morning, of my car, which is burgundy red and in the image it is greenish black with fluorescent green grass behind. I am hoping they may arrange a refund. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted April 24, 2009 Share #4 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Wilson, Why not look at one of those new Sony Ericsson Cybershot cell phones. These now have an 8 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, flash, Carl Zeiss lenses etc. I don't know what the quality is like, but have not heard any really bad things about them. I'm pretty sure it will beat the Minox DSC and is smaller than a C-Lux. Plus it doubles up as a phone. Andreas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Wilson, Why not look at one of those new Sony Ericsson Cybershot cell phones. These now have an 8 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, flash, Carl Zeiss lenses etc. I don't know what the quality is like, but have not heard any really bad things about them. I'm pretty sure it will beat the Minox DSC and is smaller than a C-Lux. Plus it doubles up as a phone. Andreas Andreas, 1) Sony phones don't sync properly to Macs for contacts etc. 2) You are talking to the person who has 2 iPhones (one for the UK and one for France), both still under contract and being paid off. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted April 24, 2009 Share #6 Posted April 24, 2009 What's a man-bag (and why do you have to carry a camera around at all times)? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enboe Posted April 24, 2009 Share #7 Posted April 24, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Of course the only real backup for an M is an M. I have been pleased with the Canon SD780IS as a small pocket camera. It is limited when compared with an M for sure, but for a good percentage of daylight shots, it does well. The price is also reasonable, at under $300. Enjoy. Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted April 24, 2009 Share #8 Posted April 24, 2009 I do have an excellent medium sized back up for my M8, a Ricoh GX200. However I wanted something even smaller, that could fit in the small man-bag that I usually carry around in France. As a Minox 8 x11 user for some years, I thought of just getting one of my film Minoxes out of the drawer and using that but the film is now expensive and the developing horrendous (B&W = £50+ for develop and print). I decided therefore to get the new Minox DSC (Digital Spy Camera), which I had seen at Photokina. My strong advice to others considering this move is DON'T BOTHER! The picture quality is truly horrible - it makes photos taken with my iPhone look good. I had wrongly assumed that the picture quality would be about the same as that of the quite acceptable images from the Contax SL300R* 3 megapixel mini-camera I had some years ago, as the Minox has a 3.2 MP CMOS sensor interpolated to 5 MP. Not so I am afraid. The definition is poor, the noise high and the JPEG artifacts all too evident. It also takes hours to charge for not very many images from a charge. Apart from all that - it is just fine! A clever idea spoilt by hopeless execution. In reality, it is a silly toy that I wish that I could have tried before buying. I now have "MUG" tattooed on my forehead. Wilson Hi Wilson, I'd make some more room in the man bag and carry that Ricoh. Cheers, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted April 24, 2009 Share #9 Posted April 24, 2009 Uhm.. sometimes I get tempted to buy a Minox - Leica M3 miniature ... is a funny item...but I'd want it would be someway USABLE too... do you think that its sensor+optic is the SAME as in your Minox DSC ? If so, I drop out the vague idea of having one ... as a toy it's by far too costly... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted April 24, 2009 Uhm.. sometimes I get tempted to buy a Minox - Leica M3 miniature ... is a funny item...but I'd want it would be someway USABLE too... do you think that its sensor+optic is the SAME as in your Minox DSC ? If so, I drop out the vague idea of having one ... as a toy it's by far too costly... Luigi, I would assume the sensor/lens is the same. The lens is about 3mm across. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share #11 Posted April 24, 2009 What's a man-bag (and why do you have to carry a camera around at all times)? It is a small bag that a man can carry - what on earth did you think it was? Murphy's law dictates that the photograph of a lifetime (or this week anyway) will always appear when you don't have a camera. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share #12 Posted April 24, 2009 Hi Wilson, I'd make some more room in the man bag and carry that Ricoh. Cheers, Sean Without the EVF you would be right but I really hate taking photos with LCD's and with the EVF the GX200 is a bit of a lump. The fact that the Minox had an optical finder was one of the major factors which attracted me. You can also mount the flash/LCD to take waist level photos. It is all very clever, it is just a pity it is so poor - maybe I have a duff one but I doubt it. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Essemmlee Posted April 24, 2009 Share #13 Posted April 24, 2009 I carry a D-Lux 4 in it's brown Leica case across my shoulder and chest with the case around my back and wouldn't know it was there............until that opportunity arises for that once in a lifetime shot. I would prefer a viewfinder but compromise is easy when matched to functionality and quality. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted April 24, 2009 Share #14 Posted April 24, 2009 Uhm.. sometimes I get tempted to buy a Minox - Leica M3 miniature ... is a funny item...but I'd want it would be someway USABLE too... do you think that its sensor+optic is the SAME as in your Minox DSC ? If so, I drop out the vague idea of having one ... as a toy it's by far too costly... Luigi, I have one and it's pretty much a toy. Or a curio if you prefer ... Pete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted April 24, 2009 Share #15 Posted April 24, 2009 It is a small bag that a man can carry - what on earth did you think it was? Murphy's law dictates that the photograph of a lifetime (or this week anyway) will always appear when you don't have a camera. Wilson Yeah, but if it's a photograph of a lifetime, don't you want to take it with a decent camera? There's no substitute for the real thing. Carry the M. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotografr Posted April 24, 2009 Share #16 Posted April 24, 2009 ...and why do you have to carry a camera around at all times? No one has to, but many of us want to because if we don't have our cameras, we can't get the shot. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesphoto99 Posted April 24, 2009 Share #17 Posted April 24, 2009 Oh, and get an Upstrap for your M. It makes carrying a camera over the shoulder for a long time really comfortable and slip proof. No, it won't match your loafers or win any fashion contests but who cares? I'd rather have a safe camera and un-slouchy shoulders. Also, the only compact camera worth a dang is the LX-3 IMO (half the price of the Leica and more ergonomic). The 24mm end of the zoom is really impressive (esp as it's f2.0!). Shoot RAW and convert in LR. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted April 24, 2009 Share #18 Posted April 24, 2009 Luigi, I have one and it's pretty much a toy. Or a curio if you prefer ... Pete. Just for curios... could you post a pair of pics taken with it ? After all it doesn't break dramatically the forum rules... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicoleica Posted April 24, 2009 Share #19 Posted April 24, 2009 Uhm.. sometimes I get tempted to buy a Minox - Leica M3 miniature ... is a funny item...but I'd want it would be someway USABLE too... do you think that its sensor+optic is the SAME as in your Minox DSC ? If so, I drop out the vague idea of having one ... as a toy it's by far too costly... If you are thinking about getting one Luigi, they are available for under Euro 200 now at some dealers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aulia Posted April 24, 2009 Share #20 Posted April 24, 2009 has anyone tried a Fuji f2000exr? Tried it in store once, quite impressed. Other than lacking a hotshoe and perhaps ability to shoot raw, might actually be better than the dlux4/lx3! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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