- Location
- West Yorkshire
- Name
- Ken
There are times in your life when you have to realise you're getting old or your body isn't 100% and you need to have a change. In my cars I came to that point a few years ago and moved from a manual to an automatic. I think I've now come to a similar point in my photography. I'm in a position where I have weak arm muscles and can't lift my left arm to support my camera and my right arm isn't as strong as it once was. At the moment I get round it with my heavier m4/3 equipment with telephoto lenses, for motorsport, as I screw in a grip and can hang on with my left hand to provide an element of support/ballast. This would be too big and heavy for everything else, and I'm now reduced to single handed shooting.
I've tried bridge and compact cameras in the past but discovered m4/3 as a lighter option and combined everything into that format. So I currently have too many lenses and several bodies where I can mix and match to suit what I'm doing and would probably have stuck with this strategy if it were not for my daughter's wedding earlier this year.
My Panasonic GX80 and Olympus 12mm f2 provided too much of a bulge in my wedding suit pocket that I was forbidden from taking it to the wedding so ended up with a well used Sony RX100 iii specially for the event. It was useful for the wedding but sat in its bag for most of the summer. However, as it has got colder, and my muscles are impacted by cold, I thought I'd give it a go at other things. I did a shoot off, for my own benefit, of the GX80 and 12mm versus the Sony at an Air Museum and took it for a spin on a coastal walk. To my surprise, on my monitor, there was no noticeable difference between the two systems after processing (DXO PL5 and Topaz DeNoise).
I'm wondering whether I should start considering a compact for my non motorsport (landscapes, sightseeing, walking) activities. Phones are out as I can't hold it steady and take a picture with a single hand. I like the tilting rear screen, the IQ, and the power zoom of the RX100 III but the zoom (25-75) is a bit limiting and it is not the easiest to use with a single hand. Whilst I could just use primes on my m4/3 bodies I like using a zoom lens when I am out & about and power zooms make it easier for me. I've tried a used Panasonic TZ100 but it isn't the easiest thing to hold and has a static rear screen. The RX100 VI or VII are a bit too expensive to take a risk at the moment. I'm still mulling things over but any suggestions for something (from the last few years) with reasonable IQ, a tilting rear screen, power zoom, and at least a 5 times zoom which can be used with a single hand?
I've tried bridge and compact cameras in the past but discovered m4/3 as a lighter option and combined everything into that format. So I currently have too many lenses and several bodies where I can mix and match to suit what I'm doing and would probably have stuck with this strategy if it were not for my daughter's wedding earlier this year.
My Panasonic GX80 and Olympus 12mm f2 provided too much of a bulge in my wedding suit pocket that I was forbidden from taking it to the wedding so ended up with a well used Sony RX100 iii specially for the event. It was useful for the wedding but sat in its bag for most of the summer. However, as it has got colder, and my muscles are impacted by cold, I thought I'd give it a go at other things. I did a shoot off, for my own benefit, of the GX80 and 12mm versus the Sony at an Air Museum and took it for a spin on a coastal walk. To my surprise, on my monitor, there was no noticeable difference between the two systems after processing (DXO PL5 and Topaz DeNoise).
I'm wondering whether I should start considering a compact for my non motorsport (landscapes, sightseeing, walking) activities. Phones are out as I can't hold it steady and take a picture with a single hand. I like the tilting rear screen, the IQ, and the power zoom of the RX100 III but the zoom (25-75) is a bit limiting and it is not the easiest to use with a single hand. Whilst I could just use primes on my m4/3 bodies I like using a zoom lens when I am out & about and power zooms make it easier for me. I've tried a used Panasonic TZ100 but it isn't the easiest thing to hold and has a static rear screen. The RX100 VI or VII are a bit too expensive to take a risk at the moment. I'm still mulling things over but any suggestions for something (from the last few years) with reasonable IQ, a tilting rear screen, power zoom, and at least a 5 times zoom which can be used with a single hand?