😀 currently researching...
I've got an Olympus OM-D E-M1 (mk1) and a M.Zuiko 45mm (90mm 35mm equivalent) F1.8 prime lens, both in 'as new' condition, coming from MPB tomorrow. 😀
Meant to be a cracking lens with lots of BOKEH! I'll pick up a 25mm F1.8 and maybe the 14-42mm pancake lens later on.
My last proper camera was a Nikon D70!
Update!
The GX7 arrived and seemed pretty good, but there was a mark somewhere in the lens or CCD so it’s going back.
While the compactness of it was great, it felt a bit tricky to handle with my big hands. I may look into something a bit bigger but not full DSLR size. Pentax does appeal.
Are you keeping the M43 lens you got? Olympus OMD range might be worth a look, any M43 lens will fit. M1/M5/M10.
Actually my last proper camera was this Canon A1 35mm film camera I bought a few years back, did some film shots but not many.
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This came today - the body and lens look like they've never been used.
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Couple of shots straight out the camera whilst testing it, uploaded to my phone (and Google photos backup), with the 45mm f1.8, going to enjoy using this! I'd forgotten how much nicer it is using a proper camera vs a phone.
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That’s a great choice and looks minty 🙂👍🏼
Heh! My replacement, an OM D E M10 arrived yesterday! It seems to have some issues tho so it's probably going back but yes it's lovely.
Just checked the shutter count on the body, and yeah there's a reason it's in good nick! A little over 800 actuations! 😁
Interesting thread. I’ve also been dabbling a bit with photography over lockdown. Using a LUMIX LX15 (so quite similar to the RX100 the OP mentioned) and also thinking of “upgrading”. The kicker for me though is that it has to provide a noticeable improvement in image quality but still be small enough to fit in my handlebar bag along with my jacket or I’m unlikely to take it to the places where the nice pictures are.
I’m interested by the comment that mirrorless isn’t a big enough jump from the RX100. Was this based on image quality or user experience?
I’ve toyed with something like a Fuji XE* with a pancake lens (or even an X100* if I can live without interchangeable lenses). But again, will I really notice a difference in the images? I’m mostly interested in landscapes but landscape photographers all use much bigger cameras than I’m prepared to lug around.
I had a LUMIX FZ1000, with the 1" sensor, the autofocus was fantastic, great for birds in flight etc, though I didnt take many photos of them.Also it had 4k video
I wanted brighter pics so looked at DSLRs. For under £200 I could get a used 100D, which is small and light, but I reckon the autofocus isnt so good. Is it a 9 area system?
So could I get a Canon dslr with as good autofocus as the LUMIX, for £200?
^
So could I get a Canon dslr with as good autofocus as the LUMIX, for £200?
£200 for the body? (Assuming already have a fast 400mm Canon-friendly lens to match/better the FZ1000?)
@roverpig look at any camera on dpreview and you can compare images with others on its review page. The RX100 is surprisingly good, it's the user experience that gets better with a M43 camera I think.
Thanks @cynic-al The problem with that site is that all the images look pretty good. The ones from my LX10 look pretty much as good as anything, which would support the idea that all I’d gain from an “upgrade” would be a different user experience at the cost of a bigger camera and a lighter wallet.
Some of the pictures people post from a Fuji X series camera seem to be significantly sharper than anything I can get though, which is what had me looking at XE or X100 cameras (same sensor and processor as the XT cameras used by a lot of landscape photographers but a fair bit smaller).
Best not to get caught up in sharpness of the image as in good light most cameras of the type talked about in this thread will be very good and better to try and take better pictures rather than thinking a low depth of field shot of anything makes a good picture 🙂
To me it is about the feel of actually using a proper camera over a phone or a tiny little compact. The camera I enjoyed using the most was a Canon 20D (probably about £50 now!) which is a much lesser camera than what I have now but the images I got from it just seemed nicer.
Second to that was the X100 which again just felt right to use.
So if, for example, I blew a grand on a Fuji XE4 or X100V it wouldn’t actually produce noticeably sharper pictures than I get with my (1” sensor) LUMIX LX10. I’d just have a few more buttons to play with and a camera that is harder to slip in my bike bag.
I know what you mean about the user experience though. That LX10 doesn’t actually take pictures that are noticeably better than I could get with my iphone but it does give a bit more “creative control” and can get good shots in situations where the phone would struggle.
The problem with that site is that all the images look pretty good. The ones from my LX10 look pretty much as good as anything
Look again?
(Imagine the brush hairs are feathers)
But if you’re not looking for/not seeing IQ gains, then I’d agree with you that you wouldn’t gain anything by upgrading.
Best not to get caught up in sharpness of the image
+1.
Detail? Yes. But that’s only one metric of consideration when evaluating IQ and one that can be misleading when comparing images online (especially jpgs where in-camera and/or PP sharpening is applied, which can be utterly misleading. This is why I selected ‘RAW’ in the studio comparisons above)
In a former life I shot and printed wide format fine art photographs, so my needs are/were very particular as far as commercial work was concerned (and per my own interests in pushing for the best I could achieve)
Yet I now carry for hobby use and reference a compact zoom of 12mp. I’d be happy printing from that (scaled via RIP) on a ‘large’ canvas print. Well, not really because I dislike canvas prints, but my point being that unless your work is commercial then don’t sweat the pixel-peeping if all you’re doing is making canvas hobby prints or saving to instagram etc, just use a camera that you enjoy using, one that gets you close enough to your subject, and one that delivers consistent results with no ‘mush’.
For me, now, I look for
1 User-experience/interface/controls
2. Colour-accuracy
3. Dynamic-range
4. Corner-sharpness
Those 4 key-features of a camera are what I require to ensure success, as I use my images for painting reference. Any other considerations can be worked around.
For someone else, key features might be battery life, compactness, budget, superzoom, new toy-itis, etc etc. Everyone is different.
*edit - looking at those comparison shots, the LX10 lens seems to exhibit some major ‘purple-fringing’? Used to be a real bugbear of mine with quite a few compact zooms (have been through a few!), Powershots, Lumix etc.
Thanks @p7eaven I clearly need to spend a bit more time on that site. The brush images do illustrate what frustrates me a bit with the LX10. Full pictures are fine for my use and there is enough information in the raw files for me to have fun playing in Lightroom. Until I start cropping and then I wish there was a bit more detail.
Canon's 40mm prime is sharper than the 50mm and tiny. Lovely lens for anyone with a Canon DSLR.
I've always thought that the Olympus EPL3 pics look amazing for the price on DPreview.
I have a few cameras but sold my DSLR because I wanted something to put in my pocket when out walking. If buying another DSLR I'd want full frame so I could use older lenses.
I clearly need to spend a bit more time on that site.
😬 Be careful. Addictive, not always in a good way. It can tend towards developing a pixel-peeping habit and upgradeitis. Missing the bigger picture.
Until I start cropping and then I wish there was a bit more detail.
Cropping???? 😉
Learn to frame the shot better? It comes with practice and study. Not saying you are, but if you’re finding you’re doing a lot of cropping then this can clue you in to the fact you may be taking what I call ‘the carpet-bombing’ approach’ to photography. ie ‘framing a shot’ initially doesn’t mean fitting everything in the viewfinder and then getting home and ‘pulling out the good bits’, quite the opposite. It means framing the good bits and cutting out the need for cropping. I say this ad a former serial carpet-bomber. It got worse again for a while when I bought a large sensor compact! ‘gotta capture it all...’
ie if I try and photograph that song thrush on that branch with my measly compact zoom - then no amount of cropping is going to make it a useful image for anything other than the bin.
But I’d have to pay ££££££s for a decent zoom lens and body to get that thrush in full frame? And then maybe a hide. A decent tripod? Yes, but I don't take pictures of birds for a living, I just wanted to try out my camera/record a thrush. So no I won’t spend thousands on a diff lens and camera.
Ok, so what I’ll do instead is walk over to that starling who seems unconcerned with the proximity of my measly compact zoom
(Pentax MX-1. 100mm equiv, f3.5, 1/250sec, ISO100)
Now I can see feathers and colours in decent details, and even my hulking self reflected (along with the clouds) in his eye. No cropping required.
No way would I compare this 12MP compact zoom with a full frame DSLR or medium/large format back with decent glass on the front. But it’s ‘good enough’ to get the detail I require, I just try and work within it’s limitations.
In fact, with it’s F1.8-2.5 lens it puts in a good performance even up against a Fuji X100, no matter the sensor is a lot smaller, and I get a useful small zoom to boot. It’s about a combination that works for both the user and the camera.
Given the sensor-size an (say) Fuji X100 would no doubt bodyslam my MX-1 for pixel-peeping and low-light performance etc, as would a decent DSLR (naturally), but the MX-1 was/is no slouch and I much, much prefer using it to the RX100 that it replaced even though the RX100 had double the sensor-size and a smaller form.
I also find the MX-1’s colour-handling to be more to my liking. Something about the RX100 OOC images often seemed ‘unnatural’, difficult to put a finger on. They both score similarly on DXOMARK, IIRC.
As they say, it’s what works for you, ymmv etc.
*Edit ^ Wish I’d had my DSLR with a nifty fifty on me ready for that starling to enjoy lush bokeh. Well no I don’t, as I didn’t that day wish to lug all that weight around the beach, and I’m not looking to sell the image. As it was I enjoyed walking around the beach with a compact that takes better pics than my phone.
If I decide to go out just to take pics and nothing else, then I’ll enjoy carrying the DSLR in a Slingshot bag, along with the results. It’s a bit like going shopping on the bike. I enjoy it on the town bike, and hate it on the MTB. And vice-versa when going rock-hopping on the bike.
Well re reading this thread is not helping my indecision!
I was going to replace the dodgy OMD E M10 with the M10ii but am now in a rabbit-hole with the EX2. More pocket-able, IQ seems better, nicer to use, not sure of EVF adapts to aperture/ambient light and the (native) lenses are more expensive and no IS.
I should probably follow my own advice to noobs re bike buying: "it won't matter much".
Have to say the IS in the M1 body is amazing, will be perfect for getting a shot at the top of a climb when the HR is still in the 150's 😁
I wouldn't want to be without the in body IS.
What's needed for MTB action shots guys? Just some better than mobile phone type stuff really. I guess it needs to do burst/multiple pics so I can capture air time
What’s needed for MTB action shots guys? Just some better than mobile phone type stuff really. I guess it needs to do burst/multiple pics so I can capture air time
Probably still frames from video?
All depends what you want to achieve/final destination so ‘what’s needed’ varies to some degree (even ‘just better than a mob phone) depending on:
Commercial, hobby or social media?
What you can/wish to spend?
What you can/wish to carry?
How close do you ‘need’ to get to the action? (telephoto/zoom)
What limitations do you wish to live with/avoid? (happy with video stills or is the ‘thrill of capture’ a factor?
Do you need flash/will many shots be in dark woods? overcast weather?
Weatherproofing?
Etc etc. It’s a bit like the ‘what bike do I need for fast biking?’ question.
Mostly a social media thing but stills are not very clear as we record via phone.
Nothing spectacular needed, just 'ooooh that's cool'
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That for example was a still from video. I'd like it clearer than that.
Budget, no idea, £200? £300?
^ that shot, were you tracking the subject when recording? That can make a huge difference to the clarity/lessening of motion-blur. A gimbal also can help.
Rule out technique before looking elsewhere is a good rule of thumb
https://mashable.com/2015/09/28/epic-iphone-6s-plus-4k-video/?europe=true
What’s needed for MTB action shots guys?
Possibly a GoPro?
This was taken on a Samsung Note 9 (I think)
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These were taken with a Sony A77ii camera
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/4199/34637109262_2317207e65_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/4199/34637109262_2317207e65_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/ULLeR1 ]DSC00672[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr
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[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/4169/34666756311_da4593e85a_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/4169/34666756311_da4593e85a_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/UPobT2 ]DSC00652[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/85252658@N05/ ]davetheblade[/url], on Flickr
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P7ven -
Yes, a Canon Aps-c body only , around £200
What would be best for tracking/autofocus.??
^ alric, sorry not my field of expertise but this is a good resource (choose dates etc, older = more inexpensive, just be aware of condition/shutter-count)
https://www.dxomark.com/best-canon-cameras-for-sports
Maybe start with comparing a 60D and a 100D? (at first look they seems to be about the budget according to recently sold bodies on ebay)
You make some very good point @p7eaven. Thanks. Occasionally I’m cropping because I couldn’t physically get to where I needed to be for the shot, but in the vast majority of cases it’s because I didn’t frame it properly. Or I couldn’t work out how best to frame it until I got back home.
Working with the limitations of the camera is also part of the fun, I agree. I’ve never tried photographing birds but if I wanted to the lumix does have the option of controlling it from a decent distance with the phone. So, with burst mode, a tripod and a lot of patience it should be possible to get some decent shots. I’ll have to try it one day. That starling looks great by the way.
