Another Downsizing Question...

topcatproduction

topcatproduction

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Hi all, I have read a few similar posts on here but I am completely un-knowledgeable in the mini(?)DSLR world, apart from knowing there are somethings called G10's and 11's etc!

I have a Canon 40D with some good lenses and like everything I own I love to have good stuff! Unfortunately I use it maybe once a month, less and less it seems, and like others have said I find it inconvenient having to take a whole bag of lenses etc out not knowing what you may need when you go on holiday for example, and miss great potential shots whereas if I had a smaller camera I would have it with me far more often.

The other thing that bugs me is that I have the upgrade syndrome- when I got my 40D, 10-22, 17-70 and 70-300 lenses I thought they were a perfect line up, but now I'm pining after a 7D, 24-70 and 100-400L!!! As I use it all so little it makes no sense forking out thousands for all this great stuff.

Can I have some sugestions as to what camera I should go and look at? If it had a permanently attached lens with really good range it would stop me buying more lenses and keep me under control, unfortunately I LOVE my 10-22 so wide angle is a must, and I also find 300mm too short at times, I really use the whole range. It also needs to have aperture & shutter control, I cant go right back to a p&s! I'm assuming the latest cameras have really good high ISO etc too, as my 40D is showing its age now with 1600 being the highest I would ever use, (I played with a 5DII the other week and was shooting at silly high ISO which was incredible!)

Sorry for the long post but I would really appreciate some help in chosing a good replacement that I will use way more than my current (beloved) 40D!
 
I can't be overly helpful in guiding you. But I'm assuming you're talking about the Panasonic G10 so I can say that the crop factor on those cameras is x2 Vs x1.6 on the 40D, so a quick comparison would be that the lenses on offer would be;

- 7-14mm which is 14-28mm equivalent so a bit wider than your 10-20mm/16-32mm.

-100-300mm, 200-600mm compared to max reach of 480mm with a 300 mm lens on your body.
 
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Another quick Q- when looking at cameras is there an easy way to work out what the zoom equates to- i.e. 6x ? I guess it means 6x normal length- and there is no way to know what the widest angle is unless they state it in the spec?
 
m1pui said:
I can't be overly helpful in guiding you. But I'm assuming you're talking about the Panasonic G10 so I can say that the crop factor on those cameras is x2 so a quick comparison would be that the lenses on offer would be;

- 7-14mm which is 14-28mm equivalent so a bit wider than your 10-20mm/16-32mm.

-100-300mm, 200-600mm compared to max reach of 480mm with a 300 mm lens on your body.
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Canon also make a G10/11/12 series, which are cameras with compact sized sensors but full manual controls and RAW shooting.

Perhaps a panasonic GF1 and some lenses to go alongside your 40D would be best? If you're still hankering after upgrades, you're not going to be happy with just a more compact camera. A lot of people now have smaller SLDs to complement their DSLRs for exactly the same reason as you, to have something they can take everywhere.

If a camera gives it's zoom in ratio (i.e 3x or 6x), it's going to be a compact or bridge camera, so probably not up to what you'd be wanting.
 
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You should be able to find the wide/tele range with a bit of googling, usually manufacturers only explicitly mention them if it's a feature of the camera (ie. SUPER-WIDE 28mm, etc). I think What Camera magazine usually publishes them in their reviews/listings though.
 
Thanks- I know I'm not expecting the quality to be as good as with my 40D, but I think its going to be more the case that if I dont have a big DSLR then I won't be hankering after better quality- I never get anything printed over A4 size and think being able to take it everywhere with me will be far more useful than having better quality. I don't shoot sports or racing really now as I'm never blown away by the results with my 70-300 at full stretch, and a smaller camera should be fine with low ISO landscape and people shots?

Is the G12 a good camera in most peoples eyes? I see the lens is 35mm equivalent of 28-140mm f/2.8-4.5 which isn't too bad, and another bonus is video which I haven't had the luxury of with my DSLR's yet.
 
squishy said:
Canon also make a G10/11/12 series, which are cameras with compact sized sensors but full manual controls and RAW shooting.
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Yeah, I had a Canon G10 before I got my GF-1, it was the mention of G11 that had me unsure which he meant, although theres no Panny G11 afaik, so I took my assumption by the op saying 'mini-dslr' before he mentioned them and went down that route. Think I took the wrong path though in hindsight lol

Edit: I have to say, I was very happy with my G10 when I had it. Sort of echoing what you said in the original post, when you don't have the option to have possibly used a different lens, you don't rue the fact that you might not have had it with you so much
 
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You could do what I've done...

I keep my DSLR for dedicated photography days out and I use my GF1 + 20mm f1.7 or LX5 for everything else.

Years ago many of us had a camera and just one lens and the GF1+20mm seems to be pretty much the modern interpretation and if you really want to limit the size and weight of your camera something like the LX5 offeres decent quality.
 
m1pui said:
Edit: I have to say, I was very happy with my G10 when I had it. Sort of echoing what you said in the original post, when you don't have the option to have possibly used a different lens, you don't rue the fact that you might not have had it with you so much
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Thats exactly what I was hoping! I have to say looking at the G12 online it looks ideal for me, just wondering if it might be worth finding out when the G13 will be coming along and what extra it may offer over the G12...
 
Any attempt to sell up, then buy (new), then sell up again will result in heavy losses. We had lots of it on this forum alone.

Best keep what you have if you plan using it at all.

And, no, you won't be happy happy with just a compact once you've used dSLR with all these lenses.
 
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