- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
I've been sort of looking through some cameras and also the camera search on dpreview, looking for a camera with these features which I say are essential for my purposes:
i) It must have a rangefinder focusing system. I say this is crucial for me because many of my photos are taken in ultra or extreme low-light conditions. I took my Canon DSLR 7D out with my Leica for a dark-of-the-night shoot for example and the 7D failed miserably, whereas my Leica came through for me. This is because with the Leica, I could see through the viewfinder and find the tiniest and barest visual focusing point, even if it's the tiniest microscopic sliver of light on the edge of an object, and use that as a point of reference to gauge focus overall. With the DSLR, I couldn't even see anything through the viewfinder to find a focus point because it's way too dark and everything is out of focus to begin with it's so it's impossible to find focus.
ii) It must have manual focus, for the reasons stated above. My LX5 and 7D could not find focus at all in the dark conditions. I really needed my eye to find it myself.
iii) It must have full 1080p HD video, at 24/25p.
iv) It must have at least APS-C or larger sensor size, I really enjoy having a shallow DoF option. Although if there is a 4/3 sensor I may consider that.
v) And macro...
Is this asking for too much? Zoom is not essential, I'm happy to stay put at 50mm or its crop equivalent.
i) It must have a rangefinder focusing system. I say this is crucial for me because many of my photos are taken in ultra or extreme low-light conditions. I took my Canon DSLR 7D out with my Leica for a dark-of-the-night shoot for example and the 7D failed miserably, whereas my Leica came through for me. This is because with the Leica, I could see through the viewfinder and find the tiniest and barest visual focusing point, even if it's the tiniest microscopic sliver of light on the edge of an object, and use that as a point of reference to gauge focus overall. With the DSLR, I couldn't even see anything through the viewfinder to find a focus point because it's way too dark and everything is out of focus to begin with it's so it's impossible to find focus.
ii) It must have manual focus, for the reasons stated above. My LX5 and 7D could not find focus at all in the dark conditions. I really needed my eye to find it myself.
iii) It must have full 1080p HD video, at 24/25p.
iv) It must have at least APS-C or larger sensor size, I really enjoy having a shallow DoF option. Although if there is a 4/3 sensor I may consider that.
v) And macro...
Is this asking for too much? Zoom is not essential, I'm happy to stay put at 50mm or its crop equivalent.