G9/10 good Point and shoot decison Help!

[mpphoto12]

Ok so i need to find a point and shoot for a big trip in New mexico ths summer. Im backpacking 75 miles and i cnnot bring slr gear. I wanted to find a tough Point and shoot. I mainlt wanted to see if any of them had shutter release capabilities. Some of the sigma ones said sutter speeds as low as 15 minutes. But can any point and shoot have a optional shutter release excessory or long exposure to handle star trails?? thats my main concern. It does not have to be tough per say but able to have that capablility. Sigma, Canon, Leica. Any of those point and shoots have that capablility? I will be brinig my gorrilla pod to do long exposures. I heard the g9/10 have good performance and manual settings..thanks.

[Wes]

Check out this on the G10 shot along side a MF. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml

[Benjamin]

But can any point and shoot have a optional shutter release excessory or long exposure to handle star trails??
<div style="clear: both;"]</div>

At least not anything that I'm aware of. By nature P&amp;S cameras are not designed to shoot long time exposure as their sensors are too small to produce high quality images, processing speed is also a problem - that the two possible reasons that makes sense to me.


However, in terms of a tough and high quality/versatility P&amp;S camera, I would recommend the Panasonic ZS3 compact camera. See this group test for reference here:


http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q209grouplongzoom/


I will personally choosethe ZS3 over the Canon G10. However, the G10 itself is a very nice camera and it has been regarded as the DSLR alternative.


There are also some very compact sized DSLRs with a electrical view finder avaliable at reasonable cost for very light weight and small size. i.g. the Olympus E420 with the 25/2.8 pancake lens. The entire pakage is just about the size of a P&amp;S camera and weighs like a pound or so. Also the Panasonic G1/GH1 is worth consideration, they both share the same idea as the olympus. One more thing that you may care about is probably the offer of long time exposure. Both E430 and G1 can expose up to 8 minutes in bulb mood, that's just about it.


Leica D-Lux 3 offers up to 1 minute exposure in manual mood, but I don't think that's very up to your task. All the rest of P&amp;S cameras from Leica are just rebadged Panasonic P&amp;S cameras for 3 times of the money... The D-Lux 3 is not exactly cheap either, like well over $1000.


For a trip to New Mexico, I'll be happy with a Panasonic ZS3 or Canon G10.