Travel Camera

rtjdesign

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Ryan
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Hey guys,

I don't know much about the latest cameras out and about at the moment as I still shoot my trusty 5DMKII after having owned a few of them and cant fault the body for what I need.

I am looking to get something a lot smaller and lighter to hike with and travel around Asia with, there seems to be a lot of new mirrorless models coming out all the time at all varying price ranges.

Ideally id like to spend no more than £600 to get something that gives really great stills and maybe the possibility of video. Anyone got any recommendations? Im not expecting DSLR quality don't get me wrong but don't want to end up buying some garbage.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

Ryan
 
I have a Canon5D2 and love the camera but not the weight, especially with F2.8 zooms. For travel, I use M43 cameras which are much lighter and have mostly really small lenses which are perfect for travel. Any camera with IBIS really helps with low shutter speeds and reduces the requirement to ramp up ISO. Compared to a full frame DSLR, M43 cameras are not as good using high ISO settings or moving target focusing, not that the 5D2 is a star at focusing either. APS(C) mirrorless cameras from Fuji and Sony will give better image quality but require bigger lenses compared to M43 and don't yet have as full a range of lenses. At the end of the day it's a balance between lower size and weight and slightly lower image quality compared to more weight, better image quality of APS(C) mirrorless and likely a bit more cost. I suggest that FF Sony mirrorless would be beyond the budget even secondhand and give much less significant weight savings.

M43 lenses do indeed work on either Olympus or Panasonic bodies, older Panasonics won't have IBIS but any lens fitted to an Olympus body would be stabilised,
 
For an all-in-one solution, consider the current generation of 1" sensor bridge cameras: Panasonic FZ1000, Sony RX10 or (s/h) RX10 II.
 
For an all-in-one solution, consider the current generation of 1" sensor bridge cameras: Panasonic FZ1000, Sony RX10 or (s/h) RX10 II.
A plus one from me.

Indeed I'd go further and say just get the Sony rx10 (i/ii) lens is stunning and it can produce fantastic A3+ prints.
 
For maximum saving in bulk maybe go for one of the RF style bodies rather than a mini SLR body. I have Panasonic GX7 and GX85 and I'd recommend the latter, focus is near instantaneous. There are plenty of lenses to choose from and they're pretty easy to find on the used market at reasonable prices. One good thing is that they tend to be good from the widest apertures without stopping down.

I'm mainly a prime guy (I have the Olympus 17, 25 and 45mm f1.8's) but also have the excellent Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 zoom. Maybe that lens and a fast prime would cover the vast majority of my needs especially as it focus's quite close and can double as a close focusing lens for flower shots and the like. I also have the tiny prime sized 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Mega OIS kit zoom which again is perfectly useable from wide open and the 45-150mm f4-5.6. Some of those options like the 12-35mm f2.8 will blow the budget though.

Another consideration could be a 1" sensor camera. I have the Panasonic TZ100 and it's surprisingly good with a 25-250mm equivalent zoom lens.
 
Cheers guys for the advice, i've gone for the Panasonic GX80 as its about the size I was looking for when having a play in person and seems really good for the money, might pick up a 2.8 lens for it at some point if I really like it, be a nice change for using a chunky gripped up SLR.

I'll get some pics posted up once i've give it a whirl.
 
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