Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras

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#677480 27-Aug-2012 10:49

Just played around with the Sony NEX-5N. That looks like a nice camera. It was $999 with only one lens so $999 for two lenses is a great deal. But the Sony store guy was prepared to bargain. My only lingering issues are reports on the web that when taking video there is a constant clicking noise in the audio and the fact to use an external mic you need the Sony mic since the adapter is proprietary.

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timmmay

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#677488 27-Aug-2012 10:56

The NEX system looks ok, but Sony tends to be expensive, and there are no really wide angle lens options that I can find.

bisr

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#677564 27-Aug-2012 12:31

timmmay: I'm long past looking at cameras as toys, they're purely tools to me these days. I've owned about ten Canon cameras and two Nikon, loads of lenses, flashes, etc. I really just want to take some nice photos of my holidays, landscapes and of us. No need for video for ages though, if ever.

Get the GH2. When I said the photos weren't up to spec I meant up to _my_ spec. But based on what you said you wanted it for, it is fine. I was just emphasising that there was this other amazing functionality from it which despite your protestations, I think you will end up using.

hangon

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#677571 27-Aug-2012 12:47

my 2 cents

it somewhat depends on your existing lenses, or lenses you intend to purchase.

current gen sony nex has great sensors, lense choices maybe less so.

only real advantage over DSLR is size (of body) and no need for adapters. but once with lense attached, the size advantage is often no longer true (except pancakes, none of which is outstanding afaik).

check out Olympus OM-D E-M5 if you like retro (as well as great IQ)

timmmay

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#677576 27-Aug-2012 12:57

bisr:
timmmay: I'm long past looking at cameras as toys, they're purely tools to me these days. I've owned about ten Canon cameras and two Nikon, loads of lenses, flashes, etc. I really just want to take some nice photos of my holidays, landscapes and of us. No need for video for ages though, if ever.

Get the GH2. When I said the photos weren't up to spec I meant up to _my_ spec. But based on what you said you wanted it for, it is fine. I was just emphasising that there was this other amazing functionality from it which despite your protestations, I think you will end up using.

The GH2 looks good, but quite video focussed.

I just found the Panasonic G3, which looks great except for the lack of external control dials. I'm used to shooting manual, or aperture priority with easy access to exposure compensation. This camera might be ok

There's also the Olympus PEN E-P2/P3. It looks great for general use, but it has a fairly old sensor that's pretty noisy. No problem for landscapes, but not awesome for evening snaps, but I could add a flash.

Chainsaw

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#677585 27-Aug-2012 13:14

If I were to get one today I'd favour the Olympus OMD E-M5
here
At least it has a built-in viewfinder and is smaller than a regular SLR.

I dislike the viewfinderless interchangeable lens cameras.

timmmay

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#677598 27-Aug-2012 13:23

E-M5 looks awesome, just expensive.

lchiu7

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#677617 27-Aug-2012 13:53

This has been an interesting discussion. My needs are not as high-end as some of those posting here. I want a camera I can carry around with me that produces images to the same level as my compact DSLR (so with the APS-C sensor). I don't need the quality of a full frame DSLR.

The Canon was what first piqued my interest since I really hadn't thought about the genre before.

It looked the one to get but the Sony also looks quite interesting.

On a simplistic note the two factors that are causing me difficultly in making a decision are (apart from finances!) since good video would be important for me.

- Canon - standard external mic input so I can use any external mic with it. But immovable screen.

- Sony - proprietary mic input but movable screen to you can hold the camera up and below you.

As for the other technical differences, they are unlikely to be much of a factor for my uses.

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timmmay

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#677622 27-Aug-2012 13:59

I kindof hijacked your thread sorry! Sensor size is really king, the 1" sensors won't be as good at micro 4/3, and m4/3 won't be as good as APS-C. Then again a brand new m4/3 sensor will be better than a 5 year old APS-C sensor, so it's a bit tricky.

It sounds like video's more important to you than photos, or have I read it wrong? The GH2 (from memory) seems quite video oriented, and micro 4/3 gives you more lens options.

jonherries

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#677962 28-Aug-2012 09:05

Will do some video tonight on my 5N and post it for you to check.

Jon

lchiu7

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#678057 28-Aug-2012 10:53

jonherries: Will do some video tonight on my 5N and post it for you to check.

Jon

That would be good. I would love to have an external mic since occasionally film the kids playing piano at concerts and cannot always get close enough to mic them. Having an external mic which I could point at the stage would help.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

Jaxson

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#678093 28-Aug-2012 11:59

lchiu7:
jonherries: Will do some video tonight on my 5N and post it for you to check.

Jon

That would be good. I would love to have an external mic since occasionally film the kids playing piano at concerts and cannot always get close enough to mic them. Having an external mic which I could point at the stage would help.

Hi lchiu7,

I used to video weddings and often found a separate voice recorder placed closer to the source useful. This would then be mated up to the video at a later date.

One 'trick' I found in the end was to start all devices recording and not stop anything. (Typically a wedding ceremony is not actually that long in the grand scheme of things). Anyway, you can then import all video and audio streams, match up a common event at the start and then cut away at the tracks exposing different angles quickly etc. Off topic, but just thought I'd mention it.

lchiu7

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#678172 28-Aug-2012 13:45

Jaxson:
lchiu7:
jonherries: Will do some video tonight on my 5N and post it for you to check.

Jon

That would be good. I would love to have an external mic since occasionally film the kids playing piano at concerts and cannot always get close enough to mic them. Having an external mic which I could point at the stage would help.

Hi lchiu7,

I used to video weddings and often found a separate voice recorder placed closer to the source useful. This would then be mated up to the video at a later date.

One 'trick' I found in the end was to start all devices recording and not stop anything. (Typically a wedding ceremony is not actually that long in the grand scheme of things). Anyway, you can then import all video and audio streams, match up a common event at the start and then cut away at the tracks exposing different angles quickly etc. Off topic, but just thought I'd mention it.

Actually that is a cool idea I hadn't thought of.

I have one of these already

Tascam

So that does really good 96/24 PCM and has nice mics.

It would be very easy to sync the recordings up with the video taken by any of the cameras (especially if they are AVCHD format) using something like Vegas. I wish I had thought of that before when I was taking videos of my kids playing the piano and having to put up with pretty echoey audio given I was far from the piano in the concert hall.

I would just ask the kids to clap once at the beginning as a sort of clapper for me to sync the audio :-)

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

hangon

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#678198 28-Aug-2012 14:25

lchiu7: This has been an interesting discussion. My needs are not as high-end as some of those posting here. I want a camera I can carry around with me that produces images to the same level as my compact DSLR (so with the APS-C sensor). I don't need the quality of a full frame DSLR.

carry around - nothing beats a compact

IQ is more difficult to measure. do you print? what size? Compare to smaller sensors, APS-C really wins with low light, high iso shots. in broad daylight a smaller sensor could produce nearly as good print up to certain sizes.

it still comes down to lenses for mirrorless or DSLR. a good lense could easily cost more than the body (and could outlast more than a few body upgrades). kit lenses are hardly anything to write home for, and if one stays with kit lenses, I hardly see it justifies purchasing mirrorless or DSLR. a compact would be much more easy to carry around, or a bridge would be much more versatile (Nikon P510 24~1000 mm, Pana FZ150 25~600 mm shooting 1080 60p videos).

not to mention that EOS-M with 18-55 kit lense has a msrp of £769, that's not much cheaper than a E-M5 kit.

it's just me that I'm not convinced at all with mirrorless yet. having said that, Panasonic GX1 was one of my favorites - only problem is finding the right lenses.

Jaxson

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#678236 28-Aug-2012 16:01

lchiu7:

Actually that is a cool idea I hadn't thought of.

I have one of these already

Tascam

So that does really good 96/24 PCM and has nice mics.

It would be very easy to sync the recordings up with the video taken by any of the cameras (especially if they are AVCHD format) using something like Vegas. I wish I had thought of that before when I was taking videos of my kids playing the piano and having to put up with pretty echoey audio given I was far from the piano in the concert hall.

I would just ask the kids to clap once at the beginning as a sort of clapper for me to sync the audio :-)

Yeah you got it and if you already have some gear like that you are sorted.

I'm a big adobe fan so everything I do is in Premiere Pro, but yes, any more than basic editing package will work. And yes, just get some clear event to sync the tracks on.

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