Upgrading from a point and shoot...

[photo-br]

I have always used point and shoot cameras. As a photo enthusiast, I decided that it would be a good idea to upgrade my current camera.

I was initially inclined to buy a Canon 500D but I'm not sure that I want to deal with the weight of a DSLR camera.

So I I'm now more inclined towards buying a Sony Nex 5, Olympus Pen E-PL2 or similar.
This camera will mostly be used be used for travel and I would love to have a camera that could deal with low light conditions as well.

Any suggestions / opinions would be really appreciated.

Many thanks!!! :smile:

 

[BBW]

Welcome to Serious Compacts, photo-br! I've taken the liberty of moving your first post out of the micro four thirds forum and into this Welcomes and Introductions forum.

We've got quite a few members here who own, or have owned both of these cameras or close to it, so I am sure you'll get some helpful advice. If you have any specific questions regarding the micro four thirds cameras, then by all means post a new thread in that forum - and the same goes for the NEX. In the meantime, I'm sure you'll get some helpful feedback right here, too.

Glad to have you aboard!

 

[Ghosthunter]

Hi and WELCOME!!

I have a Canon 500D which i think is a superb camera and love it but it is bulky but not heavy with the Kit lens. I will be upgrading the kit lens at some point but it's so good I kinda feel it's perfectly usable for my needs.

I have had the E-PL2 which is a great camera and worth getting with the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. I currently have the Sony NEX-5 which is superb as it has a APS-C sensor (similar to the Canon 500D) and a fantastic tilting rear screen which has the best quality of any camera. The only let down for me are the Kit lenses. They are good but not stellar and the camera can produce awesome images when used with quality manual focus lenses. I am waiting for decent quality auto Focus lenses to come out which should be soon. Most of the current line up of cameras are very good and should serve you well.

 

[BBW]

Andy, or anyone else here who has used both an mu43 and the NEX in lowlight - what are your feelings about which is better when it comes to this aspect?

I thought that many felt the NEX was quite good at low light, even better than the mu43 cameras - in part due to the sensor size.

 

[photo-br]

Thanks Andy!

If you don't mind me asking... If you were to gift one of these cameras to a friend of yours who didn't own any other camera, which one would you choose?

Cheers!!!!

Hi and WELCOME!!

I have a Canon 500D which i think is a superb camera and love it but it is bulky but not heavy with the Kit lens. I will be upgrading the kit lens at some point but it's so good I kinda feel it's perfectly usable for my needs.

I have had the E-PL2 which is a great camera and worth getting with the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. I currently have the Sony NEX-5 which is superb as it has a APS-C sensor (similar to the Canon 500D) and a fantastic tilting rear screen which has the best quality of any camera. The only let down for me are the Kit lenses. They are good but not stellar and the camera can produce awesome images when used with quality manual focus lenses. I am waiting for decent quality auto Focus lenses to come out which should be soon. Most of the current line up of cameras are very good and should serve you well.

 

[Ray Sachs]

I also have both m43 and Nex gear and I'd say it depends on what range of lenses you really want to use. The Nex has a larger sensor and is better in low light, all other things being equal. And the images are just a little bit cleaner in some indescribable way. Not that the m43 image quality isn't very very good, but the Nex is a bit better.

If you like to shoot with a wide range of focal lengths, including long telephoto shooting, m43 is a better bet. The larger sensor on the Nex means that lenses of a given length will be larger. On wide to normal lenses, they're not so big on the Nex that they become an issue. But for longer lenses, they start getting kind of silly big. There's an 18-200 lens for the Sony that's just crazy big relative to the camera. OTOH, there's a 14-150 for the m43 lineup that covers the EXACT same focal range and is MUCH smaller and lighter and better balanced on any of the m43 cameras. And if you want to go longer, even moreso. There's a 100-300mm lens available for the epl2 and other m43 cameras that's sort of big, but manageable. A lens that covered a similar focal range for a Nex would be huge and weigh a ton in comparison.

So, my rule of thumb would be if you just want to shoot with normal lenses and wide angle lenses, go with the Nex for the better image quality. if you want to shoot with longer lenses, go with the epl2 or another m43 camera. The IQ is still very very good - just not quite AS good. But a lot of us can barely see the difference most of the time.

Hope this helps...

-Ray

 

[Ghosthunter]

Thanks Andy!

If you don't mind me asking... If you were to gift one of these cameras to a friend of yours who didn't own any other camera, which one would you choose?

Cheers!!!!

The Micro 4/3 is better supported for lenses but the NEX has a better sensor which is really good for low light/less noise situations. It does seem 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. I guess if I'm buying for just an enthusiast I'd go for Micro 4/3 just because of the lenses.

 

[photo-br]

Andy and Ray,

Thank you for your responses...
I guess I need to go to the shop and check which one gives me a better feel...
I'll let you know what I decide later.

Cheers :smile:

 

[BBW]

I'll be looking forward to your decisions, photo-br. It's great that you can actually go into a store and check things out personally.

 

[olli]

Hello and welcome photo-br.

Another NEX owner here who spent a lot of time in store playing with the GF1. Ray and Andy have pretty much covered everything you need to know but I would just reiterate your own last point - it's very important to handle the cameras and see how they fell to you. The overall differences in image quality are, to me, much less of an issue than the differences in the way they feel. If it feels good to you, you will use it. If it doesn't feel good, you will use it but you might not use it as much.

Good luck and let us know what you do in the end. We have forums here for m43, NEX and just about everything else so you'll find a home here whatever you do.

 

[Ghosthunter]

Ray and Andy have pretty much covered everything you need to know but I would just reiterate your own last point - it's very important to handle the cameras and see how they fell to you. The overall differences in image quality are, to me, much less of an issue than the differences in the way they feel. If it feels good to you, you will use it. If it doesn't feel good, you will use it but you might not use it as much.

 

[Toonman]

Hi Photo-br

I travel a lot in work and pleasure. I found that I always left my large kit (Nikon DSLR's) behind and took a quality compact or 'Bridge' camera with me. I have been using a Canon G11 for 6 months now and I'm very happy with it's quality but...........the smaller sensor cannot compete with the like s of Nex,Epl's and the 'G' range of cameras. I have had an Epl1 now for 2 days and I'm on a learning curve however the quality of photo's is on par with my previous DSLR's, as such I'm glad I chose it and by the sound of it you will appreciate the extra quality too.