Today in the office we were (fairly pointlessly, I admit) comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the DSLR and the compact camera. Eventually, an obvious question was asked; what compact camera would a professional photographer carry?
I think this is a tricky question, because a pro photographer should be able to use any compact and do a pretty good job with it. So I guess the question really is, if you are used to the quality of an SLR, is there a compact that can really cut it as a substitute when you don’t want to carry all the kit?
For me as a Canon owner, I’d immediately go for the Canon G10, mainly for the fact it takes RAW images I can edit in the same software as my SLR shots. I presume Nikon and most other manufacturers have a similar model in their range, but I have to confess to not knowing what they are! I was quite excited by the new Olympus Pen but now I’m reading articles about it being a bit disappointing for not delivering the promise. I have not got my hands on one yet so I don’t speak from experience!
In the “old days” the Leica was king, but again I don’t know if they make a digital compact.
So what I’m asking for is readers’ opinions on top-notch compacts. Not “quite good at the price” compacts, but “fantastic and I wish I had the cash” compacts. Perhaps we can compile a list…
