small, weatherproof, easy to use, useful scope finder

image quality not as good as one would expect from a zeiss lens, plastic body, bad flash performance

I bought my first T5 because I read a lot of reviews - including Philip Greenspun's glorifying article on the T4 - describing the camera's lens as very sharp. Unfortunately, my pictures were not as sharp as I had expected, so I gave the T5 back, thinking that there must have been something wrong with the camera, and so I got a new T5. The results were the same, some pictures were quite sharp, especially when the objects I focussed were not too far away, but most of the pictures - mainly landscapes - were quite out of focus, even when using the infinity mode. All indoor pictures using the flash can only be described as bad jokes, while indoor performance without flash was quite good. The quality of the pictures taken with the T5 can in no way rival the quality my 20-year-old Rollei 35 S is able to produce with its Sonar lens, made in Singapur, licenced by Zeiss.
I changed the T5 for a 4-year-old Leica mini zoom, which - even in spite of its zoom lens - does a much better job in almost every situation.

Customer Service

not needed

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Rollei 35 S
Rollei B 35
Leica Mini Zoom
Olympus XA 2
Olympus AF 1
Olympus OM-1n

Very sharp lens

Not good for indoor. Very weak flash

The lens is very sharp and picture came out very clear, but if you use it for indoor the flash is not working well.

Customer Service

no need

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Canon sure shot 120 caption
Samsung 145 qd
Olympus stylus epic

Sharp lens with excellent color saturation.

Poor flash.

I got this camera after reading the great reviews. I got mine for $180 which I knew to be very expensive.(Since this camera is out of production and lot's people want it, I believe price will continue to go up a little)
After several test shot, I came to the conclusion that results from outdoor shots are just as good as posh point and shoot. I have used both Leica and Contax point and shoot, but this camera produced comparable if not better results. However, real weaknesses are it's flash. As a result it takes poor indoor picture. Buy this camera if you are going to use it for available light photography.

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Leica Minilux Zoom
Contax T2
Contax TVS III

Small, no hassel shooting. Solid crisp lens.Cheap.Good metering.

Classic collectors item.

No manual overrides. Will suffer in sports photography. Sensitive shutter button. Flash very very unusable.

Focus can be more sure.

After reading the reviews here, I decided to give this a go.
Night photography is very limited with its poor flash.
I am still wondering how it will ever perform in images involving motion since I cannot select the shutter speeds. Do we just shoot stills??

Whats lacking is redemed by its excellent lens.
I strictly use ASA 400 and above for available light.

For $150US, I think this is as best one can get.
The Leica minilux is way too expensive for a p&s.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

SLRs..
this is my first pNS

Great lens
Exposure is consistent
Superscope viewfinder is useful
Weather-proofing is reassuring
Infinity lock

Flash is weak
Max aperture is a so-so f3.5
Shutter release is a too light
Not as compact as the MJU II

Bought probably the last one in Singapore: had to look realy hard to locate one unit... And I'm glad I did!

The results I got back (using my usual stock of ASA 400 Superia Xtra) is fantastic. The lens is as sharp, if not sharper than my MJU II's. The exposure is definitely more accurate than the MJU II's, especially in low-light situation. The T5 also focus better than the MJU II. The colour reproduced by the lens is also incredibly rich: this is a quality I noticed while using the older T4. I also found the Superscope to be useful when shooting overhead or catching candid shots.

The downsides are the light shutter release and the limited range of shutter speed. I personally find the light shutter release an annoyance, as I have accidentally triggered the shutter a couple of times. The shutter speed also goes down to only 1 sec, whereas some other compact can reach 4 sec. Interesting, although my MJU II is suppose to be able to do 4 sec, it has never used that speed, opting to open the aperture to max instead.

If you are shopping for a fixed lens P&S, get the T5. Sadly Yashica has stopped production: so, grab it with you find one on the dealer's shelf! If you can't find one, the Olympus MJU II is the next best option.

Customer Service

No experience

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Contrasty lens. Takes high quality great pictures. very quiet.

Shutter lag. Can't get closer than about a foot and a half. Cheesy flash and no memory settings.

every one talks about the flash, and their all right. It sucks. for indoor or outdoor. Heres a tip. Even for the pros who haven't figured it out. Use infinity, slower film, existing light. And the best tip of all: Put black tape over the flash. Since you need to press that little button every time to turn off the flash, just tape it and forget it. Use the existing light and with the high quality lens, the pics will be all the more perfect with this great little camara anyhow...

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

SLR, Canon AE-1
Leica, Contax G-1

Zeiss lens gives amazingly sharp and contrasty shots. Some of my favourite shots have been taken with this camera. It travels everywhere with me!

relatively slow f3.5 lens. 4 button pushes to disable flash but it stays off till the camera is powered off.
Unfortunately, this model has been discontinued so you will have to move fast to get one.

A fantastic little camera destined to be a classic

Customer Service

Never required

Similar Products Used:

Looked a bit at the Olympus..but not for long

Ultra sharp Zeiss lens
Very easy to use
Infinite function
Lithr-weight

Built-in flash gives red eyes, and the anti-red-eye-function is not intelligent

This is a highly recommended camera, especially for travelling, when you don't want a heavy equipment, and if you are not going to shoot portraits (in this case a zoom camera or even better a SLR with a tele lens is recommended).
The lens is pin sharp, I have had prints made in 20x30 cm's and they are still sharp. The infinite function is really a nice feature. The problems with the built-in flash is common to point-and-shoot cameras.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Olympus Mju-1

The right trick for the right time. Comes at you like a thunderbolt of precision and true service. Dis camera is da bomb!

Colors limited. Salesman cranky.

A good, reliable and faithful servant. The standard bearer and bon vivant for the entire industry.

Customer Service

See "cranky salesman." I know to quit when I'm ahead.

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Doc Johnson's Wonder Syrup, etc.

Provides sharp contrasty photos when things are "just right."

Things aren't "just right" often enough.

I have (had) the T5
My first modern point and shoot.

I got a lot of shots that are either over-exposed or under-exposed. I've put 7 rolls of film through it, and things haven't gotten better. I just sent camera back to Adorama for a refund.

The camera would give me 25 exposures from a 24 exposure film. Spacing was very close. Various 1 hour photo shops could not seem to give me a set of photos that didn't have one overlap. The negatives look fine? It's just the prints that have the overlap.

A good value, but didn't seem to work for me.

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