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Author Topic: Wich camera for me?  (Read 5097 times)

testarossa

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Wich camera for me?
« on: October 25, 2010, 03:42:54 pm »

Hello, I'm looking around to buy a digital camera, please could you help me?

I would like a camera to do "street photography", sometime I do landscapes and night photography and event photography.

I always used a Nikon FE2, with various lenses, but I think that current dslr are too big to carry around, they're bigger than my FE2 with a 35 or a 50mm.

The solution I found are:

Nikon P7000

or

micro 4/3 cameras: Olympus EPL1 or EP2, and panasonic GF-1

What do you think? Are they suitable to do the job?

Thank you
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feppe

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2010, 04:00:04 pm »

I have E-PL1 for landscapes, night and street photography. It's very good for them, although high-ISO performance is not nearly as good as full-sized DSLRs. It's also significantly smaller and lighter than my Canon 550D, especially when lens weight and bulk is taken into account.

lookit

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2010, 11:29:47 pm »

SLRs generally use a kind of autofocus sensor different from that in digital P/S and EVIL cameras.  SLRs generally focus much faster so confirm focus speed is satisfactory in another kind of camera you may choose.  Modern entry-level (still very capable) DSLRs such as the Pentax K-x are pretty light; there are some in 4/3 format (no vendor lock-in) which are smaller still and have some lens compatibility with micro-4/3.  High-end small cameras such as those you're considering should function in low light, but they will have more noise than cameras with larger sensors.
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testarossa

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2010, 07:25:50 am »

Thank you

Quote
I have E-PL1 for landscapes, night and street photography. It's very good for them, although high-ISO performance is not nearly as good as full-sized DSLRs.
why did you choose the epl1 over the Panasonic GF-1?

Quote
there are some in 4/3 format (no vendor lock-in) which are smaller still and have some lens compatibility with micro-4/3.
Are you referring to olympus DSLR, like E-620? I've seen it, the body isn't smaller than APC-S DSLR such Nikon and Canon, the real gain in terms of size is with lenses (2x instead of 1,5X multiplier factor). But Again I don't need long focals, 200mm (in 35mm format) is the maximum I usually use, sometime I use 300mm but not very often.

With a P7000 and EVIL cameras ( EP2 and GF1), at ISO800 and up how much large can I print? Can I do an A3?

I forgot to mention that I would like to be able to shoot always in RAW+jpeg, what of these camera is the best at it?






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feppe

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2010, 12:21:59 pm »

why did you choose the epl1 over the Panasonic GF-1?
...
With a P7000 and EVIL cameras ( EP2 and GF1), at ISO800 and up how much large can I print? Can I do an A3?

I forgot to mention that I would like to be able to shoot always in RAW+jpeg, what of these camera is the best at it?

I chose Oly over Panny almost entirely based on in-body stabilization - all lenses are stabilized. I wish Canon would go for IBIS, but that would mean they couldn't ask for a premium on lenses with stabilization so I doubt that's gonna ever happen. I also like Pens' design better; the Panasonics are plain ugly (and plain and ugly), and remind me of modern cars which all look the same.

For lenses I use Panasonics, as the Oly lenses have poorer IQ in tests. I also tested the kit zooms head-to-head (14-42/45) and the Oly had significantly softer corners and overall poorer quality, which agreed with tests I've read. Also, just yesterday I received a 57mm Hexanon f/1.4 for portrait work, still waiting for an adapter.

I print most of my keepers at A3+/13x19, and am very happy with the image quality. The first photo I printed (shot with the 14-45mm kit Panasonic lens) blew me away, as it yielded results comparable to my 550D. E-PL1 apparently has a weaker AA filter than many other cameras in its class and most DSLRs, which would contribute to (perceived) sharpness. I haven't done any rigorous testing, but you can use DXOMark to compare sensors you're familiar with. I shoot almost exclusively at 200 (native) ISO, but I'd imagine anything above 800 ISO has marginal usage - depending on subject matter of course.

By the way, one major benefit of MFT and similar cameras for street work is that absolutely no one will pay any attention to you. If you whip out a full-sized DSLR you're the center of attention, at least for a while.

Ken Bennett

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2010, 02:10:51 pm »


By the way, one major benefit of MFT and similar cameras for street work is that absolutely no one will pay any attention to you. If you whip out a full-sized DSLR you're the center of attention, at least for a while.


Totally agree. The m4/3 cameras are small enough that they look like any other p+s camera. Image quality up to 800 or 1600 is very good -- good enough for 13x19 prints and larger out of my Epson, anyway. No, it's not as good as a D-3s at high ISOs, but it's still very good.


I have the GF-1 with the 20mm/1.7 lens, and my wife has the G-1 with the Panny 14-45 zoom. Given all the other cameras that I have floating around the house and the studio, the GF-1 is the camera I grab for most general-purpose photography. Street photography, candids, travel photography, and just having a "carry around" camera.

I happen to think the GF-1 is an attractive camera. I played with the Olympus before buying the Panasonic, and thought the design was too cutesy. So YMMV.
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testarossa

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2010, 03:51:50 pm »

Quote
I have the GF-1 with the 20mm/1.7 lens, and my wife has the G-1 with the Panny 14-45 zoom. Given all the other cameras that I have floating around the house and the studio, the GF-1 is the camera I grab for most general-purpose photography. Street photography, candids, travel photography, and just having a "carry around" camera.

Also on the Panasonic GF-1 when you do manual focus the LCD automatically zoom on detail of the image so you can check focus properly?
And do you have the optional EVF, and how much do you use it? Because to me it doesnt make a lot of sense on that small camera, with the EVF isn't anymore so small... Are you happy with the quality of LCD?

But what about the Ricoh GRX with the 28-300 module? It has 5fps RAW! but with a image quality of a compact what do you do with your RAW file if the jpeg aren't good?



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Ken Bennett

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #7 on: October 26, 2010, 07:52:29 pm »

Also on the Panasonic GF-1 when you do manual focus the LCD automatically zoom on detail of the image so you can check focus properly?
And do you have the optional EVF, and how much do you use it? Because to me it doesnt make a lot of sense on that small camera, with the EVF isn't anymore so small... Are you happy with the quality of LCD?

1. Yes.
2. Yes, 99% of the time.
3. Sure, it's fine. The EVF on the G-1 is much better, though.

I just prefer to hold a camera to my eye, not at arm's length.
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testarossa

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2010, 10:12:13 am »

Today I treid the Nikon P7000 and Canon G12. I prefer the G12 because has more raw headroom. The P7000 is stucked for too long before you can take another shot....

I also saw an olympus E-420, it's smaller than a D3000 but the viewfinder is small, large like the one of the Canon G12, and most of all it is square not rectangular, why? But the price tag is good 269euros, but it's old that olympus. What about the Olympus E-620, Ive only seen it behind the glass of the stores, it's still small like the E-420 and has a larger viewfinder?
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Lost

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Re: Wich camera for me?
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2010, 07:03:57 pm »

Also on the Panasonic GF-1 when you do manual focus the LCD automatically zoom on detail of the image so you can check focus properly?
And do you have the optional EVF, and how much do you use it? Because to me it doesnt make a lot of sense on that small camera, with the EVF isn't anymore so small... Are you happy with the quality of LCD?

IMHO, the GF1 works extremely well with manual focus. You can use AF to set an initial estimate of the focus, then while holding the shutter you just turn the lens' focus ring to adjust. The display automatically zooms in when doing this and you can easily adjust the area that is enlarged.

The GF1 also works reasonably well with legacy manual focus lenses. The controls automatically default to sensible settings, so a single push of the click wheel zooms the image to allow more precise focus. However, the 2x crop factor and lack of in-body image stabilisation mean that most of my legacy lenses are difficult to focus manually while hand-held (due to image movement).

The main LCD is sharp but not very bright. Like most LCDs it is difficult to use in full-sun. The optional electronic view finder has a really poor quality display, but despite this functions well enough that I use it almost exclusively now (even with manual focus). The GF1 + EVF is about the same size as my old Minolta X300/X700 film SLRs.
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