Any compact camera that 'does it all?' (Wide & macro, raw, HD video)

[mofongo_max]

I am getting my G-cameras mixed up then. One of them had a hi-res video mode though it was something weird like 1024x768, not a standard HD mode. Maybe it was the G9.

Scott, I want the option to not use the external flash... sometimes I just want to take a small rig for snapshots and I am willing to compromise on the photo quality. (I know exactly what that entails as I don't use a strobe with my current camera.) And I don't want to get skunked out of photos entirely if I happen to have a strobe problem in the field.

The LX-3 is a sweet camera--I am virtually certain that the 10bar housing requires an external strobe though. (checking... Yep. )

Yes, the LX3 meets all your requirements barring the use of external flash (at least in the 10bar or the UK-Germany housings). It looks like you may be able to use external flash with the Nautilus housing (as it looks very similar to clear Ike housings). But good luck finding that one.

 

[Matt S.]

Wow, I had no idea that Nautilus housing existed. Very cool, thanks for the tip. Probably rare like unicorn horn though, and harder to get service for...

 

[petemoss]

I am not qualified here but the soon to be available Panasonic TZ10 may have possibilities in the oem housing.

 

[bvanant]

As Scott said, the stock Lumix housing does everything you asked for (I think). Inon makes an adapter to put on lenses, and the flash works, with the built in diffuser. What part doesn't fit?
Bill

 

[Matt S.]

Unfortunately the 10Bar LX-3 housing requires an external strobe. The Nautilus housing seems to allow use of the internal flash but I can't tell what add-on lens options it may have. And even if it hit all the marks, I'd have to be brave to be one of the first to try a new housing!

If the camera/housing/lens combo I am hoping for just ain't available yet, I'll probably buy a good strobe to use with my old camera and bide my time. It will show up within a year, I bet.

 

[bvanant]

Lumix TZ5 with Panasonic housing meets all your requirements, NO?
Bill

 

[Matt S.]

Nope, it doesn't allow for raw files. Neither does the TZ10. Raw shooting isn't critical for everyone but I have become very accustomed to it and would hate to give it up. In fact I would abandon the ability to shoot good movie clips before I gave up raw files. (and if the market makes me wait too long, that is probably the decision I will make, which makes a rig like the DX-2g a front runner.)

 

[bvanant]

Nope, it doesn't allow for raw files. Neither does the TZ10. Raw shooting isn't critical for everyone but I have become very accustomed to it and would hate to give it up. In fact I would abandon the ability to shoot good movie clips before I gave up raw files. (and if the market makes me wait too long, that is probably the decision I will make, which makes a rig like the DX-2g a front runner.)

Sorry, I wasn't thinking raw. What about the G11 with the Canon housing and the fantasea add on lenses? You give up real HD video but the video I have seen from the G11 looks actually quite nice if you aren't going to be projecting on a very big screen. On my computer it looks quite nice and lots better than what I have seen from the DX-2g.
Bill

 

[Matt S.]

Yep, the G11 is a contender--I have seen many say that its video, while not HD, is nonetheless of good quality.

(In reply to the earlier poster who commented that high resolution and high definition are not the same thing, yep, I know what you mean. I am looking for something that shoots in a HD standard resolution, with the implication that I want those extra pixels to be worth having.)

 

[bvanant]

Take a look at the G11 video output. It is surprisingly good, at least on screen.
Bill