micro 4/3 or compact camera advice

kokolino23

kokolino23

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Hello,
I'm looking to buy a micro 4/3 camera and I need your advice please.
I'll buy it second had and a model from a few years ago won't matter as it's normally cheaper. My budged is aroung £200 including the lens but I might convince my OH to alocate more funds towards it.
Ideally a fast AF and good in low light as we've got 2 small kids as a mai subject.
I was looking at Olympus OMD or Pen, Fuji X-E1 (but I've read the colours are a little bit dull), Sony RX100 MK1, Panasonic.
Thank you very much indeed.
 
The first thing to say is that for all the cameras you mention and pretty much all in this class the continuous AF is woeful so if that's what you want (to chase fast/erratic moving kids) a low level DSLR would probably be better.

That in mind, all the recent Olympus cameras have blindingly fast single AF that is decent in low light but you'll need to up your budget a bit to get an OMD, the original EM5 is the cheapest option generally in still very good.

The Fuji X-E1 is really slow AF, even on single so I would probably count that out.

The Panasonic m43 cameras are good but I don't know as much about them, I think you could probably get one in your budget though and IQ and single AF speed will be good.

The Sony RX100 mk1 is a bit of a different beast, no viewfinder for a start and no interchangeable lenses, don't know too much else about it though.
 
What lenses should I consider for olympus? I was looking at 17 mm 2.8 and the obvious 14-42mm
 
Lenses are a personal thing, both of those are ok although I would look at the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 before the Oly Pancake lens.
 
Thanks, I did buy that lens for a friend a few yrs ago and he's very pleased with it. I just couldn't remember what lens though.
 
Nawty said:
Lenses are a personal thing, both of those are ok although I would look at the Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 before the Oly Pancake lens.
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I wouldn't.

I have the 20mm f1.7 and nice though it is it comes with issues. The focus speed is relatively slow and it's relatively noisy, banding is possible at higher ISO's and AFAIK it doesn't do tracking too well either. (Just check and it doesn't track well...) Although these may not be issues for many people including me I wouldn't recommend this lens for taking pictures of children unless they'll pose.

For faster focus I think you're better looking elsewhere but the budget of £200 is limiting and you may be restricted to a body and whatever kit lens comes with it. I have a first generation Panasonic G1 and it'll focus quite fast with one of my faster lenses but these faster lenses tend to go for £100-150 so that only leaves £50-100 for the body... which may restrict you to the likes of the Panasonic G1, G2 or G3 or one of the older EVF-less Panasonic or Olympus cameras.

Have a look here for a few ideas on what's available at what price...

http://www.ffordes.com/category/Digital_Cameras/Mirrorless/Olympus/Cameras

I think for £200 you're looking at a body and one lens, maybe the kit zoom or one prime lens. Maybe you'll get a body and kit lens and a prime for £200 but if you do I think you'll be lucky. Personally I'd go for a G1/2/3 and an Olympus 25mm f1.8 and that little setup would give reasonably fast single point focus and good image quality up to something like ISO 1200 with increasing care needed up to ISO 1600 to 3200, but that's just me.

Another way to go is to get a body and a £10 adapter and use cheap manual lenses. You can get a manual 28mm f2.8 for £15-30 and a 50mm f1.8 for £20 or less so you could if you wish spend £50-100 on a body, maybe grab a bargain kit lens for around £50 if you can find one and spend £10 on an adapter and £25-50 on manual lenses. Just a thought :D
 
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Thanks a lot, Alan. What lens do you have on your G1, if you don't mind me asking, please? Thanks
 
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I have... Panasonic 14mm f2.5 and 20mm f1.7, Olympus 17mm, 25mm and 45mm f1.8 and some zooms I hardly ever use... 2 x Panasonic 14-42mm and a 45-200mm and a Olympus 9-18mm. I also have a Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 which I'll be using on my G7.

Of these I'd particularly recommend the Olympus 17, 25 and 45mm f1.8 lenses. They all seem to be optically good and focus quite quickly. I've also used manual lenses quite a lot on my G1 particularly an old Minolta mount 50mm f2.8 macro. The 14-42mm f3.5 to 5.6 kit lenses are perfectly good enough but by the time you've stopped them down a bit unless you're shooting in good light the ISO can rise quite a bit so personally I don't use them a lot but for daylight use in good light they're perfectly ok.

There are a lot of shots and opinions in the Panasonic G series thread...

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/panasonic-g-series-owners-thread.262800/page-210
 
I would have to say a cheap DSLR for your subjects and price, Nikon D3300 with kit lens will get you proper started.
You can then add another cheap zoom lens.

I used to be a DSLR person before I cottoned on to the fact I wasn't taking any pictures of moving stuff and wanted more discrete so sold it and now am enjoying an Olympus om-d Em5 ii and its cracking and with a short prime almost drops in my pocket.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D3200-Digital-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B007VBGTX8
 
I do have already a nikon d7000 and 18-200 lens for myself. I'm looking to buy a camera for my other half but I'd guess I'll be using it as well. Went to the shops today and was quite impressed with fuji x100s but might be well over my budget.
 
Can someone explain me what's the difference between an OMD EM5 mk1 and OMD EM10 mk2, please? Which one is better? Thanks a lot
 
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kokolino23 said:
Can someone explain me what's the difference between an OM5 mk1 and OM10 mk2, please? Which one is better? Thanks a lot
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The EM5 is weather sealed, off the top of my head the EM10 mark 2 is better for everything else.

Neither of these cameras are particularly good for shooting moving subjects though, such as children. Probably the cheapest CSC that is halfway decent for this is the Sony A6000 which you may find in budget if you're willing to accept a less than pristine used example.

An entry level DSLR such as a Nikon D3200/3300 might be a better option, and are still pretty small cameras.

Edit
http://m.olympus.co.uk/msite/en/c/cameras/om_d_system_cameras/e_m5/e_m5_specifications.html


http://m.olympus.co.uk/msite/en/c/cameras/om_d_system_cameras/e_m10_mark_ii/e_m10_mark_ii_main.html
 
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I'm wondering which one would be suitable for moving objects then as a fast AF is a must. I've got already a DSLR but my wife can't stand it at all. Too bulky and complicated she says.
 
We did have a Fuji x100 and RX100 but I found the focus a little bit slow at the time. I don't know if Fuji X100s or Sony RX100 MK3 has improved. Panasonic LX100 looks good to us as well but it's so difficult to test it in store. OMD10 MK2 looked fast enough or might be just me...
 
Yes. The single AF will be very fast. It's just the continuous AF mode that will often lag.
 
kokolino23 said:
I'm wondering which one would be suitable for moving objects then as a fast AF is a must. I've got already a DSLR but my wife can't stand it at all. Too bulky and complicated she says.
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CSCs are no less complicated IMO.

kokolino23 said:
We did have a Fuji x100 and RX100 but I found the focus a little bit slow at the time. I don't know if Fuji X100s or Sony RX100 MK3 has improved. Panasonic LX100 looks good to us as well but it's so difficult to test it in store. OMD10 MK2 looked fast enough or might be just me...
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The X100s, RX100 and LX100 AFs are decent at best, and really start to struggle in low light. AF-C (which you tend to use for moving subjects) isn't good at all.

EM10 AF is very fast in AF-S in good light, struggles a bit in low light, and also struggles in AF-C
 
kokolino23 said:
Hello,
..........Fuji X-E1 (but I've read the colours are a little bit dull)..........
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There are lots of issues with the X-E1 but dull colours is not one of them :)

CSC's are notoriously poor at continuous focus, especially in low light, and I would say your probably going to have to think of something else or at the very least increase your budget significantly. What about a bridge camera, I think some of the panasonic's can be ok as CAF.
 
kokolino23 said:
I'm wondering which one would be suitable for moving objects then as a fast AF is a must. I've got already a DSLR but my wife can't stand it at all. Too bulky and complicated she says.
Click to expand...

You really need to define what you need in terms of fast AF. The AF on my E-M5 ii using one of the pro zooms is so quick that it is imperceptible. In that regard I find I get a very good keeper rate when photographing the kids but if they're running towards the camera, the AF doesn't really cope. Any modern DSLR has got that aspect well and truly nailed.

If the budget can be stretched a little, I'm pretty sure that £200 buys a good E-M5 mk1 now. So any further budget could go on a lens which is going to come down to personal preference.
 
Thank you very much indeed. I can find a E-M5 mk1 in a good nick for £200 so clearly that's an option. MK2 is more expensive obviously.
 
kokolino23 said:
Can someone explain me what's the difference between an OM5 mk1 and OM10 mk2, please? Which one is better? Thanks a lot
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If you're asking about cameras on a camera forum you would do better to get the names right : with so many new models each year there will be even more confusion in the future.
 
Was a typo from my Android TP app as I've got spelling suggestions enabled. Thanks for pointing that out and I'll correct it as soon as I can log on from my laptop.
 
Yes because if you want the OM10 be sure to get the manual adapter. We're sticklers you see.
 
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