28mm compact digital camera? am i dreaming?

Hello!
I was on the look out for a compact 28mm digital camera. There is the canon 850is which looks to be a great lil camera bu lacks some the manual controls. Or there is the slightly bigger Panasonic LX2 which seems to be lacking in the image quality department.

Anyone have any opions on the above cameras or other options?

Camera will be used as a travel camera with lots of landscape.

Thanks in advance! :)

You might check out the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom too. The lens is sharp and has an equivalent range of 28-140mm. As well there is a full menu of options up to and including full manual. There's a review of it at steve's-digicams.com.

If you are not in a hurry, and if you are not looking for a zoom or a fast lens, you might want to wait for the Sigma DP-1, and wait for some reviews too.

The LX2 you mention has a sharp Leica 28mm lens in 16:9 format. It's the perfect camera for landscapes. You'll love it.

Cheers,
Terry

I do like the look of the LX2, but if read that it has some real noise issues above ISO 100. Im not that experienced in the digital world. When using film and traveling i rarely used anything but ISO 100 film. When would u use about ISO 100 on a digital camera? Low light i know. But you can shot ISO 100 film in low light with tripod and get better results then a higher rated ISO.
Am i comparing apples with oranges? is it the same?

You would use ISO 100 in a digital camera in similar situations to those in which you would use ISO 100 with a film camera. In low light situations, you would want to use a higher ISO, or, as you said, use ISO 100, but with a tripod. As you mentioned, reviewers have criticized the high ISO performance. Another camera option for 28mm is the Ricoh GRD which has received similar criticism to the LX2. That is, one photographic magazine suggested it might be the perfect digital camera for landscape (as only photo magazines could), but many reviewers have focused on the its noisy performance at high ISOs. In the case of both of these cameras, people who own them seem to like them. And they both have their unique features. In the case of the LX2, 16:9 feature mentioned, in the case of the GRD, the noise is said to be filmlike, and it is has found a place for high-contrast, grainy street photography.

I don't own either, and don't shoot much landscape, but hope these comments based on what I have read and examples I have seen on the web are helpful.

I just went to DPReview, clicked on the Buying Guide, then on Features Search, and selected "compact" and "<28".

It found more than ten non-discontinued cameras that fit those criteria. You might want to give it a spin and also select "manual controls".

("<28" really means "<=28")