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So, new camera ideas welcomed

Joe Hutch

Joe Hutch

Mate of the bloke
What type (DSLR, mirrorless, medium format), what brand, or am I just entering a world of pain and should just stick to my iPhone?

Back story: I have an ancient Pentax DSLR which has finally died on me. It hasn't had much use of late, partly because of lockdown, partly because it was a bit heavy to lug around.

Ideas:

a) I could just get a new Pentax DSLR body and re-use the lens,

b) I could go mirrorless, but that would have to be a a different make

c) I could push the boat out and go for a medium format camera

The Leica Q2 appeals, but it's expensive and my photographic skills probably don't merit that amount of money. But I could be persuaded. I'm very easily led, as my teachers were constantly telling me.
 
I have a couple of Olympus M4/3 cameras* and they have three main merits:

Value for money: produce very respectable results considering the smaller sensor size compared to much more pricey full frame.
Size and weight: the most convenient 'real' cameras I have ever owned, carrying body + 2 or 3 lenses in a small bag is relatively painless.
Ease of use: I found the Olympus system a cinch to tame to get a setup I wanted and the body/button ergonomics perfect IME.

BUT.... my iPhone takes very decent snaps ... and I would have it with me anyway.
Also - no bag at all required, or even a pocket.

Went for a short walk along the river today (about 25C) - guess which I took with me ;)

* I have also had a couple of Panasonic M4/3 - they were good, but both developed faults.
 
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I bought a Panasonic GX80 earlier this year because (1) I was very impressed with the results a friend got with his M43 (2) I didn’t think my skills merited a vast amount of money either (3) I didn’t wan’t to walk around with a ‘look at me!’ camera and the GX80 and supplied lens could just about be forced into a (large) jacket pocket.

I also went for a walk this afternoon and took the GX80 with 42.5mm Voigtländer. There’s a picture posted elsewhere I took with it that I don’t think my phone would have managed. Although I did have that with me too.
 
Joe Hutch said:
It hasn't had much use of late, partly because of lockdown, partly because it was a bit heavy to lug around.
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RULE #1) The best camera is the one, which you carry with you.

RULE #2) The best camera in the world is no use to you, if it sits on the shelf.

RULE #3) The investment is in the glass, not the camera. (digital cameras are essentially disposable, as spares quickly become unavailable over time - but the lenses can be used for a very long time)

OK, so after those 3 important bits, what else do you need to consider?

a) what type of pictures do you take?
Is it just family, street and landscapes? Or do you want to capture sport or wildlife? - the former can be shot with anything, but the latter will need long telephoto lenses and ultrafast focus
Will you be taking pictures mostly in daytime or is low light/night photography important? - anything will do the former, but you would need a full frame camera with decent low light capability (and low noise) to do the latter.

b) how big will you enlarge the photo (either on screen or in print)?
If it's only for on-screen or smallish prints (up to A3), pretty much any decent camera will do. If you want to print billboards, you will need digital Medium Format

c) how much do you want to spend?

My daily camera is my Leica M10 and old 1980s 35/1.4 Summilux (you could substitute a Viogtlander 35/1.4 MC or SC for much less money). It goes with me every day and everywhere. It can even sit in a jacket pocket. If you want a cheaper MFT alternative, try an Olympus OMD with a pancake lens for a fraction of the cost.

Sure, I have other cameras too - far too many as SWMBO would say with a MF Leica S006 and a newer SL2 with different lenses. But they come out, when I want to shoot concerts, sport or portraits. You could substitute a different MF (eg Fuji), high end mirrorless (eg Sony A7 or A1) or high end SLR instead. But I suspect that you wouldn't carry any of these along on a daily basis.

PS I hate complex menus on modern cameras, as I like to shoot old fashioned with control over shutter speed and aperture (as well as manual focus, although modern autofocus is a boon).
 
Sony A7c with Sony 35mm f1.8, but only suggested because that's what I use. It's small, full frame, good battery and has excellent eye tracking AF.

I got sick of carrying around my DSLR, but didn't want to compromise picture quality, so I now have the little Sony on a wrist strap whenever we go anywhere (rather than round my neck).
 
For me the look of images from M43 cameras is very similar to an iphone, so not worth the extra effort to carry. Obviously they are vastly better if shooting telephoto, but most of the time I shoot in the 35mm-50mm focal length range.

My current preferred digital camera is a Nikon Z6 with the super compact 40mm f2 lens. This setup is only marginally larger than a M43 camera and has superb ergonomics. You should be able to get a used Z6 for a good price. I don’t see the need to get the latest model.

The best bang for buck option would be a used Canon DSLR, paired with the 40mm pancake for a compact setup. There are loads of these cameras on the used market and not much demand.
 
If the Leica Q2 appeals, then a Fuji X100 series camera should be on your radar (along with the Ricoh GR - to keep in the Pentax family!) or a Sony RX1.

A Fuji X100V won't be a Leica Q2 but it goes some way towards it, and the conversion lenses add some flexibility.
 
Joe Hutch said:
What type (DSLR, mirrorless, medium format), what brand, or am I just entering a world of pain and should just stick to my iPhone?

Back story: I have an ancient Pentax DSLR which has finally died on me. It hasn't had much use of late, partly because of lockdown, partly because it was a bit heavy to lug around.

Ideas:

a) I could just get a new Pentax DSLR body and re-use the lens,

b) I could go mirrorless, but that would have to be a a different make

c) I could push the boat out and go for a medium format camera

The Leica Q2 appeals, but it's expensive and my photographic skills probably don't merit that amount of money. But I could be persuaded. I'm very easily led, as my teachers were constantly telling me.
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I think you'll need to make some priorities.

Size and weight. If the old Pentax and lenses are too bulky to lug, then you'll not want to go medium format. It's always bigger and heavier.

Suggesting Leica and MF however sounds like you'd like stunning picture quality. I'd point out that at anything under an A4 blow up, you'll be pushed to see the difference the MF sensor is making over any high res FF mirrorless or DSLR In fact if you go over 36Mp with a FF sensor it's very very close.
FF it is IMO.

Your stated lack of photo skills? Is that you preferring to have ease of use, or do you really not get some of the technical stuff? Either way, making sure you use a system you like will be important.

This seems to be pointing at a Full Frame mirrorless DSLR that has been designed for ease of use but with a large sensor and quality lenses available, from a maker whose menus and controls you enjoy using?

The lowest mark in all that would be Nikon's 24mp FF D5. Light, lovely lenses, designed for ease of use, great colour from the sensor and inexpensive compared to most.
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-z5-review
 
andrewd said:
For me the look of images from M43 cameras is very similar to an iphone, so not worth the extra effort to carry.
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Afraid I have to disagree with that in every respect bar the size/weight thing I mentioned above.

iPhones make very decent snaps - but are not much use beyond that. Ergonomically they are absolute pants IMV - too much pratting about with a touch screen that can be a pain to even see in some circumstances.

And try as I might, I have not been able to mount a single one of my lens collection on the damn thing ..... :D
 
Thanks all, some useful ideas there. I'm coming round to the view that ease of use and portability will go a lot towards greater use, so I'm leaning away from medium format. Also, sanity has intervened and I think a Leica Q2 would be wasted on me.

So it's currently narrowing down to a Fuji X100V which seems to tick the portability/usability boxes (though these seem to be unobtainium at the moment), the Nikon that Rocky mentioned and the Sony that Fatmarley uses. Ideally I would try anything I intended to buy; fortunately there's three camera shops within reasonably easy reach so I should be able to do that without too much hassle.
 
miktec said:
iPhones make very decent snaps - but are not much use beyond that.
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They are surprisingly good. And you can print to a decent size from them. You have to stick to their strengths obviously. Their weaknesses are much the same as the M43 in that dynamic range isn't as good as most of the other bits and pieces mentioned.

Some off the old Pentax glass is lovely. Their 'limited' series range of primes were lovely.

The Q2 is a fabulous thing but I used my phone in much the same way and likewise my Fuji X100v. The medium format Fuji GFX100s makes lovely images but the lenses are huge. I rather liked using the Leica M10 and an old 50mm f1.4. Very tactile. But then so is my Nikon Df with Voigtlander 40mm f2 at a fraction of the cost.

It really does depend what you are going to use it for and how much you enjoy the actual experience of taking photos. Most of my cameras have been bought for the pleasure to be found in actually using them for what they were made to do. Some of the cameras I'ver used are just efficient tools that don't impart a huge amount of pleasure.
 
I've only ever really had one camera at a time; a Russian SLR (name forgotten*) that was stolen; a Pentax ME film camera that developed (no pun intended) a fault, and finally the Pentax DSLR which is at the end of its useful life. I did my own developing and printing, but that was many years ago.

The problem for me is tyranny of choice; every time I read a review of a camera I think 'Yes, that's the one!', then I see another review of a different camera and I'm back in a whirlpool of indecision. But lightness, ease of use and weatherproofing are looking like the 'must haves' at the moment. There's no rush, so I'll carry on with market research.

Thanks for all the advice!

* Zenit, that's the name. My brother had a Praktica.
 
Joe Hutch said:
Thanks all, some useful ideas there. I'm coming round to the view that ease of use and portability will go a lot towards greater use, so I'm leaning away from medium format. Also, sanity has intervened and I think a Leica Q2 would be wasted on me.

So it's currently narrowing down to a Fuji X100V which seems to tick the portability/usability boxes (though these seem to be unobtainium at the moment), the Nikon that Rocky mentioned and the Sony that Fatmarley uses. Ideally I would try anything I intended to buy; fortunately there's three camera shops within reasonably easy reach so I should be able to do that without too much hassle.
Click to expand...

Glad you've managed to narrow it down a bit ... must admit I've found this thread quite interesting and have immediately looked up reviews and pricing;)

I've been toying with the idea of FF for a good few years now but it's only really since the move to mirrorless and the 'lightening-up' it entails that it's become really an interesting proposition for me.
Fuji have always had a strong pull and the reviews on Rockwell's site are tempting me to try the 100F rather than the 100V - partly because of the supply issues but also the seeming lack of pushable buttons on the 100V (I do likes a pushable button :D)
Obviously, in the back of my mind is the thinking - 'to hell with it - just get a Leica' which fortunately I manage to quash every time.

The other nagging doubt is that actually I find the FF fetish sometimes a bit overhyped ... and the downer some have on smaller sensors a bit overstated, having used M4/3 for some time now, I just don't buy it. Obviously, If you are looking to print poster size or are an exhibiting/professional photographer the whole game changes ... but I'm not, I'm an occasional amateur whose images will likely not get further than flickr or amongst family and friends - if it looks good on screen, fine by me.

Incidentally - one of the main downsides I find to reviews like Rockwell's and DPR are the sample images - bar the occasional exception, most of them are dull and tedious taken to the extreme.


EDIT: - further reading - missed that the 100F is actually APS-C... so that's off the list - doh
 
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Yes, it was a bit of a beast. I'm trying to remember when/where it was stolen. I know I took it with me on a holiday in mid-Wales in the late '70s, and I've got the photos from that holiday, so it must have been later than that.
 
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