trying to find the right camera for a budget

[kaptainmarc]

right so I posted in here beginning of last month and was going to buy a DSLR however the Mrs has crapped all over that idea (cant blame her I get carried away!)

then she said why don't I get one of the more compact cameras then I noticed all these new mirrorless weird and wonderful cameras, I have no idea about them iv been out the game a long time!

im looking for a camera that isn't too big so it can be used easily on trips and holidays but I can still fart around with in the weekend trying to get arty with it

the hard bit is getting one in budget I can stretch too around £300 (and I mean big stretch) would I get anything that's remotely worth buying or am I wasting me time

Thanks in advance and sorry for yet another help me thread

 

[D.P.]

Mirror-less seems about right.
My favorites are the Nikon 1 and m43 series but they all have pros and cons.

Nikon 1: fastest, best auto focus (especially for tracking), bets adapter to allow DSLR lenses to be mounted, very powerful, responsive. But poor ergonomics/functionality, often overprices but can buy older models dirt cheap. small lens selection. Smallest sensor but sufficiently good IQ for most uses.

m43 cameras like Olympus EPL5:
most mature, well optimized cameras. Excellent sensor. Good AF for static subject but poor for tracking. Largest lens selection, lots of 3rd part support, good prices. cons, AF not as good as Nikon 1, less responsive and fast.

Sony Nex: great IQ but requires large lenses, especially at tele end. limited lens selection, average focus.

Fuji: great image quality, much like the sony has only a few lenses and they tend to be large at the tele end. Much less responsive and worse auto focus. not a very mature platform

Canon M: dead outside asia.

 

[=XDC=FluphyBunny]

What about a premium compact like a Panasonic LX7?

 

[kaptainmarc]

was looking at the canon M like the look of it. what do you mean its dead outside asia? no lenses/extras available?

I have a Lumia 1020 at the moment that I play around with take decent photos but controls are just too annoying trying to focus something with your finger on the screen is just useless

I fear a premium compact wont be much better than my phone camera

 

[CGrieves]

I fear a premium compact wont be much better than my phone camera

It will and it won't. Thanks to a small sensor, lens and aperture, a decent phone camera is capable of pretty amazing resolution in decent light. It's also going to be with you 99% of the time and not overburden you, and more than likely is already connected to social media, your cloud storage etc etc. The iPhone 4S camera is probably my favourite and most used camera of all time for those reasons, and I've got a cupboard full of compact, bridge and DSLR cameras.

But generally you won't be able to isolate subjects with shallow depth of field, low light performance will be noisier, and compared to a compact camera with zoom or interchangeable lenses, you have less flexibility. Pretty much all but the worst compact cameras will be superior in those regards compared to a phone.

I'd say borrow a cheap compact camera and see how you get on. I rate the Fuji XF1 as a fantastic bargain (£129). EOS-Ms are also currently going for bargain prices- it's not a bad camera by any stretch, and easily adaptable to the entire line of Canon lenses.

 

[D.P.]

was looking at the canon M like the look of it. what do you mean its dead outside asia? no lenses/extras available?

I have a Lumia 1020 at the moment that I play around with take decent photos but controls are just too annoying trying to focus something with your finger on the screen is just useless

I fear a premium compact wont be much better than my phone camera

Canon have stopped supporting the canon M outside Asia. The latest models and lenses are not sold in Europe or North America. Basically it was a big flop except in japan and China where sales are poor but enough to continue support, for the time being. It's a dead system, very risky purchase as you most likely won't have a future with the system. Then there is the fact it is just not a good camera, very slow autofocus, not very responsive.

M43 cameras are just better in very way and despite smaller sensor take better photos.

 

[CGrieves]

.... by way of a balanced viewpoint, yes it's currently "dead" in Europe from a sales viewpoint, but what's currently available is actually great, the system is capable of excellent performance, and it's bargain basement dirt cheap as a kit.

The 22mm f2 gets good reviews and gives a very useful 35mm equivalent camera with compact-class ergonomics.

Canon seemingly crippled the autofocus on release to avoid competing with it's DSLRs, but later improved performance hugely via firmware, however by then the marketing damage was already done.

If you have access to Canon lenses and buy an adaptor (or get one free with the body), it's not dead at all. I was seriously thinking of picking one up instead of the Fuji X-E2 to save money. Still might in fact.

 

[D.P.]

But the fact remains, Canon have stopped selling EOS-M gear in Europe and North America.

The EOS1 has been discontinued (at least in NA). The EOS-M2 was released in Japan and china only and Canon's official policy is it wont be released outside there. The 11-22mm isn't available in USa or Europe.

Even with the firmware changes the focus is still a long way behind the Nikon 1 and latest m43 cameras, albeit better than the launch disaster.


And to date there have only been 2 lenses released in Europe, and one of them is a very boring kit lens. Compare that to over 45lenses for the m43 systems with around a dozen due for release in the next 12 months.

 

[CGrieves]

Something being discontinued doesn't make it any better or worse a prospect if the parts available fit the bill. The ability to fit any EF lens means it's still a viable, bargain priced system.

The kit lens is what it is- decent and compact.

Bearing in mind the £300 budget, buying into m4/3 doesn't exactly open up a wealth of cheap, high quality lenses either....