I picked up a Sony NEX 5 for our own Sonicgroove a few months back and have been using it with a 50mm MF lens with adaptor (also from Sonic) and also a Sony 20mm pancake lens from the bay. The camera is small and neat and nice to use, but I have the following to report after extended use. As mentioned in reviews, the 20mm pancake lens is on the soft side, a disappointment but not a deal breaker as it's so portable. The NEX5 is definitely missing an eye level finder, as it's hard to use in bright light and sunny days. The tilting rear LCD is great after years of conventional DSLR use, it's like using a waist level finder - it's also really handy on a copy stand. I bought it as an alternative to my DSLR as its sensor APS-C and to better low light pics from my phone which is so noisy. It's OK, but without a flash (even an LED one would be handy...) camera shake at even high ISO is a risk. The other thing that I tried and had difficulty with, was long exposures at night. You can see naff all on the rear LCD to check composition or camera levelling and no change of AF or even assisted MF. That made infinity focus for star shots nigh on impossible. It will need a lens with a manual scale on an adaptor for that one. Finally, the UI is less than intuitive. The Nikon system has a lot packed in, but it's logical. I can't remember where 1/2 the things are on the NEX. Custom button with multi settings on it IS a great feature however. So, if I carry on with this, I think I need a body with EVF in addition to the screen, and a built in flash. Nex6 / A6000 would do the trick I guess. I saw a Fuji XE-1 on sale locally, and hear that the X cameras have a better UI for photographers and this has an EVF as well as rear (non articulated) screen. I'm happy to jump ship as it's early days and use a Nikon adaptor to get started. How have you guys got on with mirrorless cameras? I have enjoyed some of it, but am frustrated in part, as I appreciate the control on a DSLR. I have looked at micro 4/3 but decided that sharing Nikon lenses would be too big a jump in FOV. /Ramble
I had the Sony a6000 and i loved it, and i do regret selling it. The image quality was pin sharp, even when just using the screen and trying not to fall into a lake, this being the result: Claws by Sam Masters, on Flickr I took both the 6000 and my Canon 600d on Holiday, only got the 600d out once, the light weight, tiny body of the Sony made holiday photography a thing of beauty. Sam
I got myself a panasonic GH2 a few years back for the bitrate hacks that allowed you to film lovely high rates and gain ridiculous quality for a very reasonable price. I then dabbled with a GF1 bought on these forums and ultimately consolidated my collection in the last year to a panasonic GX7. The GX7 has an EVF and shoots lovely video at various frame rates and takes very nice photos also. It's the first time I've had a camera that i've felt was capable of doing both. Yes it doesn't have the datarates (SD card eater) like the GH2 but my hard drives thank me for it and playback/editing is much easier without these cumbersome files! I've managed to amass a few lenses over the years also with my go to lens currently being a lumix 12-35mm i got imported from Hong Kong (saved me £400!!) TL;DR - I'm totally sold on mirrorless cameras and will not be going back to the clunky nikons any time soon. Good luck on your quest with Sony!
Thanks for the input fellas, interesting to hear that you have both left your DSLRs behind for smaller solutions. I am off to play with a friend's Fuji S100 next week to see how the viewfinder works, I definitely miss the eye level option, and the NEX is no better than my phone in certain situations handling wise, with a smaller screen too! Sam, I can't remember what you're running now. Which lens on the A6000 was that shot on? I can see that the NEX 5 turns out crisp images when using a sharp MF lens, it's just the 20mm is a let down sharpness wise, but not unexpected. I can't see giving the Nikon up, as I think longer lenses may be not so easy to use on a small camera, and also for really studied stuff on a tripod and where there's plenty of time. Finding a quick to use go to camera will be handy when the phone isn't flexible enough or the Nikon is too big & heavy.
I have a GH2 for video and a light everyday camera, but you can pry my D3 from my cold dead hands.... or give me another full body Nikon
I've actually, regrettably returned to a DSLR, i got offered a job photographing a wedding, and didn't feel the A6000 would have suited this task, single card for example, so i currently have a Canon 7Dmk2. The photo posted above was taken in 'Superior Auto' hand held with the kit lens. My current plans are to sell the Canon and pick up an A7ii and some Zeiss glass. Sam
Thanks for the further info Sams I used to be in pro photo retail, and miss the Nikon demo kit that we used to have available and take home... It's Nikon DX these days with some DX and AI lenses. It's difficult, you can't afford to keep it all and have to sell kit to move on. Especially as this would be my 2nd tier kit, I can't go mad with the £. I have some old school kit to sell, if there's a market still. On the Zeiss front I won't part with my Hasselblad SWC or Fuji TX-2 (XPan in a different guise) for that matter even though they're not really practical to use these days. I wish I had got into Contax Zeiss lenses when they were more readily available, as they are mostly lovely smooth glass. If the standard zoom (16-50?) on Sony NEX/Alpha is OK, that would be pretty handy as it's small .
The big problem with the Sony's is only a single card slot. I wouldn't do anything critical without dual cards.
Anybody have any thoughts on Hasselblad's new x1d-50c? Whilst it's still completely out of my price range, it strikes me as quite an interesting camera in that it makes medium format more accessible for general photography given its size.
I've gone off DSLR since my purchase of the wonderfully classic Fujifilm X100. After a year with the X100, I've sold all my Canon full frame gear and swapped to Fujifilm X-E2 and 3 most used focal lengths, gaining a few hundred quid in the process. Now, I'm still rocking the X100 most of the time. The X-E2 offers a different field of view, thus different perspective. The X100 is taken everywhere, the X-E2 only comes out when I know I'll be taking photos of specific things. (I take mostly documentary style photos of daily life and holidays, with a bit of landscape and family photos on special occasions) I've taken the sole X100 to many places and very rarely have I regretted the decision to pack light. When I do wish for something else, it is only because the missing 85mm version of the X100. There's something really special about framing with my eyes, then the tactile feeling of tuning aperture as I rise the camera and click the shutter button in one motion. (when it focuses, luckily X-E2 fixes the focusing problem of X100) The rest of Fuji range isn't as impressive as Fuji's X range. I've used a s8400 or something bridge camera, it's leagues behind the X100 from similar era. The Fujifilm's medium format GFX-50S also looks really interesting. As a system, it will be cheaper than the Hasselblad without using leaf shutters (shame, it's what makes the X100 so versatile). It has all the wonderful Fujifilm's direct control schemes.
I was looking at the Hasselblad online the other night, it looks amazing; just what they need after some distinctly dodgy offerings. What about the V1D concept?? I love the trad 'blad fell other than that grip... I'm waiting to have a go with the X1 when my friend gets one to test. He & I used to work in pro photo retail, and he's just joined Hasselblad. Fuji looks really interesting with the X cameras, but need to see how they handle and perform. Another friend has D600 and X100, and the X100 sees most of the action; he's just been to Venice with it and to get round the lack of wide angle option (other than the screw on lens...) took pairs and quad images to stitch. The GFX-50S reminds me a bit of the old Pentax 6x7, an SLR on steroids!
My first entry into pricey camera stuff was a Panasonic Lumix GH1, which has since been usurped by a G6. I'm yet to really develop any photography stills, but don't regret the purchases as they seem great to me, and the more recent versions (eg. GH4) seem to continue to be right up there with anything else on the mirrorless market, so perhaps I'll get back into it one day and pick up some used stuff. Was that from a legit retailer you'd recommend, or a one off stroke of luck?
Digital Rev This was back in Nov 2014 but I had no issue, it arrived from Hong Kong within a few days and no hold ups at customs. They seem to be a fairly big retailer and I dont believe it was a one off stroke of luck. Not sure if the deals are still as good and as usual YMMV
The first generation(s?) of Fuji X cameras (X100, X-Pro1, X-E1, etc) are all a bit quirky, but the shooting experience is great. I went from a Canon 600D to a Fuji X-E1 and the controls and UI immediately made sense. Some advantages of Fuji X cameras: - They just feel nice in operation. Like wuyanxu said there's something special about being able to look down and see your settings on physical dials, and make deliberate choices what to change. They provide a very nice manual experience, comparable to a film camera. - A great, though not the cheapest, selection of lenses. The 27mm f/2 pancake is very sharp and would make for a very compact package, though you unfortunately lose the manual aperture ring. - The "film simulations" are some of the best SOOC jpegs out there, which for some have completely replaced shooting raw and editing afterwards. (I still like the flexibility of raw though) - Good low light performance and very pleasant, almost "film-like" noise (little color noise and nicely randomized because of the special sensor). I really like my X-E1 and probably won't sell it even now I have an X-T1. If you get one and want to use it with MF lenses I highly recommend to also get a fast SD card though. The write speed of the camera is very slow and during writing you cannot use the magnification focusing aid (focus peaking still works but I always found it to be somewhat imprecise). It was my main frustration with the X-E1 and I've missed a few nice shots because of it. After a while I just learned to accurately judge focus in normal live view though most of the time. Some other negatives of first generation Fuji X cameras: - AF speeds are usable, but definitely not the fastest. In low light they're pretty bad. - The EVF is pretty nice in general, but in low light it gets really laggy. If you want a vast improvement on all of the above, maybe check out the X-E2, which is slightly newer. Because of Fujifilm's awesome firmware updates a fully up-to-date X-E2 is basically an X-T10 with a rangefinder-like shape now. TL;DR: Try it out before you buy one. Some really enjoy Fuji cameras, some just find them gimmicky and style over substance. --- The benefit of having a focal plane shutter combined with a flange focal distance of just 27mm is that a massive amount of older manual medium and large format lenses become adaptable. Imagine shooting with the classic Carl Zeiss Planar / Schneider-Kreuznach Xenotar 80mm f/2.8 of the Rolleiflex 2.8F, or the "Medium format Noctilux", the Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/1.9.... Or even (currently) dirt cheap Schneider and Leitz MF projector lenses for fun. Lenses for 6x6 and larger would allow for some nice tilt and shift too. --- I am extremely jealous.
