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Copied From the Learn Photography Master Thread: Lesson 1


Choosing a camera: Point and Shoot vs. Mirrorless vs. DSLR


Before you even start thinking which camera model to buy, you have to decide something much more important: the type of camera. There are three main types of cameras on the market today, and they each offer some things the others don't. Let's take a quick at them and see what the differences are and why you might choose one over the other.


Point & Shoots (P&S): These are by far the most popular cameras out there. Usually extremely compact, they're all easy to use, relatively cheap, and deliver great images. The point & shoot ranges from tiny shirt-pocket cameras such as the Canon Elph series, to large superzooms (sometimes called all-in-ones or bridge cameras) such as the Panasonic FZ series, to 'advanced' P&Ss like the Canon G series or the $2800(!) Sony RX-1. All P&Ss have fixed (non-removable) lenses.


Point & Shoot pros:
--- Amazing selection: At the time of this writing, B&H has 328 cameras in stock listed under Point & Shoot. A basic Canon Elph-style camera usually has a 3-8x zoom lens, a 3" screen, 1080p video, image stabilization, and a million other features. Should you could choose a superzoom, you'd get a 24-50x zoom, manual controls, a viewfinder, and (usually) a hotshoe for flashes. Advanced P&Ss will give you even more control, better, larger sensors, and higher quality lenses. Want a camera your baby could drop into a bowl of cereal? There are currently 18 different shock and waterproof cameras [url=http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ipp=100&Ns=p_PRODUCT_SHORT_DESCR|0&ci=8612&N=4288586279+35+4052359761&srtclk=sort]available
. Want a screen that swivels? Built-in GPS? WiFi? Check, check, and check. One screen not enough, you want two of 'em? Check!
--- Cheap: Even a $100 P&S will give you better pictures than a $500 camera from 5 years ago. You do not need to spend a fortune to get amazing pictures.
--- Light and easy to carry: No excuses for not shlepping the camera. If fits into your shirt pocket, a purse, just about anywhere.
--- Great video: Most current cameras are capable of recording 1080p HD video, or at least 720p. Combined with ubiquitous image stabilization P&Ss are capable of outputting awesome video.
--- Easy to use: Most P&S will only have an Auto or P mode, although some advanced or superzoom models will have full manual control. In Auto mode all you have to do is press the button. Some cameras even have an 'intelligent' auto feature where it could detect if you're shooting a flower, a portrait, etc. and adjust itself accordingly. This actually works pretty well on most cameras. In P mode you get a bit more control (you could turn the flash off, adjust the picture brighter or darker, etc.), but the camera still handles most of the decisions making for you.


Point & Shoot Cons:
--- Image quality relative to mirrorless and DSLRs: Yes, P&Ss will give you great picture quality - when situations are ideal. But if you plan to be shooting a lot in darker situations (indoors, your kids' school play) you will notice a considerable difference in quality compared to the other two. Sharpness will also not be as good as the others - the combination of a small physical lens, a small sensor, and over-zealous noise reduction (more on all of these later) is not a recipe for razor-sharp photos. These factors will be much less of an issue with advanced cameras such as the Canon G15, although a mirrorless or DSLR will still be far better.
--- Hard or impossible to achieve certain effects: You know that portrait look where the entire background is just blurred into creamy nothingness? That's one of the hardest things to create with a P&S (and conversely one of the easiest things to do with an SLR/mirrorless). Later on I'll show you some techniques to force this effect out of a P&S (to a degree), but the physics are simply not in your favor.
--- Speed: Compared to a DSLR, the P&S is practically a turtle. It takes a few seconds to turn on, zooming takes time, every setting change takes time. Most importantly though, is the speed at which the camera takes the picture. While a DSLR focuses almost instantly, a P&S could take a second or two. Once the image is in focus, there is a maddening delay called shutter lag, which is the time between you pressing the shutter button and the camera actually taking the picture. Between focusing and shutter lag, it could sometimes take 3 or more seconds to get your shoot, at which point the moment may be long gone. Later on we'll discuss some techniques for speeding this process up, but it'll still take far longer than a DSLR.
--- Not much control: The flip side to the P&S's ease of use it its lack of control. Want to lower your flash power so that people don't have that 'deer in headlights' look? Tough noogies. Want to change your aperture? Your shutter speed? Ain't happenin'. Of course some cameras do let you change all that, but a) they're in the minority by far, and b) since these are secondary features, you'll probably have to dig through 6 menu pages every time you want to make a change.
--- Limited expandability: A P&S is a closed system. Want a longer or wider lens? Want to use filters? No dice on most cameras. This is also a big issue if you ever want to dabble in lighting - it'll be quite difficult with a P&S.
____________


DSLRs: The big, black, "professional" looking cameras. Big, heavy, and (relatively) expensive, these have interchangeable lenses and optical viewfinders. The big players are Canon and Nikon, with Sony and Pentax having a small but dedicated market share. A typical 'starter' DSLR will have a 18 (Canon) or 24 (Nikon) megapixel sensor, come with an 18-55mm lens, and have actual buttons for only the most important tasks. As you move up through the lineup, you'll get more direct buttons and knobs, status LCDs, better focusing/metering systems, more lens support, metal or magnesium bodies, weather sealing, wireless flash control, higher frame-per-second rates, and more. You also get better kit lenses (that's the lens that comes with the camera) as you move up, and at a certain level (usually the third camera in the lineup) you'll also be able to buy the camera body by itself without any lens.


DSLR pros:
--- Image quality: This is the number one benefit of the DSLR - even the cheapest camera and lens combination will give you better pictures that any point and shoot, even if the P&S costs much more. (B&H currently lists 3 DSLR kits (camera and lens) for $450 - that's cheaper than some P&Ss.) Looking at pictures of a P&S and a DSLR side by side, you'll be blown away by the difference in sharpness, color, and dynamic range (explained later) of the DSLR. When it comes to low light, there's no contest; the DSLR wins hand down.
--- Control: In a DLSR you have control over every single shooting parameter. There are no limits to what you could create; everything's at your beck and call. Flash power, exposure, color, and most importantly, RAW shooting. (I'll get into far more detail on that last thing later.)
--- Special effects: Out of focus backgrounds? Easy peasy. Long exposures? Timelapse? You bet.
--- System expandability: DSLRs are sometimes called 'system cameras'. This is due to the fact that unlike P&Ss, a DSLR is not just a camera; it's at the heart of an entire system. Each brand has dozens of lenses available, plus many more from third-party lens manufacturers. You could get flashes, transmitters, remotes, and many other goodies and they will all work seamlessly and communicate properly to one another. BTW, this is why you should choose your first SLR very carefully: you're probably buying into a system. First you get a camera and lens, then another lens, then maybe another lens or a flash, and then the a new camera comes out so you buy that. It's quite the pain to switch to a different brand once you're bought in to the system.
--- Viewfinder: By definition, a DSLR is a single lens reflex camera; what that means is that inside the camera just behind the lens mount there's a mirror, which projects the image from the lens into a prism, which in turn shows up in the viewfinder. The big advantage of this is that when you look through the viewfinder you're actually looking through lens, and as such are seeing exactly what the lens sees. This gives you an extremely accurate and life-like view, which makes it easy to compose your shots properly. A viewfinder also lets you use the camera in bright light without worrying about not being able to see the screen.
--- Speed: A DSLR is ready to shoot almost instantly after being turned on. No matter where you are, be it a menu or playing back you pictures, a slight tap of the shutter button and the camera is instantly ready to shoot. Focus is nearly instantaneous, and shutter lag is pretty much a non-issue. Another speed aspect is continuous shooting - holding down the shutter button while the camera rattles off picture after picture. An entry-level camera  could easily do around 4.5fps (frames per second), while higher level cameras could do 7 or 8 (or 12, if you count the $6800 Canon 1D X).


DSLR cons:
--- Size and weight: There's no getting around it: DSLRs are big and bulky, especially if you're carrying more than one lens.
--- Price: DSLRs start at about $450, and go way up. One of the most common cameras, the Canon T4i, will set you back about a grand. And then you want to buy another lens. And another one. And another one... :D
--- Video: DSLR video is a really weird situation. On the one hand the quality is INSANE. Just look on Vimeo and see what people have been doing with the Canon 5DMk2 and Mk3 and you'll see what I mean. On the other hand, if you look at the behind the scenes video of one of those, you'll see that the camera is mounted on a rig costing $10K or more. The rig stabilizes the camera and provides support for the focus controls, the zoom controls, the sound system, and many other things. Why is all this necessary? Very simple - because the camera does a horrible job at all this if left to it's own devices. Focusing during video is horrible, especially if anything's moving through the scene. What this means is that if you're buying an SLR and are planning on taking videos of your kids running around in the park, you will be sorely disappointed - nothing will be in focus half the time, and when the camera finally does achieve focus, the built-in mike will have picked up every grind and whirr of the lens as it moved back and forth. Canon has made some progress on eliminating these issues with their new STM lenses, but for now that's only two cameras and two lenses, and even that isn't perfect.


__________


Mirrorless: Known by many different names (ILCs and EVILs for example), the industry has seemed to settle on Mirrorless lately. This was the brainchild of a joint venture between Olympus and Panasonic, and was aimed on creating an interchangeable-lens camera in with a P&S body and DSLR-like image quality, and has been wildly successful. Olympus and Panasonic are still the major players with their Micro 4/3s system, followed by Sony with their NEX line. Many others have tried to take over market share from the big 3, but have been largely unsuccessful mainly due to inferior products. Nikon 1, Canon, M, and Samsung NX are examples of fairly unpopular systems.


Most mirrorless cameras have a P&S form-factor, albeit somewhat larger. With the exception of Olympus and Panasonic, the lenses are not interchangeable between brands, but adapters are available to convert practically any DSLR (or old rangefinder camera) lens to just about every system. Most adapters will not autofocus the lens, so it's not exactly a perfect solution.


Mirrorless pros:
--- Size and weight: This is the main draw for most people. While not exactly pocket sized once a lens is in place, it it still a fairly compact kit and could be carried in a purse with ease. It's more like a large P&S than a small DSLR.
--- Price: Generally cheaper than a DSLR of a similar level. The Panasonics and Olympus (Olympusus? Olympi? ??? ) especially seem to be on sale more often than not.
--- Image quality: About as good as an SLR, simple as that.
--- Expandability: Like DSLRs, these cameras are part of a system. In the last couple of months more and more third parties have started to make lenses too. Micro 4/3s is a much more robust system then Sony NEX though, with many more lenses available.
--- Video: Video on mirrorless cameras is insanely fantastic. Similar in quality to an SLR, but with the ease of use of a P&S. It focuses quickly, perfectly, and fairly quietly.


Mirrorless cons:
--- Lenses: Far smaller selection than SLRs, although to be fair most important lenses are covered.
--- Image quality: A DSLR will still have slightly better image quality, especially in low light scenarios.
--- Viewfinders: Most don’t have viewfinders at all, which make it harder to use in low light. Some of those have axillary finders you could out in the hotshoe (usually at exorbitant prices or some reason), but these are just to give you a general idea of what the camera is seeing.
--- Batteries: Uses batteries like a P&S (200-400 shots), while a DSLR usually gets around 2000 shots per battery.
--- Speed: Focusing, while worlds better than P&Ss, isn't quite up to DSLR standards yet, but that's getting better every day.
--- Control: While mirrorless camera offer the same level of control as DSLRs, very often you'll have to dig through menus to get to where you want to. The main point of mirrorless being cutting down on size, buttons and knobs were eliminated without mercy.


___________


Lesson Summary:
--- Point & Shoots are great for most everyday shooting. Cheap, more options than you could ever want, great image quality and video. Quite difficult (but definitely possible - I'll show you how) to get the 'pro' look.
--- DSLR are king when it comes to image quality, control, and expandability. For the best pictures in any situation, go for a DSLR. Video, not so much.
--- Mirrorless cameras are the best of both worlds, with some caveats. Amazing image quality, the best video, and fairly small and portable. Less control and versatility than an SLR, though.

___________


For the full lesson series visit the Learn Photography Master Thread.

____________________________________________________

Links to additional Info:

Learn Photography Master Thread: Lesson 2: Camera specs - What do they mean, and which ones matter to me?

Canon's DSLR naming scheme
Nikon's DSLR naming scheme
« Last edited by Curlyhead on August 10, 2016, 11:42:18 AM »

Author Topic: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread  (Read 378927 times)

Online Something Fishy

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #380 on: January 15, 2014, 12:06:05 AM »
Thanks for the quick lesson. Now I know what the sensor cleaner on my camera is. I get the message when I turn it off and was curious what it was. Rocket blower, I admit I had to google that one  :).

When you are out in foggy conditions you are stuck with what's on your camera? What do you do in the rain? I recall killing a good P and S in Alaska when our boat found a pod of orca's in the rain.

A little rain won't hurt your camera. Keep it pointed downwards, cover it with your jacket, make it fast and you should be fine. But use common sense; a water drop on your sensor will require a wet cleaning to remove. If you suspect the weather is too bad, it probably is.

Fog is tough. Even a bit of exposure could cause condensation on your sensor... I would definitely avoid changing lenses in fog. Get in your car or out of the weather to do it.

Incidentally, this is one of the main reasons pros carry two bodies, one with a long lens and one with a short one. Besides for speed, it lets them avoid changing lenses in unfavorable environments.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #381 on: January 15, 2014, 05:37:35 PM »
Whew, welcome back Fishy. For a moment there I thought you had left me to handle answering alone. :)

I'm not sure I'd agree with the assessment of the DSLR solving all of Chai_forever's problems with the Nex3n. It sounds like she wants something with a faster lens. Either a P&S with a built in F/2 or wider, or perhaps a pancake NEX prime would improve her shots without needing to go full on DSLR.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #382 on: January 15, 2014, 06:23:49 PM »
Whew, welcome back Fishy. For a moment there I thought you had left me to handle answering alone. :)

I'm not sure I'd agree with the assessment of the DSLR solving all of Chai_forever's problems with the Nex3n. It sounds like she wants something with a faster lens. Either a P&S with a built in F/2 or wider, or perhaps a pancake NEX prime would improve her shots without needing to go full on DSLR.

Don't worry, I'll never pass up a chance the argue with you ;)... I was just far too busy these last couple of days. (You just wait till I have time to respond to your last couple of posts in the Learn Photography thread; I have some - shall we say - different opinions :D:D:D)

In any case, please oh please tell me how a faster lens will solve any of Chai's issues. How would it help ergonomics? Color? Make him feel less overwhelmed?

The only thing it might do is enable somewhat faster AF due to more light being available to the system - but even that won't be nearly as fast as PD.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #383 on: January 15, 2014, 09:20:19 PM »
Don't worry, I'll never pass up a chance the argue with you ;)... I was just far too busy these last couple of days. (You just wait till I have time to respond to your last couple of posts in the Learn Photography thread; I have some - shall we say - different opinions :D:D:D)

Hah- nice! ;)

Quote
In any case, please oh please tell me how a faster lens will solve any of Chai's issues. How would it help ergonomics? Color? Make him feel less overwhelmed?

The only thing it might do is enable somewhat faster AF due to more light being available to the system - but even that won't be nearly as fast as PD.

Well, you're tackling different parts of what they said. Chai mentioned that a lot of the pictures were being taken indoors, and were coming out "nunu". Its hard to love a camera when it is so different from what you are used to, plus isn't blowing you away the way you might think it should. My friend bought a DSLR and kit lens that started at F/4. He kept saying he doesn't understand why his pictures indoors didn't look like mine, or even like his old P&S. They almost always needed a flash, even rooms with a healthy amount of sunlight, and often appeared too flat with not enough depth to them. Turns out his old point and shoot had a faster aperture, allowing indoor photos with natural light. All he needed was a good lens on the DSLR, and suddenly he fell in love with the camera.

I feel like Chai is complaining about the NEX because the kit lens isn't impressive for what they are trying to do with it. Rather than switch to an actual DSLR (which will likely have the same APS-C sized sensor and aperture on the kit, therefore yielding the same problems), I'm thinking they need to switch to something with a faster lens. The AF will respond better, and the quality of the pictures might give the emotional connection missing currently. Either add something to the NEX or switch to a more familiar Canon P&S with a fast aperture.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #384 on: January 16, 2014, 12:21:25 PM »
Best inexpensive waterproof digital camera on Amazon?
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #385 on: January 16, 2014, 12:56:40 PM »
Best inexpensive waterproof digital camera on Amazon?

Panasonic TS20 ($129 Amazon, $99 B&H) is probably the best overall.

The Nikon S30 is $83 on Amazon, and the Fuji XP50 is $99, but both are far inferior cameras.

I've used and tested all of those, and I think the Panny is absolutely worth the extra cost (even if you're only buying it for occasional use).

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #386 on: January 16, 2014, 01:03:03 PM »
Panasonic TS20 ($129 Amazon, $99 B&H) is probably the best overall.
Heh. Darn stockpile of Amazon money.  Hard to beat $30 off though, thanks!
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #387 on: January 16, 2014, 01:11:38 PM »
Would you recommend a cheap waterproof to a waterproof case? I usually use my Canon 880 with a case but I was thinking of getting a case for my NEX 5.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #388 on: January 16, 2014, 05:05:33 PM »

In any case, please oh please tell me how a faster lens will solve any of Chai's issues. How would it help ergonomics? Color? Make him feel less overwhelmed?
Thanks SF and Mordy for weighing in. Although I understand both of your point of views, (Mordy kinda gets the emotional side, SF the technical ;)) I just wanted to clarify what I meant. First with the nunu comment: As an example, I took 4 photos at the same time, in the same lighting etc. One really popped while the others had a totally different feel, were blurrier, different color. I saw the camera chose a different shutter speed for one of them so that might account for some blurriness, but still, I felt like it was inconsistent. With my old p&s it was what it was, even if the photos were of less quality.
And with the ergonomics comment what I meant was that with a more compact P&S I could do the 2-3 finger hold without having to grasp the whole camera on one side, plus the zoom/mf ring on the other. Maybe a bad idea but thats what I do. Whereas with these medium sized mirrorless' I felt kinda cramped up grasping that whole quasi grip situation.
(and to SF, shoulda spoke to you on shabbos when you had the time, but really wanted you to rest from your weekday job ;) sorry to hear your so busy now...  I'll stop bothering you :D)

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #389 on: January 16, 2014, 05:07:30 PM »
Panasonic TS20 ($129 Amazon, $99 B&H) is probably the best overall.
Go for the TS20 or TS25?
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #390 on: January 16, 2014, 06:15:55 PM »
Go for the TS20 or TS25?

They're basically identical. The only appreciable difference is that the 25 goes down to 23', vs.16' on the 20.

Is that worth 30 bucks to you?
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #391 on: January 17, 2014, 08:04:01 AM »
If you could get the Canon efs55-250 for 130-150 or the ef70-300 for 300 or the sigma 70-300 DG with os for 200 all new on ebay, which would you get. Goal is to minimize chis and maybe use savings toward an ultra wide lens down the road.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #392 on: January 17, 2014, 11:32:07 AM »
I bought a 50 dollar case for my canon elp which takes great pictures underwater. It's only good for snorkeling though. One day ill buy a good kit for diving.

http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=20344.msg307451#msg307451

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #393 on: January 17, 2014, 01:23:39 PM »
Would you recommend a cheap waterproof to a waterproof case? I usually use my Canon 880 with a case but I was thinking of getting a case for my NEX 5.

The only advantage of these cheap waterproof bags is that they're cheap. They're very unwieldy to use. The bag makes it hard to press buttons, and the lens port is usually far too big and long, so you'd often get horrible vignetting. I've also known then to leak occasionally.

The lens port is also cheap plastic, which degraded the image quality.

Personally I'd never trust my NEX in one of those, even a "good" one.

The only really good cases are dedicated dive housings, which start at about $300 for a P&S and go up to the thousands for DLSRs.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #394 on: January 17, 2014, 01:26:28 PM »
I bought a 50 dollar case for my canon elp which takes great pictures underwater. It's only good for snorkeling though. One day ill buy a good kit for diving.

http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=20344.msg307451#msg307451

IME, it takes great pictures until you compare it to a good housing or dedicated camera.

And that only if you luck out and it doesn't leak ;)...

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #395 on: January 19, 2014, 10:02:30 AM »
In the process of selling my Canon gear. I ordered the Panasonic GX7. I was going to go for the Oly EM-1 but the Panny seemed to have most of the features I was looking for at $600 less than the EM-1. I figured that money would be better spent on glass.
Will be giving it the run through in Hawaii next week.
Having spent a few days with the Panasonic GX7, these are my initial impressions.

The image quality is fantastic - on par with any APS-C sensor, low-light capability is also as good as any APS-C sensor. The built-in wifi is great, I can connect directly to my iPhone and share pictures immediately. The amount of features baked into the camera simply blow away anything made by Canon in a similar price tier. Completely silent electronic shutter option, built in timelapse and stop motion, wifi, built HDR and WB bracketing, geotagging, all remappable buttons, real AF during video mode, focus peaking!, histogram, built in level...
I haven't even explored half the features on here.

The cons. It's not as responsive as a DSLR. There is some lag when switching from LVF to EVF and when scrolling through menus and photos. There are seems to be a tad more shutter lag with the GX7. The image stabilization is not as good as Canon's and the battery life is horrible compared to DSLR. Oddly enough, there is no option for auto ISO in M mode. IS also doesn't work in video mode.
The depth of field is much larger with M 4/3 than with APS-C even when using lenses with an equivalent f-stop. I think I need a Voigtlander .95  ;)

Overall, I think the camera is a real winner.
The killer feature is the difference in size and weight :D

Offline sky121

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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #396 on: January 19, 2014, 10:22:24 AM »
The only advantage of these cheap waterproof bags is that they're cheap. They're very unwieldy to use. The bag makes it hard to press buttons, and the lens port is usually far too big and long, so you'd often get horrible vignetting. I've also known then to leak occasionally.

The lens port is also cheap plastic, which degraded the image quality.

Personally I'd never trust my NEX in one of those, even a "good" one.

The only really good cases are dedicated dive housings, which start at about $300 for a P&S and go up to the thousands for DLSRs.

I have a Canon housing. Is that what you mean? It works great.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #397 on: January 19, 2014, 12:31:57 PM »
I have a Canon housing. Is that what you mean? It works great.

The Canons are dedicated dive housings and are fantastic.
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #398 on: January 19, 2014, 12:38:52 PM »
Having spent a few days with the Panasonic GX7, these are my initial impressions.

The image quality is fantastic - on par with any APS-C sensor, low-light capability is also as good as any APS-C sensor. The built-in wifi is great, I can connect directly to my iPhone and share pictures immediately. The amount of features baked into the camera simply blow away anything made by Canon in a similar price tier. Completely silent electronic shutter option, built in timelapse and stop motion, wifi, built HDR and WB bracketing, geotagging, all remappable buttons, real AF during video mode, focus peaking!, histogram, built in level...
I haven't even explored half the features on here.

Yep, it really is an amazing little camera.

The cons. It's not as responsive as a DSLR. There is some lag when switching from LVF to EVF and when scrolling through menus and photos. There are seems to be a tad more shutter lag with the GX7. The image stabilization is not as good as Canon's and the battery life is horrible compared to DSLR.

Basically, a typical list of mirrorless vs. DSLR cons ;). But I think you're already seeing for yourself that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Oddly enough, there is no option for auto ISO in M mode. IS also doesn't work in video mode.

Regarding IS, it seems that the sensor-based system is disabled during video. If you have an IS-capable lens however, that'll work fine. Weird.

And there's a whole online movement to get Panny to add manual ISO in M mode... According to a Panasonic rep, they may fix it via a firmware update.

The depth of field is much larger with M 4/3 than with APS-C even when using lenses with an equivalent f-stop. I think I need a Voigtlander .95  ;)

Yep, smaller sensor = more DOF. You should also look into the Metabones Speedboosters.

Overall, I think the camera is a real winner.
The killer feature is the difference in size and weight :D


And it's only gonna get better, once you find yourself taking it more places that you eber did with your DSLR  :D.
« Last Edit: January 19, 2014, 12:46:16 PM by Something Fishy »
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Re: Which Camera Should I Get? Master Thread
« Reply #399 on: January 19, 2014, 01:08:37 PM »
Regarding IS, it seems that the sensor-based system is disabled during video. If you have an IS-capable lens however, that'll work fine. Weird.

And there's a whole online movement to get Panny to add manual ISO in M mode... According to a Panasonic rep, they may fix it via a firmware update.
I see you modified your post ;)
So I'm not crazy, they just didn't add auto ISO in M. It's really weird. Where is this online movement?
You think the Metabones thing is worth it? Could be very useful with an fast, old lens and focus peaking.