Digital compact for butterfly photos

[Ian Pratt]

The older I get the less I want to lug around my DSLR. Can anyone recommend a good compact digital camera for general nature photography?

[Murph]

Hi Ian,
Camera choice is always a matter of personal preference and what one person may regard as a good camera may well be seen by others as inadequate.
I suppose the first point to make is that a digital compact is not the ideal tool for general nature photography; shutter lag will often cause you to miss action shots. That said some of the better modern compacts are up close to DSLRs when it comes to picture quality.
My first digital compact was an Olympus Camedea 400Z. By today's standards a very basic 4 MP camera. However I still sell shots I took with it on Fotolia. It has a great little Zuiko lens. I attached a reversed standard lens to it and used it for insect macro, mainly hoverflies and other bugs. (http://www.paulmurphyphotos.com) I don't know about their current range of compacts but I'm sure they're very good.
I now use a Canon G9; (already superseded twice by newer models; G10 and G11). This is ideal for mooching around and is flexible enough to take landscapes and very sharp closeups. You can attach Cokin A filters to improve landscapes. Darwin Wiggett, an American landscape and stock photographer has written good reviews of the G9 and the newer models. He wanted a lightweight camera with a good lens capable of shooting Raw. He needed to travel light and didn't want to lug an SLR with lenses around. http://www.darwinwiggett.com
I hope this is of some help and I'm sure others will have their own preferences. Paul

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Ian,
I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the Panasonic Lumix FZ38, which you can get for c.£250. All of the photos in my gallery at gallery/album.php?album_id=80 were taken using the now very outdated Panasonic Lumix FZ7. The FZ38 is the much improved 12 MP version of the 6MP FZ7. Just got one myself.
Neil

[Gruditch]

My step Father has even got a 200mm telephoto lens for his G9, it did look a be weird though, and kind of defeated the purpose of having a compact. The new G11 has just gone down in mega pixels compared to its predecessor the G10, noise issue probably. I had a brief go with the Panasonic Kipper recommends, a lovely little camera, would probably be my choice.

Regards Gruditch

[Ian Pratt]

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments.