Luckypenguin
Hall of Famer
- Location
- Brisbane, Australia
- Name
- Nic
I've been mulling over this since it was first posted which was, what, three weeks ago, lol. I still hesitate to nominate one particular camera/lens combination that I have liked the best, but in some semblance of order I came up with the following three.
Canon EOS 50D + EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM
Chunky camera body, great ergonomics, and with any setting worth changing a mere button press/wheel twirl away. The lens, while not designed for an APS-C sensor, works brilliantly with one (on the caveat that my Sigma 10-20mm is not too far away for when I want wider). Any edge issues this lens might display on a full-frame body magically disappear on the smaller sensor. The zoom range takes me as far into telephoto as would normally go, the IS is very effective, the AF superfast, the glass sharp. It is a big combination but it is well-balanced. Solid and dependable and a great scenic combination.
Olympus Pen E-PL1 + Lumix G 20mm f1.7
I've tried this lens on four m4/3 camera bodies, and none, not even the GF1, seem to match the 20mm as well as the E-PL1. As a lightweight combination of a supersharp, no-frills lens and a no-frills camera with a supersharp sensor, this one just works. Great in a street/urban environment.
Olympus E-510 + Leica 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 D Vario Elmarit
I wouldn't have thought that I would be putting an E-510 on a favourites list, but somehow in combination with this lens it seems a different camera (and well worth the $160 it cost me!). This is another symbiotic lens/sensor match-up like the E-PL1/20mm but on a larger scale and as a bonus it's a zoom lens. None of this wishy-washy high dynamic range stuff, just always sharp and sometimes gritty. If I had the chance to go back to somewhere like Nepal or Cambodia I would love to bring these two along.
Canon EOS 50D + EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM
Chunky camera body, great ergonomics, and with any setting worth changing a mere button press/wheel twirl away. The lens, while not designed for an APS-C sensor, works brilliantly with one (on the caveat that my Sigma 10-20mm is not too far away for when I want wider). Any edge issues this lens might display on a full-frame body magically disappear on the smaller sensor. The zoom range takes me as far into telephoto as would normally go, the IS is very effective, the AF superfast, the glass sharp. It is a big combination but it is well-balanced. Solid and dependable and a great scenic combination.
Olympus Pen E-PL1 + Lumix G 20mm f1.7
I've tried this lens on four m4/3 camera bodies, and none, not even the GF1, seem to match the 20mm as well as the E-PL1. As a lightweight combination of a supersharp, no-frills lens and a no-frills camera with a supersharp sensor, this one just works. Great in a street/urban environment.
Olympus E-510 + Leica 14-50mm f2.8-3.5 D Vario Elmarit
I wouldn't have thought that I would be putting an E-510 on a favourites list, but somehow in combination with this lens it seems a different camera (and well worth the $160 it cost me!). This is another symbiotic lens/sensor match-up like the E-PL1/20mm but on a larger scale and as a bonus it's a zoom lens. None of this wishy-washy high dynamic range stuff, just always sharp and sometimes gritty. If I had the chance to go back to somewhere like Nepal or Cambodia I would love to bring these two along.