Looking for a second hand compact camera - any suggestions? Canon G12?

wormishere

wormishere

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Mark
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Hi,

I am a total beginner to 'proper' photography and I have always relied on a automatic compact camera in the past.

As I want to move things forward I am going to need a camera that I can set up manually, perhaps then moving onto a DSLR if things go well.

I don't want to spend much, £100-150 ideally, so have been looking at Canon G12's on eBay. They seem to have good reviews and have all the features I anticipate I would need.

It is worth noting that I am probably going to be doing mostly still life or product photography in a 'studio' (home made) environment.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks
 
You might consider a Fuji X10. You can pick up a used one for that sort of money. Lovely little retro style camera. Very solid magnesium alloy build and has a comprehensive range of manual controls, a decent lens and will shoot RAW. It has a hot-shoe for a flash and I can thoroughly recommend it.
 
I have the G12. Love it. Did it help with me learning about photography? Yes. But whilst I love it, I am regularly up against its limitations these days. I've migrated onwards to dslr. I take the G12 abroad and in areas where a pocket camera is more subtle. My main "hate" is its low light performance but I love everything else. I bought an adaptor that allows me to add a circular polarising filter, and the 270EXII flash complements it's beautifully. Also bought a wrist strap rather than use a neck strap.

I would love to sell it and replace it with the G1X/G16 but neither have the fully articulating screen. I also love being able to change ISO and ev with the top dial, which leaves the front dial and rear dial for shutter speed and aperture control.
 
How about an old GF1 and some old Canon FD lenses. It's a great way to learn photography and will be cheaper than the cost you quoted above
 
Hi

I had a G12 you mention manual setup and indoor use

You don't mention if you use flash for what you use the camera for but the built in flash will limit you. Manual wise it's decent on using aperture but don't expect lots of background blur

I really enjoyed mine I even printed images at 13x19'' from it with decent success battery life was good and the raw files versus a Fuji camera I owned really shone
 
strumstrum said:
That is well pricey for a G1, you can get a G3 body for £90
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Absolutely, it was just the first to pop up on a search. Do we have to do all the work for the OP? Joking apart, older bodies are very cheap but buying the lenses separately is usually the killer which is no always obvious to those who are already "invested" in a system.
 
Hi, thanks for all the suggestions.

All being well I will be using the camera to shoot using a flash + softbox and a reflector.

The Panasonic G3 can be snapped up quite cheaply it seems so might have a closer look at that. Does anyone know how close I would be able to get to take images with it or would I likely need a Macro lens for product photography? It seems to be a better overall camera than the G12 but the cost of an additional lens might rule it out.
 
Be worth trying to get hold of a canon fd50mm f3.5 macro with ext tubes. You will need an adapter. I paid £50 for mine but that was a few years back.
 
wormishere said:
Hi, thanks for all the suggestions.

All being well I will be using the camera to shoot using a flash + softbox and a reflector.

The Panasonic G3 can be snapped up quite cheaply it seems so might have a closer look at that. Does anyone know how close I would be able to get to take images with it or would I likely need a Macro lens for product photography? It seems to be a better overall camera than the G12 but the cost of an additional lens might rule it out.
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Assuming you are taking about the kit zoom see:
http://m.shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/lumix-camera-lenses/H-FS014042.html
  • Closest Focusing Distance 0.30m / 1ft at all focal lengths
  • Maximum Magnification Approx. 0.16x / 0.32x (35mm camera equivalent)
 
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