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Author Topic: Downsizing the digital  (Read 4578 times)

Justinr

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Downsizing the digital
« on: June 28, 2016, 08:55:42 am »

Just gathering a few thoughts here as I am beginning to question the need to hump heavy lumps of camera kit about when perhaps I don't need to.

Most of my photo work is editorial nowadays and I have a Nikon D3 which is probably  around 5/6 years old. 95% of the shots are taken with a 24- 85mm lens and I have longer and shorter zooms to compliment when needed.  I'm thinking that surely there must be something out there which matches the IQ but without the bulk? A shiny new Leica is highly desirable but equally as unjustifiable so are there any other options? 

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David Eichler

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2016, 02:49:01 pm »

Just gathering a few thoughts here as I am beginning to question the need to hump heavy lumps of camera kit about when perhaps I don't need to.

Most of my photo work is editorial nowadays and I have a Nikon D3 which is probably  around 5/6 years old. 95% of the shots are taken with a 24- 85mm lens and I have longer and shorter zooms to compliment when needed.  I'm thinking that surely there must be something out there which matches the IQ but without the bulk? A shiny new Leica is highly desirable but equally as unjustifiable so are there any other options?

Other than Leica, Fuji seems to have the only other really professional highly compact system, and it seems to me that they are intent on offering a wider range of lenses, especially zooms.
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Justinr

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2016, 05:30:36 pm »

Other than Leica, Fuji seems to have the only other really professional highly compact system, and it seems to me that they are intent on offering a wider range of lenses, especially zooms.

Thanks David, how would you rate the lenses and image quality of the models at the higher end?
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Eric Brody

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2016, 11:37:18 pm »

I downsized from a D800E with the "holy trinity" f/2.8 zooms to a Fuji X T-1, initially with a ton of primes and now with three zooms, 10-24, 16-55 f/2.8, and 50-140 f/2.8. The Nikon and three zooms weighs almost 10 pounds, the Fuji system just about half that. I rented the Sony A7RII and liked it a lot but with the same basic zooms (16-35, 24-70GM, and 70-200GM), it weighs almost 8 pounds. I don't print larger than 13x20 so huge megapixels mean little to me; I anxiously await the upcoming Fuji X T-2 with its rumored 24MP but am pretty happy with what I have. I don't do sports or fast moving subjects (except for my 2 year old grandson) so super speed focusing doesn't really matter either. For my purposes it's a great system. Bottom line, I'm happy with my prints. Everyone's different. Rent a Fuji, or a Sony, see how it feels, do the math on cost and weight, you'll make the right decision for you and that's all that matters.
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Zorki5

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2016, 11:56:26 pm »

95% of the shots are taken with a 24- 85mm lens and I have longer and shorter zooms to compliment when needed.  I'm thinking that surely there must be something out there which matches the IQ but without the bulk?

Downsized from 5Dm2 + 24-105/4 and other L glass to Sony a6000 + Sony/Zeiss 16-70/4 and can't be happier -- it's a third of weight with better IQ and AF. Same applies to Sony 10-18/4 vs Canon 16-35/2.8 II.

Longer reach can be a problem though; I still have to lug around 70-300 DO + Metabones IV whenever I need something really long... The new Sony 70-300 might be the answer (haven't tried it myself though), but it's not as compact as it could have been were it an APS-C lens. So if longer reach (longer than 105mm in FF terms) is more important to you than I think based on the OP, you may want to look elsewhere: at Fuji or even m43.
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razrblck

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #5 on: June 29, 2016, 07:19:09 am »

A friend of mine used for some time a Fuji X10 and recently upgraded to a OM-D E-M5 with the 12-50mm and he's extremely happy with it. He's keeping his Nikon DSLRs for sports, but if you don't need that then you can either go for the Fuji or Olympus systems as both have plenty of lenses to choose from and have all the features you might dream of. Sony is nice, but lens selection is not the best. Though, you could go for a Sony a7 with Leica M glass.
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stamper

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #6 on: June 29, 2016, 08:03:06 am »

A friend of mine used for some time a Fuji X10 and recently upgraded to a OM-D E-M5 with the 12-50mm and he's extremely happy with it. He's keeping his Nikon DSLRs for sports, but if you don't need that then you can either go for the Fuji or Olympus systems as both have plenty of lenses to choose from and have all the features you might dream of. Sony is nice, but lens selection is not the best. Though, you could go for a Sony a7 with Leica M glass.

I agree about the OM-D E-M5 with the 12-50mm . I down sized from Nikon DSLR'S to the smaller outfit but not sure if anyone making a living will find it "professional" enough?

scooby70

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #7 on: June 29, 2016, 08:30:03 am »

The Sony A7 series offers FF quality and (largely) excellent lenses.

I prefer primes to zooms myself and I'm very happy with my 1st gen A7 and 35mm f2.8, 55mm f1.8 and old film era lenses. I also have the 28-70mm kit lens and it seems to be very good.

I also have Panasonic MFT and the cameras and lenses are excellent and of course compact. All of the primes I have seem to be very good and the 12-35mm f2.8 seems to be an outstanding zoom. Actually even the kit lenses seem to be good and sharp wide open. They're perfectly acceptable if you can live with the standard typical f3.5-5.6 aperture range.
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razrblck

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Re: Downsizing the digital
« Reply #8 on: June 29, 2016, 09:08:22 am »

I agree about the OM-D E-M5 with the 12-50mm . I down sized from Nikon DSLR'S to the smaller outfit but not sure if anyone making a living will find it "professional" enough?

My friend is using it as his main camera, that means journalism and weddings. He is comparing it to the relatively old D700 and D2Xs he owns, but the results have been good enough to make him consider a full switch to m43.
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