Advice Needed NEW CAMERA?

droj said:
I think that wildlife is the odd person out here, in that it tends to need much longer focal lengths, thus is a bit specialised. But of course a lens for that can be got later.

Things like 'good in low light' are relative. Yes bigger sensors are better - hence the APS-C format is likely better than the M43 of the Olympus mentioned. But it's also generational - cameras across the board from the last 5 years, say, are incrementally better in that regard than cameras from 10 or more years ago.

A wider aperture lens, eg f/2.8 rather than f/5.6, will gather more light when wide open, but at wider apertures exact focus becomes more critical.

Thus I'd probably counsel going with your current choice of body with 'kit' zoom, since you seem to like it. Have you handled it? The alternative might be something like this (bigger sensor but still quite compact - has a mirror, though, but I wouldn't worry about that) - https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camer...18-55-mm-f-3-5-5-6g-vr-lens-10156610-pdt.html

Does that blow the budget? Other issues are how a given camera / lens combo fit your hands and eyesight, and how its controls and menus (far too many of those these days!) fit your brain. Definitely handle and look through what you're after. The menus etc will have to come later!
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Thank you for showing that as a dslr comparison. Having held the Olympus I did like the way it felt. Everything seemed accessible and easily controlled.
 
WD40 said:
If you plan to shoot children running around, you will need 1/1000 sec shutter speed. If your aperture setting is smaller than, say F2.8, you will need a lot of light to prevent noise- even in FF format. If your kids are running around on the beach in the sun, great - you can have 1,250 sec at F5.6 and a crop sensor will look virtually identical to a FF. However, if they are charging around in a colourful, equally picturesque -but-cloudy autumnal setting, you might need F1.4 at ISO2000 to get 1/1000 shutter. This is when noise handling becomes important.
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Wauv you must have a very low tolerance for noise. Do you have your images Up @ 100% zoom by default? :exit::LOL: And those settings seems pretty extreme. I never needed such for my kids not even at full speed
 
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Roxanne Withy said:
I absolutely love the XTs. But interesting that you’ve said about the slow lens. Makes me feel better about not being able to buy one
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A lot of people really like the Fujis. I didn’t get on with them but they do make really nice lenses. If you could find an XT with the 18-55mm f2.8-4 that would be a nice setup, but just bear in mind that if you want to expand your kit then the lenses tend to be on the pricier side.
 
soeren said:
Wauv you must have a very low tolerance for noise. Do you have your images Up @ 100% zoom by default? :exit::LOL: And those settings seems pretty extreme. I never needed such for my kids not even at full speed
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What a load of cobblers ,have a look at some of my kingfisher shots at 6400 iso and taken on a lens of minimum f6.3 on the omd1-mkii .
Roxanne look at the Olympus thread in this section see what actual users are saying and make your own mind up
 
Roxanne Withy said:
I absolutely love the XTs. But interesting that you’ve said about the slow lens. Makes me feel better about not being able to buy one
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I think we need to know your budget limit to offer the best suggestions really
 
Aslo you mention Wildlife- that's a long lens requirement - any in mind?

I shoot lots of wildlife and the longer focal length the better IMHO also shoot with a mirrorless camera Sony a7Rii

Les :)
 
snerkler said:
A lot of people really like the Fujis. I didn’t get on with them but they do make really nice lenses. If you could find an XT with the 18-55mm f2.8-4 that would be a nice setup, but just bear in mind that if you want to expand your kit then the lenses tend to be on the pricier side.
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The cost of expanding my range of lenses is what is steering me more towards the Olympus rather than the XTs
 
Roxanne Withy said:
At this point I’m looking at around £500
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Then forget my suggestions Roxanne, the camera alone was £1,500 and my lens Sony 100-400mm was £2,500 then add a Sony 1,4x teleconverter @ £500- Photography is expensive, very expensive

At your price point maybe look at a high end Bridge camera with a high mag digital zoom??? Like this Sony with a 63x digital zoom, obviously other brands are available :)

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/digital-ca...fQ==&msclkid=7c084ff2628614f5f9b212334ed0ea66

Les :)
 
Lez325 said:
Then forget my suggestions Roxanne, the camera alone was £1,500 and my lens Sony 100-400mm was £2,500 then add a Sony 1,4x teleconverter @ £500- Photography is expensive, very expensive

At your price point maybe look at a high end Bridge camera with a high mag digital zoom??? Like this Sony with a 63x digital zoom, obviously other brands are available :)

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/digital-ca...fQ==&msclkid=7c084ff2628614f5f9b212334ed0ea66

Les :)
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You got me all excited with that suggestion Les ha ha! It’s also really useful to see what is suggested regardless of budget.
 
Roxanne Withy said:
You got me all excited with that suggestion Les ha ha! It’s also really useful to see what is suggested regardless of budget.
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Sorry Roxanne :( I shoot mostly wildlife- ( some portraits and a few weddings a year) so maybe that's what caught my eye in your original post

Have a click on my Flickr link- see what I do and with the camera mentioned

Les :)
 
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Roxanne Withy said:
At this point I’m looking at around £500
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At the moment on Camera Jungle you can get a Fuji XT-20 with the 16-50 lens for £443 using the 20% off code 'WE20' - you can always save on side to upgrade the lens to the 18-55 2.8-4 in time, the 16-50 is perfectly fine for getting to know the camera. Or just buy the XT-20 at £330 using the same code and seek out a cheap used 18-55. I've seen them go on here for little over £200

On the same site you could have an em10 mkII with the Panasonic 12-32 pancake kit lens and a 40-150 zoom for £360
 
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Lez325 said:
Then forget my suggestions Roxanne, the camera alone was £1,500 and my lens Sony 100-400mm was £2,500 then add a Sony 1,4x teleconverter @ £500- Photography is expensive, very expensive

At your price point maybe look at a high end Bridge camera with a high mag digital zoom??? Like this Sony with a 63x digital zoom, obviously other brands are available :)

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/digital-ca...fQ==&msclkid=7c084ff2628614f5f9b212334ed0ea66

Les :)
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Plenty of interchangeable lens camera options at the OP's price point without needing to go for a bridge (y)
 
Cagey75 said:
At the moment on Camera Jungle you can get a Fuji XT-20 with the 16-50 lens for £443 using the 20% off code 'WE20' - you can always save on side to upgrade the lens to the 18-55 2.8-4 in time, the 16-50 is perfectly fine for getting to know the camera. Or just buy the XT-20 at £330 using the same code and seek out a cheap used 18-55. I've seen them go on here for little over £200

On the same site you could have an em10 mkII with the Panasonic 12-32 pancake kit lens and a 40-150 zoom for £360
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I've seen Olly 12-40's going on forums for around £350, then under £200 for the EM10-II so only just over budget. Buying from store would put the OP well over budget though.

Quick look around suggests you can get used XT10 and 18-55mm f2.8-4 under budget. It just comes down to price of expanding the system.
 
snerkler said:
I've seen Olly 12-40's going on forums for around £350, then under £200 for the EM10-II so only just over budget. Buying from store would put the OP well over budget though.

Quick look around suggests you can get used XT10 and 18-55mm f2.8-4 under budget. It just comes down to price of expanding the system.
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They can't enter classified here yet, and you'd be waiting on those specific items to come at those very prices. CJ have 20% off now as I said, and with them you get some warranty.
 
Cagey75 said:
They can't enter classified here yet, and you'd be waiting on those specific items to come at those very prices. CJ have 20% off now as I said, and with them you get some warranty.
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No point buying what they don’t want though :p
 
snerkler said:
No point buying what they don’t want though :p
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Xt20 mentioned by the OP and the em10mkIII - the II is much the same camera only arguably better. [Value, and build]

I would try bump the budget a little, get the XT20 and a used 18-55 personally, but it's not my decision, just suggesting ;)
 
the black fox said:
What a load of cobblers ,have a look at some of my kingfisher shots at 6400 iso and taken on a lens of minimum f6.3 on the omd1-mkii .
Roxanne look at the Olympus thread in this section see what actual users are saying and make your own mind up
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Eh what?? Must have quoted the wrong post here :LOL: We agree on this one though
 
goldtop said:
Surely the EM10 mk2/mk3 with a faster-than-kit lens and the IBIS would be great in low light?
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Out of the Mark ii and iii do you prefer. I looked at the specifications and there’s really not much in it. Do they have the same lens connection?
 
Roxanne Withy said:
Out of the Mark ii and iii do you prefer. I looked at the specifications and there’s really not much in it. Do they have the same lens connection?
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I tried the mk3 in a shop. Liked it, went back and checked the spec and decided the mk2 was fine. Then I waited to find a good used one (I rarely buy new). Got distracted and ended up with something completely different (Sony A7 ii). So I'm not the best to ask for hands-on experience.

Yes - same lens mounts and functionality.
 
Cagey75 said:
Xt20 mentioned by the OP and the em10mkIII - the II is much the same camera only arguably better. [Value, and build]

I would try bump the budget a little, get the XT20 and a used 18-55 personally, but it's not my decision, just suggesting ;)
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I don't think you could go wrong with either tbh (unless you're like me about Fuji ;))
 
Roxanne Withy said:
Out of the Mark ii and iii do you prefer. I looked at the specifications and there’s really not much in it. Do they have the same lens connection?
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yes all the lens connections are the same . both Panasonic and Olympus MFT lenses are the same fit .. you might get a couple of functions that don't work by changing makes though .. you can also buy adaptors to take old manual focus lenses from film days and these are often bargains ..
 
woof woof said:
Some Micro Four Thirds lenses are available at fairly reasonable prices on the used market, most of my lenses were bought used, it's a system that definitely deserves a close look. The Sony A6000 might be worth a look too and again some of the lenses are relatively cheap.

Other than that I'm a fan of the Sony A7 which is a FF mirrorless camera which can be found at reasonable prices and with old film era primes can be a very cheap way into FF. Adapters can be found for £10-20 and a set made up of a 28mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8 and 135mm f3.5 or f2.8 could very possibly cost under £100, if manual focus is practical for your usage. You'd need to find a cheap A7 mk1 though to keep the budget down.
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Personally I found the A7ii added enough extra features that it proved the better option, for FF. With the Techart Pro added it can manage AF with those legacy lenses. The Techart IS expensive compared to dumb adapters, but it can be a later upgrade.

If the A7ii is too expensive, I've also found the much cheaper Nex6 (2012, APSC, with the same mount) very good for adapting lenses. Any of the A6000 series should be an improvement.

I don't have much experience with Olympus models all my MFT bodies have been Panasonics. I frequently use them in preference to the larger sensor models, but this is probably due to a much larger selection of affordable native lenses. Despite having 2 Sony mirrorless cameras I still haven't got a single e-mount lens! Getting a native telephoto for the A7ii would cost about the same as all 8 native MFT lenses I have. o_O
 
the black fox said:
yes all the lens connections are the same . both Panasonic and Olympus MFT lenses are the same fit .. you might get a couple of functions that don't work by changing makes though .. you can also buy adaptors to take old manual focus lenses from film days and these are often bargains ..
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That’s really good to know. What connection is it?
 
Roxanne Withy said:
That’s really good to know. What connection is it?
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Both Olympus & Panasonic use 'Micro Four thirds' lens mounts.
Often abbreviated MFT, M43, or M4/3 (personally I hate M43 as it's too similar to the old M42)
There are quite a few third party lenses too, but many of these are manual.
In addition just about any SLR or rangefinder lens can be adapted if you can cope with manual focusing etc.

I've even used mine with astronomy telescopes for a cheap 500mm f/5.6, & 1000mm f/8 etc. (both under £100 but very unwieldy).
 
Roxanne Withy said:
I absolutely love the XTs. But interesting that you’ve said about the slow lens. Makes me feel better about not being able to buy one
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I don't think any of the X-Tn or X-Tnn series have IBIS yet. Of the Fujis, only the spendy X-H1 has that.

So I'd definitely get along to a shop and see if the Oly's IBIS allows you to get the low-light results you want when hand-held.
 
Why choose Olympus over other makes /brands/models ,quite simple really they are lightweight ,and despite having a smaller sensor produce shots that have the oomph factor , lenses once you understand and know what your looking for are lighter and cheaper than anything the other brands make with NO loss of image quality even in low light situations .
There are plenty of adaptors on the market to fit almost any make /type of lens to them and finally the results speak for themselves just look in the Olympus dedicated section on here
 
the black fox said:
Why choose Olympus over other makes /brands/models ,quite simple really they are lightweight ,and despite having a smaller sensor produce shots that have the oomph factor , lenses once you understand and know what your looking for are lighter and cheaper than anything the other brands make with NO loss of image quality even in low light situations .
There are plenty of adaptors on the market to fit almost any make /type of lens to them and finally the results speak for themselves just look in the Olympus dedicated section on here
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Think you should have included Panasonic in that statement
 
Yes indeed but as the O.P has shown interest in Olympus from the start and other posters have attempted to divert her I have just pointed out the good points of sticking to her guns
 
Roxanne Withy said:
Out of the Mark ii and iii do you prefer. I looked at the specifications and there’s really not much in it. Do they have the same lens connection?
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For what it's worth - I had an E-M10 mark I - I held out for the Mark III but when it was announced apart from being much more expensive it didn't have anything that the Mark II didn't already have (better stabilisation over the Mki, Better viewfinder).
It added 4K video (I don't shoot video) It dropped a few features that I didn't care about either - support for multiple flash units IIRC?
I also considered the PEN-F but it's so much more expensive and in many ways similar to the E-M10ii - it's a cute camera but the extra expense wasn't justifiable to me.

The E-M10ii and iii both have a built in pop up flash - I rarely use it but when you're forced to take a family portrait in shade against a bright scene or indoors with a slow lens it's incredibly useful to just pop it up. This is a minority view, but to me having the flash built in was important.
Neither the E-M1 or E-M5 have one though at least the M5 has a small unit bundled.
My first Olympus E-PL5 had a separate flash and I never had it with me when I needed it so I don't think I ever used it.

The Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens is very expensive - compared to the kit 14-42mm lenses or some of the smaller fixed focal length lenses like the Panasonic f1.7 25mm.
It's also a big heavy lens - in comparison to the E-M10 body and the other multi purpose zoom lenses for micro 4/3rds.
Both those reasons kept me from adding it to my kit, though I added a bunch of other prime lenses.
I recently found a good used one and to be honest I'm using it most of the time and wish I'd bought it earlier.

The E-M10ii with the 14-42mm EZ pancake lens is still very capable and is much smaller and lighter to carry so I wouldn't discount that either.

I'm not in a position to comment on other systems, but for me the E-M10ii and 12-40 PRO is exactly what fits for me as a hobbyist, general photographer and "Dad with camera" on holiday.

I put my images into Flickr albums based on the equipment - so you can look at what I've achieved with that body and the lens and the other primes and much cheaper 14-42mm EZ pancake lens here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/amcuk/albums/with/72157690187986182

The E-M10ii + 12-40 PRO used "excellent" at Camera Jungle will cost £748.44 + P&P - after the 20% off code £598.75 + P&P
The E-M10ii + 14-42mm EZ used "excellent" at Camera Jungle will cost £381.87 + P&P - £305.49 + P&P

I bought my E-M10ii from CJ and I'm happy almost 2 years later.
 
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AMcUK said:
For what it's worth - I had an E-M10 mark I - I held out for the Mark III but when it was announced apart from being much more expensive it didn't have anything that the Mark II didn't already have (better stabilisation over the Mki, Better viewfinder).
It added 4K video (I don't shoot video) It dropped a few features that I didn't care about either - support for multiple flash units IIRC?
I also considered the PEN-F but it's so much more expensive and in many ways similar to the E-M10ii - it's a cute camera but the extra expense wasn't justifiable to me.

The E-M10ii and iii both have a built in pop up flash - I rarely use it but when you're forced to take a family portrait in shade against a bright scene or indoors with a slow lens it's incredibly useful to just pop it up. This is a minority view, but to me having the flash built in was important.
Neither the E-M1 or E-M5 have one though at least the M5 has a small unit bundled.
My first Olympus E-PL5 had a separate flash and I never had it with me when I needed it so I don't think I every used it.

The Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 PRO lens is very expensive - compared to the kit 14-42mm lenses or some of the smaller fixed focal length lenses like the Panasonic f1.7 25mm.
It's also a big heavy lens - in comparison to the E-M10 body and the other multi purpose zoom lenses for micro 4/3rds.
Both those reasons kept me from adding it to my kit, though I added a bunch of other prime lenses.
I recently found a good used one and to be honest I'm using it most of the time and wish I'd bought it earlier.

The E-M10ii with the 14-42mm EZ pancake lens is still very capable and is much smaller and lighter to carry so I wouldn't discount that either.

I'm not in a position to comment on other systems, but for me the E-M10ii and 12-40 PRO is exactly what fits for me as a hobbiest, general photographer and "Dad with camera" on holiday.

I put my images into Flickr albums based on the equipment - so you can look at what I've achieved with that body and the lens and the other primes and much cheaper 14-42mm EZ pancake lens here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/amcuk/albums/with/72157690187986182

The E-M10ii + 12-40 PRO used "excellent" at Camera Jungle will cost £748.44 + P&P - after the 20% off code £598.75 + P&P
The E-M10ii + 14-42mm EZ used "excellent" at Camera Jungle will cost £381.87 + P&P - £305.49 + P&P

I bought my E-M10ii from CJ and I'm happy almost 2 years later.
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A similar lighter option to the Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 is the Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8 lens, this also has ois so can be used with bodies without ibis.
Its about the same price, slightly better than the 12-40 at the long end, but the Olympus has the edge at 12mm

Both are excellent and don't think you would be disappointed with either, between the two companies they have a wide range of excellent lenses.
 
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I'm a bit of a fan of MFT and I've been with the system since almost day one but I do have to say that there is imo a claim or two above which is simply not true and I'd urge people to remember that although they/we/even I may love and cherish MFT we have to be honest and truthful and objective and unbias as people may base buying decisions on what we say.

Soz to be a buzz kill.
 
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