Camera

[freeon]

Anybody have recommendations for a camera. I would primarily use on my vacations so would like something that is not to heavy that I can carry all day. Would like something with a good zoom. I don't have a price in mind. I don't know much about cameras and their price range. All I know is after looking at my Iphone pictures from my last vacation I realized I was time for a real camera.

 

[bngl3rt]

We are very happy with our Sony NEX-5T which was recently superseded by the NEX-6. Great camera, very lightweight and portable, and you can zap the photos over to your phone wirelessly for emailing and so on.

 

[myhui]

Fujifilm X-T1

 

[kaede]

With all the technology nowadays, we'd think digital cameras or compact cameras will be much cheaper than when they first came out. BUT WRONG. It is still very pricey considering that camera phones take decent quality pictures nowadays already. The Bulky, Big, DSLRs have relatively lost its luster with many models priced low for the general consumer market.

Now, to answer your question, first you'll have to give us a price point.

Google micro 4/3rds cameras. Many good compact, "DSLR" like quality cameras nowadays. Good Luck!

 

[RSO 34]

Ultimately, budget and future use intentions will dictate your choice between an SLR and a point and shoot.

Having spent approximately $50,000 on my gear over the years (disclaimer: very satisfied Canonite.......) and currently use strictly pro level bodies/lenses, I hate the loss of quality when using a point and shoot.

That being said, I can state from personal experience (owning and shooting) that based upon your limited description that you would be very satisfied with a Canon G16:

http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_g16

You can try it out in a Best Buy store but I would also highly recommend going through B&H Photo (the recipient of my many tens of thousands of dollars spent on gear).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1000470-REG/canon_8406b001_powershot_g16_digital_camera.html

Also know that the quality of the photo will depend greatly on the quality of the glass in the lens. I can shoot my Canon 5d Mark III with a "regular" Canon lens and it lags greatly behind the quality of a photo taken with the same body and any of my L series lenses.

As an aside, not to be an elitist but personally I feel that the iphone and samsung phone cameras are destroying photography. And, yes, I will use my iphone camera for some things but if something is worth shooting I always have my slr to grab the pic.

p.s. and not to (intentionally) pat myself on the back, but if you wonder about my photography background you can click the link in my sig

 

[myhui]

I left the Canon camp a week ago when I bought the X-T1.

I was a 25 year Canonite. The last hold out on their FD lenses. But after their weak effort at mirrorless DSLR, I had to leave.

Fujifilm has their L equivalent portrait lens out now. You can imagine all the pro photogs rushing to see the blurred part of the picture to check whether the blurring is done tastefully or not.

Everyone can shoot an in focus picture. Only a pro can shoot a tastefully out of focus picture.

 

[RSO 34]

I left the Canon camp a week ago when I bought the X-T1.

The X-T1 is an excellent camera but based upon the limited background info provided by the OP my sense is that it is "too much of a camera" for him, at least at this time. Use the savings in cost between the X-T1 and the G16 and take the G16 on a vacation to practice with it.

- - - Updated - - -

Everyone can shoot an in focus picture. Only a pro can shoot a tastefully out of focus picture.

Very true, at what point does out of focus become out of focus.

I grabbed this one off pic during NSX Fiesta in Japan in 2010. I was annoyed that I didn't pivot more smoothly to grab a more in focus shot of the geisha but the pic has grown on me over the years since considering the juxtapositioning of ancient traditions with the modern tech of texting.

 

[myhui]

Well, there are gobs of Formula One moving car shots with blurred backgrounds too.

 

[RSO 34]

Well, there are gobs of Formula One moving car shots with blurred backgrounds too.

Motorsports photography benefits as much as portraiture with the blurred background, albeit in motorsports it is used to give the "illusion" of speed.

 

[freeon]

First of thanks for all the feedback. When I first posted i really didn't know were to start and what price ranges were and that's why I didn't indicate a budget. I looked at the first 2 cameras suggested and in Canada they retail around $800-$900 for the Sony and $1,400-$1,500 for the Fujifilm. Yes these are rough pricing as I didn't do any shopping. Even though I had no idea price ranges I was hopping it would be less. Around $500. But don't mind paying more for a better product. For a none photographer like me what will a $900 or $1,500 camera do that a $500.00 won't. I'm sure the person holding the camera can do as much difference as the camera itself. I honestly don't see myself using it other than on vacation once or twice a year. I did stumble upon one on a cruise forum that a lot of people seemed to like. Canon PowerShot SX 50 HS with x50 zoom which is something I like. One thing I noticed compared to similar priced camera is that this is 12 megapixel and others have 16. Will the megapixel make a big difference?

 

[RSO 34]

The "camera" won't make the difference, the photographer will first and foremost and the glass in the lens a close second.

The difference between 12 - 16 mp will be insignificant for an amateur shooting. Generally, the more mp, the more the pic may be enlarged and printed before you see pixelization. More mp also helps with cropping and preserving the ability to print larger sizes.

The difference between an okay photo and a great photo can also be in the post processing with software such as Lightroom or Photoshop. To get the most benefits from such software, you need to shoot RAW images and not JPEGS. The G16 will shoot both RAW and JPEG allowing you to get familiar with shooting in general and before you go to the expense of purchasing such software but I would recommend ultimately getting one or both (they are not inexpensive however - they will cost more than the camera). There are cheaper alternatives but you get what you pay for.

If you are going to shoot only once or twice per year, don't bother with anything over $500. The G16 is at that price point, for example, and will shoot HD video in addition to stills. 12mp should suit you fine with your limited intentions.

As for zoom capability, make sure whatever camera you choose is based upon "optical zoom" and not "digital zoom". Digital zoom, IMO, is worthless and destroys photos taken by amateurs who think more zoom is better automatically when digital will cause pixelization and optical will not. Get the most optical zoom and completely ignore any touts of digital zoom.

 

[freeon]

So what is your thought on this one. The x50 zoom is optical. It also it has digital zoom above the optical and yes I know what you mean by digital zoom.I have seen friends picture with digital zoom and they don't look good. 1 reason I want a lot of optical zoom so I won't have to use the digital. We do a lot of traveling in Europe and there seems to be a lot of times I want to zoom in. I know it's around twice the weight as the G16 which is one thing that concerns me. For anyone that travels with cameras does it become more of a nuisance than what it's worth.

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/42415#_030

 

[RSO 34]

I had one of the first megapixel cameras, a Nikon Coolpix. I paid $1000 for it in 2000. It was a 1.9 mp camera.

An iPhone has an 8 mp camera.

I took this pic in Italy in 2000. The 1.9 mp photo produced a digital file totaling 1.28 mb. By comparison, one image in my Canon 5d Mark III will be 26mb - 20 times larger.

I remember the early compact flash cards were priced almost $1 per mb - so a "large" card of 256 mb would cost approximately $250. These days, I can buy a 64 GB card for under $50.

- - - Updated - - -

So what is your thought on this one. The x50 zoom is optical. It also it has digital zoom above the optical and yes I know what you mean by digital zoom.I have seen friends picture with digital zoom and they don't look good. 1 reason I want a lot of optical zoom so I won't have to use the digital. We do a lot of traveling in Europe and there seems to be a lot of times I want to zoom in. I know it's around twice the weight as the G16 which is one thing that concerns me. For anyone that travels with cameras does it become more of a nuisance than what it's worth.

http://www.canon.ca/inetCA/en/products/method/gp/pid/42415#_030

The SX60 HS is an excellent camera that is not out yet (scheduled release next month - October). It will run you approx. $100 USD more than the G16. I haven't tried it but the previews appear to show a very good overall camera for the price.

In terms of weight, I am the wrong one to ask. For example, my "day camera bag" in the Galapagos weighed 42 pounds. My standard setup of a Canon 5d Mark III body and 70-200 L lens is over 5 pounds by itself.

 

[Zoom]

Micro 4/3 (MFT), and mirrorless in general are what you are looking for. MFT is gaining traction due to a large amount of manufacturers contributing to the format, and today has the largest choice of lenses. Another good option for a travel camera is the newly announced Panasonic LX100.

 

[myhui]

Photokina 2014: Canon interview - Mirrorless 'in the very near future'

What needs to happen before Canon will create a serious mirrorless camera?

We are serious. We are really focused on mirrorless and we’re spending lots of time, and devoting a lot of manpower to scaling up mirrorless development right now.

What has changed? Why are you more serious now than in previous years?

We’ve actually been serious about it since the very beginning.

Currently no Canon camera offers more than 22MP. Do your DSLR customers ask for higher resolution?

Yes. We know that many of our customers need more resolution and this is under consideration. In the very near future you can expect us to show something in terms of mirrorless and also a higher resolution sensor.

 

[Zoom]

Canon have missed the mirrorless boat completely. Arguably they have to protect their customer base who invested heavily into DSLR systems.
Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic have no such issue and they are far ahead. Sony are also doing a half assed effort and actually left their NEX users stranded now that they are focusing on full frame mirrorless (A7 series).
Having a small, lightweight camera and lenses in a shoulder bag is a great pleasure when travelling especially when trekking on difficult terrain.

All of these (and hundreds more) have been taken on my MFT gear with the small but wonderful lenses that are available in that format.

 

[06_typeS]

^ That has to be one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. The detail of the mountian ranges is really nice. Great Wall of China?

 

[freeon]

Canon have missed the mirrorless boat completely. Arguably they have to protect their customer base who invested heavily into DSLR systems.
Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic have no such issue and they are far ahead. Sony are also doing a half assed effort and actually left their NEX users stranded now that they are focusing on full frame mirrorless (A7 series).
Having a small, lightweight camera and lenses in a shoulder bag is a great pleasure when travelling especially when trekking on difficult terrain.


All of these (and hundreds more) have been taken on my MFT gear with the small but wonderful lenses that are available in that format.

Wow. very nice pictures. What camera do you have.

 

[Zoom]

^ That has to be one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. The detail of the mountian ranges is really nice. Great Wall of China?

Exact, in middle of winter. Spent 5 days trekking in remote locations to get this kind of shot (got many fantastic shots there...)

Wow. very nice pictures. What camera do you have.

A simple Olympus EP-5. Good lenses is the key, the Oly 75mm f/1.8 for example, or the Panasonic 20mm... What is fantastic on this system is all lenses work on either camera (Panasonic Olympus or Kodak). Voigtländer lenses are the keystone of this system, all of them are f/0.95 !! Olympus lenses are no slouch either. And like i said, you can put any MFT body behind them...

 

[xsn]

All of these (and hundreds more) have been taken on my MFT gear with the small but wonderful lenses that are available in that format.

Absolutely gorgeous photos, any one of them would look at home in National Geographic. The variety of talents of the members here never ceases to impress me!

 

[Zoom]

Thanks
More on topic for this forum i took that one in Geneva

(still with MFT gear)

 

[myhui]

An excellent lens for mirrorless cameras.

HandeVision IBELUX 40 mm / 0.85

 

[myhui]

Getting back on topic ... what do you guys want to see at this Japanese Classic Car Show tomorrow? I'll bring my Fujifilm X-T1 camera with the stock zoom lens to take some pictures. I only bought the camera less than two weeks ago, and I have hardly used it that much.

 

[myhui]

Photos from today's Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach, CA

(click on each image to get the full res version from photobucket)

My favorite Datsun body from my childhood days swapped with my favorite production Honda motor of all time. Tastefully done too, complete with the Air Conditioning delete kit from the S2000CR. Note the DBW throttle, short ram CAI getting cool air through head lamp delete, stubby PCV air intake filter on the valve cover. All wires tucked. Battery relocated.



Far too much chrome, but the Nuke Performance Vacuum Station looks neat.



The original Subie. Is it even more cool than the VW camper van?