Camera advise

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enived

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paul
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Hi,
I am currently thinking about buying a second hand mirrorless camera just to always have a camera to hand when i am out and about.
I have a Nikon D700 and a D500 but not bothered about what brand of mirrorless I go for as intend buying just a small multi use zoom lens for it.
I have looked at both a Canon M5 and a Sony A7 today and both seen ok.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received.
Probably want to spend less than a grand on both.
 
enived said:
Hi,
I am currently thinking about buying a second hand mirrorless camera just to always have a camera to hand when i am out and about.
I have a Nikon D700 and a D500 but not bothered about what brand of mirrorless I go for as intend buying just a small multi use zoom lens for it.
I have looked at both a Canon M5 and a Sony A7 today and both seen ok.
Any recommendations would be gratefully received.
Probably want to spend less than a grand on both.
Click to expand...

I have a Sony A7. A lot may depend on how big and heavy a camera and lens combination you're willing to have always with you. The A7 for example is quite small but you can fit a big lens too it.

If you're happy with an A7 and 35mm f2.8 I'd say go for it or any Canon equivalent that's about the same size and weight.
 
What about a Fuji X100F?

Yes, it is a fixed 35mm but personally I found it quite liberating, It just fits in some jeans pockets but certainly a coat pocket, and you can get a small pouch on a belt loop. I had the original, then the T and now the F - until 6 months ago this was in tandem with A d700 or d750 but started to take those out less, and even did a couple of trips to US with just the F. It made you think and adapt to surroundings better than just zooming, and you could always crop quite a bit too. IQ is excellent and ended up then getting an XT3.
 
A7 definitely seems small until you put a decent lens on it. A used NEX with the 16-50 compact zoom would do it.

There's a nearly new X100F in the Classifieds right now.
 
I have the D500 which I love, but it can look a bit out of place on the table when you take the missus out........
I looked around considered a compact but wanted a viewfinder and the opportunity to change lenses if required, didn’t fancy used but had a limited budget, I opted for the Sony A6000 with 16-50mm pancake lens, paid £329 after cashback, it’s a little old now, but it was way ahead of its time on release.
Its small enough to drop in your pocket, it has an aps-c sensor the same as the D500.
Its video af is far better than the Nikon’s.
 
Olympus EM1 and 12-40mm f2.8.
 
goldtop said:
Except, that's a big old lens! Together that pairing was about the same size as the A7ii (with 28-70 kit lens).
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The 12-40 2.8 is not a big lens by any stretch, it's teensy considering the equivalence. It's light, tidy, and sharp as you'd even need to boot, plus has really nice close focus capability. If you want small and tidy that lens on something like an em 10 mkII is a very nice combination. You're comparing it to a kit lens that is not anywhere near on he same level tbh. You're getting so much more with the Oly pro zoom.
 
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I had exactly this pair of (below) setups for a while. They even weigh almost exactly the same! And while I liked the Oly 12-40, the IQ of that pair did not beat the A7ii and kit lens. (I far prefer the Olympus handling and firmware.)

Image1.jpg
 
What about Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II? I know It's small, it's light and it's compact size, M.Zuiko glass, and it's imagining processing gives you the dynamic to take stunning shots wherever you may be. The only real complaint is that the battery life could be better. You can look at the Key Features to identify, properly!
 
goldtop said:
Except, that's a big old lens! Together that pairing was about the same size as the A7ii (with 28-70 kit lens).
Click to expand...
Depends what we’re comparing (y)
 
goldtop said:
Except, that's a big old lens! Together that pairing was about the same size as the A7ii (with 28-70 kit lens).
Click to expand...
goldtop said:
I had exactly this pair of (below) setups for a while. They even weigh almost exactly the same! And while I liked the Oly 12-40, the IQ of that pair did not beat the A7ii and kit lens. (I far prefer the Olympus handling and firmware.)

View attachment 266334
Click to expand...

Again, that's a kit lens you're comparing it to, so the 12-40 is tiny, try comparing it to something actually equivilant like a 24-70 2.8. I'm doubting the kit lens is better in anyway, you may have preferred it but some people prefer a rainy morning . . .
 
Its not large in the grand scheme of things, all depends what its compared to.
Seriously doubt any kit lens is as good, one of the generally considered to be the best is the Fuji 18-55
I've had both and the Olympus is better, top class lens, in M4/3 only rivalled by the Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8
It can't really be considered a kit lens in the normal way even though it can be purchased as a "kit" with a body
 
tijuana taxi said:
Its not large in the grand scheme of things, all depends what its compared to.
Seriously doubt any kit lens is as good, one of the generally considered to be the best is the Fuji 18-55
I've had both and the Olympus is better, top class lens, in M4/3 only rivalled by the Panasonic 12-35 f/2.8
It can't really be considered a kit lens in the normal way even though it can be purchased as a "kit" with a body
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To be clear: I said that the kit 28-70 on the FF-sensor A7ii provided better IQ than the 12-40 on the lower-resolution M43-sensor E-M1. For the same weight and size, and the OP is after a walkabout set.

@Cagey75 - For sure, the Oly 12-40/2.8 is considerably smaller then a FF 2.8 equivalent. It'd be weird to claim anything different (physics!) But that comparison isn't relevant here. The Sony 28-70mm kit lens tested well at DXO, too - just as sharp as the 16-35/4 and 24-70/4 and almost as good as the 24-70/2.8.

Just to reiterate, if the OP wants something light and easy for walkabout, that Oly lens is a significant lump on what are otherwise very compact M43 cameras. IMHO.
 
What about a Fuji X-T* (1,2 or 3) and as a small zoom the 18-55mm? Plenty of excellent primes you could use too.
 
Just reading the discussions re MFT f2.8 zoom and FF f3.5-5.6 or f2.8 zoom...

I have a Panasonic 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 mega ois which tiny, the size of a film era 50mm f1.8. It's only a variable aperture but it is sharp enough to use wide open and it's tiny. For anyone wanting to save bulk and weight but keep the zoom feature an rf style mft body and a tiny lens like that could be worth a look if the aperture range is acceptable.
 
woof woof said:
Just reading the discussions re MFT f2.8 zoom and FF f3.5-5.6 or f2.8 zoom...

I have a Panasonic 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 mega ois which tiny, the size of a film era 50mm f1.8. It's only a variable aperture but it is sharp enough to use wide open and it's tiny. For anyone wanting to save bulk and weight but keep the zoom feature an rf style mft body and a tiny lens like that could be worth a look if the aperture range is acceptable.
Click to expand...
Olly 14-42mm ez is teeny tiny too, put that on an EM5, EM10 or Pen and it’s a super small setup (y)
 
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