Question - Big Camera for Quality or Small Camera For Mobility?

[vanoord]

The top end lumix compacts are well worth a look lx3 and lx5 I think.

I've used both the LX3 and the LX7 underground (my Fenix HL50 review photos were taken on the LX3 - see photos at the bottom of this post as examples).

I've ended up keeping the LX7 for above-ground use, as it's newer, although it can over-saturate colours in bright light unless you control the aperture manually.

The LX3 is very similar and has the huge benefit of being able to switch it on to review photographs with the lens cap still on - something the LX7 (and LX5 I think) can't do. In a grubby environment, this is a big benefit.

Both are 10 Megapixel, which is just about enough for most purposes, but in reality the LX7 should have been more when it was released.

One area where they do particularly well is close-ups: see the pics at the bottom - the second one is a table mat.

Would recommend The Panasonic Lumix LX cameras - although I'd possibly steer towards a second-hand LX3 as this should offer the better bang for buck.

There also seems to be a 20 Megapixel LX8 on the horizon - although it might be a while before the price comes down. It *may* be weather sealed, which will make it tempting...



LX3 pics underground:

Examples of close-up:

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Glad to hear this!

Big sensor small camera is the way to go if you want just one camera. Canon EOS M, £199 in Argos.......

Plus nearly double that for the wide angle lens?

 

[REEF]

Its comes with the 18-55 but yes the 11-22 is very expensive if you want to go wider.

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Its comes with the 18-55 but yes the 11-22 is very expensive if you want to go wider.

And the wide is slow.

But the actual camera looks very good value for money, Could actually replace lower end SLRs I guess.

 

[REEF]

Its was £749 when it was launched.

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Its was £749 when it was launched.

Wow. Why's it so cheap now, that was only two years ago?

 

[Fudge]

Not wanting to poach a sale here at all but if anyone wants a cheap wide angle I have a Tokina 19-35mm that I'd let go at a reasonable price.

 

[REEF]

Wow. Why's it so cheap now, that was only two years ago?

Market changed. Two years ago CSC cameras were the latest thing and commanding good prices, then the CE giants got hold of it a destroyed the prices like they did with TVs, BLueray players, etc. Still, good news for the consumer, they can get some awesome products for next to nothing.

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

Wow. Why's it so cheap now, that was only two years ago?

Canon was losing sales hand over fist along with Nikon to m4/3rds and other Mirrorless Camera systems and being Canon it was overpriced at launch & Canon as usual just expected their users to buy into it and use their existing lens collections with it against buying into a different system that had more bells & whistles and better functionality at a cheaper price point.

Hence crap sales in relation to the competition and the newer models introduced recently to try & overcome this.

If you"re reducing Camera size for weight & functionality it sort of loses the point when you stick a big L series lens, Wide angle or similar on the end of it.

Which they just didn"t get

m4/3rd"s and other mirrorless systems are smaller camera systems with pro rata lens dimensions which leave "similar priced DSLRS" well behind both in performance and ease of use.

Unfortunately size isn"t everything in this game, a Big camera does not necc" mean better, as proved on all the TOG sites daily etc

Just read up on Sony"s FF mirrorless cameras or a Panny GH3 or GH4

Saying that iv"e gone from m4/3rd"s to Sony A77 cos i"ve got big hands but for usage m4/3rd"s wins 95% of the time and it"s discreet as well unlike a DSLR system.

Just my 2 penneth

Embrace change or get left behind..but then it"s only Urbex

 

[Kickasskev]

problem in dark is sometimes the autofocus

Use a torch to get the correct focus then switch off ;-)

 

[Snake Oil]

Use a torch to get the correct focus then switch off ;-)

you can't do that if theres security lurking around though

 

[Ben Brüno Maher]

this issue is something i had to consider when buying my first DSLR, I eventually found a Panasonic Lumix G3 for sale on gumtree for £250, it's perfect for reports as it's small, lightweight, the battery lasts ages. The features i use the most are the 'peripheral defocus' mode which does as it says, the night modes are ok but i use shutter priority lots for 20 second exposures in the dark (iso range is 100 - 6400) but by far the best bit is that the screen is articulated so awkward angles etc arnt an issue as it can be moved wherever! i would defo reccomend it, i use a 17-42mm lens and a 50mm lense

 

[OldGit]

This has been on my mind lately, I have a large DSLR and some Heavy Glass, all of which needs a large bag to lug it around in.

I'm thinking of buying a smaller lighter pocket sized camera so its easier to get around for reports.

What do you prefer to use? a super heavy DSLR with awesome quality or something a bit more nimble, maybe compromising on quality?

A.

I use a Nikon D500 for 'serious' photography, a D3000 and a D7100 compact as 'holiday' cameras. All capable of quality pics if used with a bit of knowledge. Big advantage of anything that doesn't have a mirror is being able to hand hold longer exposures.

 

[apcyberax]

I take a full backpack with me with almot everything i'll ever need.

dSLR
Go Pro
GoPole360 (amazing kit)
small tripod
Go pro mounts (head. body and one in the bag strap)
Mavic Air Drone
Batteries
Torch
and a few random bits.

 

[joelmnadler]

This has been on my mind lately, I have a large DSLR and some Heavy Glass, all of which needs a large bag to lug it around in.

I'm thinking of buying a smaller lighter pocket sized camera so its easier to get around for reports.

What do you prefer to use? a super heavy DSLR with awesome quality or something a bit more nimble, maybe compromising on quality?

A.

I shoot with a Canon 5d Mk4 with a 24-105 l and a Canon t6i with a sigma 10-20 and a huge tripod- Sure, it weighs a lot but at the end of the day, I want quality images. I'm able to carry myself just as well with the heavier load so I would say its worth it to go with the better gear