I am looking for a good point and shoot camera. I am currently using a Cannon Elph with APS. It is pretty convenient however the pictures lack details although they capture colors pretty well in the daylight. The low light pictures with flash produce heavy red eye. Basically this is a day time camera.

I am looking into a Minilux without the zoom. I am not sure what to expect from this camera compared to the APS. Any thought? Thx

-- Rick (rsoudagar@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002

Answers

I happen to like the Minilux for two reasons: because it has a 40mm lens and I find 35mm lenses too wide for general use; and because it is fairly large and chunky for a P&S and I can hold it steadier.

I dislike the Minilux for two reasons also: because each time you power it up you need to press the mode button several times to cancel the built-in flash; and because the viewfinder is extremely low magnification (image is tiny).

I bought my Minilux as a last-ditch-backup camera, and to carry out to dinner while travelling. It replaced a Rollei 35S which held that duty formerly. My Minilux was purchased used but mint-in-box for about half the cost of a new one. They have a tendency to develop fatal shutter problems which cost about $150 to replace. If mine dies, it goes in the nearest dumpster.

I have issues with P&S cameras costing hundreds of dollars because although they're clad in classy skins, they're all light-duty Japanese P&S's inside. Cameras like the Yashica T4 Super and Olympus Stylus Epic have very good lenses too, but cost much less.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

Rick, there have been a few recent postings on this; scroll down and have a look. Minilux has great lens, less than perfect ergonomics, and my one gave up the ghost after just four years or so when it developed the infamous EO2 error. This necessitates a new shutter at $150. My advice: get a cheaper P/S like Leica mini 3 or Yashica T5 (there are still a few out there) or Olympus mju/stylus, and for something long-term, save up for a Leica M. IMHO, APS offers no real advantages over fulframe 35mm.

-- David Killick (dalex@inet.net.nz), April 19, 2002.

Have you tried the Ricoh GR1 ?? Superb lens and very compact all metal body with aperture priority, exposure compensation.

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), April 19, 2002.

This may be an heresy on a Leica forum (I AM a Leica fan) but I think the Contax T3 is superior to the Minilux: smaller (you can actually slip it in your pocket, contrary to the Minilux), better ergonomics, much better viewfinder, more (tricky to implement) features and the 35 mm 2.8 Zeiss Sonnar lens is also better, as far as I can tell. But it's more expensive. Cheers,

Olivier

-- Olivier Reichenbach (olreiche@videotron.ca), April 19, 2002.

yeah, the T3 is meant to be an excellent compact camera, but its a tad expensive isnt it?

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), April 19, 2002.

Minilux is half a stop faster than a T2/3, in my book that probably makes it "better". One always needs speed!

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), April 22, 2002.

Erwin rates the 40mm lens in the Minilux better than that of the 40mm Summicron C. But who actually makes this lens? Leica or someone in Japan?

-- Joel Matherson (joel_2000@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002.