Beginner Which Camera - Stills & Video?

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Hi All,

Apologies, n00b here.

I would like to buy a camera, with multi-purpose lens for:
- General family pics / portraits
- Sports Photography
- Video recording for both of the above

I would like to spend less then £1000 if possible.

What would you guys recommend ?

Thanks in advance,

NanuNanu
 
I'd say have a look at Panasonic GH4 (fast AF, one of the very best for video, very good for stills), Olympus OMD Em5-2 - also a jack of all trades and its optical stabilisation allows to shoot handheld video with nearly steadycam results. Sony A6000 is another good candidate - good AF, good video.
Provided you are not looking for pro-level autofocus for sports photography, any of the choices above would be great :) My personal choice would be Oly Em5- 2

 
Thanks for your reply Borsch,

I was starting to lose hope that anybody would reply. :)

Will have a look at those.
 
You're welcome!:)
I didn't say anything about "multipurpose lens" as there are multiple choices for each system, but I should add that the GH4 and Em5-2 (the micro 4/3 system) have a much larger lens selection compared to the Sony (NEX system).
 
Thanks again.

Somebody mentioned that Panasonic are re-branded Leica.
Do you know anything about that.
 
Thanks again.

Somebody mentioned that Panasonic are re-branded Leica.
Do you know anything about that.
I think its the other way round, one of the Leica P/S is a reworked Panasonic.but a lot of the Panny lenses are Leica branded.
 
Any views on the Leica V-LUX ?

Does it fall in this group?

"The Leica V-Lux (Typ 114) is a superzoom camera that features a 1"-type, 20.1 megapixel CMOS sensor along with an F2.8-4.0 25-400mm lens. The lens uses Panasonic's Depth-from-Defocus technology, which allows extremely fast autofocus speeds. The V-Lux is powered by a quad-core image processor which not only allows for fast performance, but also 4K video recording at 30fps. Photos can be composed on a 3" fully articulating 921k dot or an OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.4 million dots. The V-Lux also has built-in Wi-Fi with NFC for easy photo sharing via your smartphone."

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"The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 looks an awful lot like its predecessor, the GH3, but don't let that familiarity cloud the fact that this is one of the most capable stills/video cameras we've ever seen. Panasonic's message about listening to professional videographers is also familiar but the extent to which they're catered-for is unpredented on a camera with such a mass-market price tag.

Just like its predecessor, the GH4 wraps its sealed magnesium alloy body around a 16MP Four Thirds sensor. But that shouldn't be taken to mean that the GH4 is a minor update. The most striking difference is that the GH4 can capture 4K footage (both in the DCI 4K and UHD 4K resolutions), but the extent to which the GH4 supports a professional workflow is arguably just as significant.

The stills photographer using the GH4 benefits from a number of performance and usability improvements. Most obvious is a more capable shutter which can fire as quickly as 1/8000th seconds and syncs with flashes at up to 1/250th of a second. Continuous shooting is boosted to 12 frames per second, 7.5fps with continuous focus. Focus tracking should also improve, thanks to Panasonic's 'depth-from-defocus' (DFD) technology which attempts to assess how out-of-focus the lens is, based on profiles of how the company's lenses render out-of-focus regions.

But, as mentioned before, it's the video capabilities and the supporting features that make the GH4 such a striking camera. In addition to the 4K, the GH4 also includes focus peaking, two zebra settings (to highlight over-exposed regions) and control over Master Pedestal (black level) and luminance scale (16-255, 16-235 or 0-255). The camera can also generate color bars (for calibration) and the ability to express shutter speed and ISO in terms of shutter angle and gain. Not all of these additions will be useful to everyone (in fact I'd wager that nobody will make use of all the new features), but, whether your background is stills or video, the GH4 is likely to offer plenty of tools to support your video making."

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"Olympus has unveiled the OM-D E-M5 II. Picking up where its successor left off, the E-M5 II continues to offer weather sealing and 5-axis IS while adding a redesigned 16MP Four Thirds sensor and 5-axis image stabilization. The E-M5 II also boasts a 40MP high resolution shot mode, achieved by shifting the sensor in half-pixel steps and capturing eight images over a period of one second.

The E-M5 II also offers a built-in 2.36 million dot EVF, Wi-Fi and an articulating 3" 1.04 million dot touchscreen LCD. It's capable of 10 fps shooting with single AF (5 fps C-AF), as well as 1080/60p video capture with headphone and microphone jacks.

The camera will be bundled with a dust- and splashproof FL-LM3 flash. Other optional accessories launched for the E-M5 II include an HLD-8 dustproof and splashproof power battery holder and an EE-1 External Dot Sight, similar to the built-in sight on Olympus's SP100 superzoom. Also announced is a PT-EP13 Dedicated Underwater Case, capable of diving 45 meters with the E-M5 II. "

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Leica V-LUX has smaller sensor (ie poorer image quality, worse noise in low light - eg in indoor shots), no interchangeable lenses. GH4 and OMD are in different class imho. As is the A6000.

that Panasonic are re-branded Leica.
Panasonic have joined forces with Leica for some of their lenses (eg Panasonic-Leica 25mm 1.4) for m43 system, also Leica rebrands some of Panasonic's compacts and bridge cameras.
 
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Thanks again.

Somebody mentioned that Panasonic are re-branded Leica.
Do you know anything about that.
Leica make their own very expensive and high quality range of cameras, e.g. the classic M series rangefinders. So do Panasonic, e.g. the GH4.

However, Panasonic do feature a lot of Leica lenses on their cameras - made by Panasonic but the designs have to be approved, or improved, and then signed off by Leica before they can use the name. Then there are the cameras that both have in common : these are made by Panasonic but the equivalent Leicas have a slightly different design. An example would be the Lumix LX100 / Leica D-Lux 109.
 
Look at the Canon 760D, you can get it with kit lenses or forego the kit lens and get a long focal length superzoom perhaps. While it's larger than some of the micro four thirds cameras I find it's great for learning on, has much better AF and you're able to then tap into the considerably better lens range & support services from the bigger companies. Nikon will have an equivalent I'm sure but I'm just not familiar enough with their kit to comment.

The Sony A6300 is also nice.
 
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