Recommend me a camera

The23rdman

The23rdman

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Dean
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I'll admit that I'm a little stumped. I've always been a DSLR user because I needed the best IQ and AF performance, but I've stopped shooting for a living and now want to focus on fine art portraiture. I'm looking for a reasonable single lens and body combo that has a universal hotshoe. Fast glass doesn't matter, but IQ is still pretty important. Because I'll be largely shooting in the sweet spot of the lens almost anything will do. This is just hobbyist stuff now and my budget is around £300 (not £600 or, "save a little more, etc, etc").

I'm open to any system/camera except a DSLR. What's out there on the used market I should consider?
 
I loved my fuji x100s with the tcl-x100 for portraits it never missed a beat but totally smitten with my olympus em5
 
Mrbaker said:
I loved my fuji x100s with the tcl-x100 for portraits it never missed a beat but totally smitten with my olympus em5
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So you know where to buy an EM5 with glass for £300?

Dean, I think you should be looking at some of the earlier Fujiflm X-series bodies, preferably the XE but XA or XM if you can live without a viewfinder, plus the 18-55mm lens but I think you'll be very tight on your budget.
You could look at the lower end of M43 and I found this kit which might suit.
Alternatively would a high-end bridge camera like this be enough? I know it's over budget but it'll give you an idea of what's available.
 
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I just got a 2nd em5 elite all boxed with 12-50 for £300 off of eBay and although the lens is slow it's an underestimated lens and pretty sharp I missed 1 with a pany 14-42 that went for 260.
So bargains can be had.
Mpb have em5 bodies from 219.
 
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There's an X100 for sale on the classifieds. It used to be mine. It's in great condition and it's a bargain price.
Really, you can't go wrong with this fabulous camera.
I only sold it b3cause I was consumed with GAS and bought a X100T - in retrospect, a bit daft.........
 
id take a look around for an em10 mk1 and get a 45mm oly to go with it, you would get very nice images for very close to budget. the 45mm is a great portrait lens
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I need a zoom lens though. I'm usually a prime user but with a single lens solution a prime will be too restrictive. I'm not going to be shooting wide open at all so the speed is irrelevant to me.
 
The23rdman said:
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I need a zoom lens though. I'm usually a prime user but with a single lens solution a prime will be too restrictive. I'm not going to be shooting wide open at all so the speed is irrelevant to me.
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well if you want the best iq and a zoom that isn't a dslr then £300 is not much, if iq is the priority and the budget is fixed then zooming with your feet would be the best option. that said the oly "kit lens" really arnt bad at all and used within their limits get pretty good images. a mk1 em10 and the kits lens would be close to your budget,
 
 
The23rdman said:
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I need a zoom lens though. I'm usually a prime user but with a single lens solution a prime will be too restrictive. I'm not going to be shooting wide open at all so the speed is irrelevant to me.
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Then the em5 is likely to be ideal I paid £300 for a boxed em5 elite and 12-50mm kit zoom even a panasonic 14-45mm can be picked up cheaply and is a good lens. I like the olympus 12 -50 as it has a dedicated macro button and a function button to set then go like the built in teleconverter.
 
Other points to remember the em10 is slighter newer tech, has 3 stop image stabilisation em5 is 4 stop, em5 is weather sealed as is the 12-50mm.
 
I don't need any bells and whistles. I'm only concerned with IQ because I'll be using lights. Weather sealing could be useful though. Cheers.
 
I used an EM-5 for ages, loved it. The 12-50 kit zoom isn't at all bad if you use it in the middle of the aperture and zoom range; I'm not sure about the 14-40. I mainly used the 12-40 pro zoom and primes but they'll be out of budget. That aside, a 2nd hand EM-5 is ridiculously good value for money.

If you want to use HSS or TTL with off-camera flash I'd avoid m4/3, though - there are some clunky radio workarounds but all the main triggering options are proprietary IR.

I was happy printing exhibition prints at 24 x 36 inches but not bigger.

You may find you want some kind of grip - not a full Oly battery grip but a minimal one makes the thing much comfier, especially with heavier lenses.

One of my reasons for moving to FF was increased bit depth & dynamic range so I could do more processing before an image degraded but if well lit you'll still have plenty of wiggle room.

It doesn't shoot tethered if that's an issue.

Feel free to ask me about any specifics.
 
F80 and a lens to suit use and budget? Not a DSLR!!!
 
@The23rdman If your interested in an em5 I may be selling mine with the 12-50 and a spare battery as I may be buying an em1 and 12-40mm 2.8(if my offer is accepted).
If you are I will put an advert in the classifieds as per the rules.
 
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juggler said:
I used an EM-5 for ages, loved it. The 12-50 kit zoom isn't at all bad if you use it in the middle of the aperture and zoom range; I'm not sure about the 14-40. I mainly used the 12-40 pro zoom and primes but they'll be out of budget. That aside, a 2nd hand EM-5 is ridiculously good value for money.

If you want to use HSS or TTL with off-camera flash I'd avoid m4/3, though - there are some clunky radio workarounds but all the main triggering options are proprietary IR.

I was happy printing exhibition prints at 24 x 36 inches but not bigger.

You may find you want some kind of grip - not a full Oly battery grip but a minimal one makes the thing much comfier, especially with heavier lenses.

One of my reasons for moving to FF was increased bit depth & dynamic range so I could do more processing before an image degraded but if well lit you'll still have plenty of wiggle room.

It doesn't shoot tethered if that's an issue.

Feel free to ask me about any specifics.
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just feeling well enough to think about this again. That's great info, mate. I've been really impressed with the IQ from the Olys, and none of those limitations matter to me. I only shoot manual with lights and I'll have plenty of time to get my exposure bang on.
 
Mrbaker said:
@The23rdman If your interested in an em5 I may be selling mine with the 12-50 and a spare battery as I may be buying an em1 and 12-40mm 2.8(if my offer is accepted).
If you are I will put an advert in the classifieds as per the rules.
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Go for it. Let's have a look. :)
 
I think I'm going to grab an XE-1 and 16-50.
 
juggler said:
Cool! What made you change your mind?
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I've thought about one a few times over the past couple of years, but always went with DSLRs for work. I'm only shooting for fun now so I think it'll be cool to try - especially with a decent one for good money in the classifieds.
 
juggler said:
The 45 f1.8 is a fine portrait lens and really very cheap.. especially if I get around to putting mine in the classifieds ;)
It's sharp but has an appealing very slightly diffuse character.
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so I hear, but the only other lens that might be useful to me now would be a pancake for shots of Noah. I don't really want to invest any more money.
 
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