DSLR or Compact System Camera?

DSLR or Compact System Camera?

Author
Discussion

Derek Smith

45,660 posts

248 months

Tuesday 9th February 2016
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damianmkv said:
Unless you "need" the depth of field that FF brings or shoot birds in flight, I'm sure you'll be perfectly happy with csc/m43. I have an e-m1, 12-40 pro f2.8, 25mm f1.8, 35-100 f2.8, fisheye and 75-300 - they fit in a lowepro 102aw along with spare batteries, charger, cpl and a few other bits and pieces with some spare space too.

Of course there are pros and cons to m43 and dslr - weight, battery life, dynamic range, AF tracking, size....you can argue each system's merits until you're blue in the face. For me, I don't regret getting rid of my Nikon system for a minute
Your final sentence is comforting. Spending all that money and then wondering if a DSLR would have been the better option is a bit of a risk. Thanks for the post.

I agree with those who suggest that it feels a bit cheap, quite plastic, and I was wondering if the dials might be a bit easy to nudge accidentally. I want good video as well as stills, so the G7 has certain attractions. Mind you, I was in a long discussion with my eldest yesterday about recording formats and now I'm not so convinced that 4K is a necessity.

I'm also a bit confused with the quoted focal length of lenses. I was near a PC World today and asked for conversion of 35mm to DSLR and 4/3rds but 'David' was out at the moment.

For me the draw to CSC is a simple case of low weight and compact size.


damianmkv

631 posts

143 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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Sorry, missed your reply as I have no idea how to get thread reply notifications..

It's a tough one on whether to ditch the dslr, some do it with no regrets, some instantly regret it so I can't give you a definitive reply. The "crop factor" is x2 so a 25mm becomes a 50mm. Handy if you want reach, not so much if you want wide but of course you can still get wide angle lenses if you require.


RobDickinson

31,343 posts

254 months

Sunday 14th February 2016
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m43rds crop is 2.0 so yes a 25mm lens works like a 50mm lens on FF.

Downsides are you are more limited on depth of field and noisier at higher iso.

I shoot my 6d at 6400, aps-c crops are good for 1600-3200ish, m43rds tend to be 800-1600

Other than that they are fine cameras

LuS1fer

41,135 posts

245 months

Wednesday 17th February 2016
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To be honest, I use a Panasonic TZ30 for most of my holiday photos, supplemented by a Canon SX700 which is wireless but inferior though has a 30x lens as opposed to a 20x lens. I probably should have bought a TZ70.

Anyway, I bought a Nikon D5500 but barely use it as it needs an expensive lens I can't really afford and so the zoom is very limited and I still tend to use the compact cameras...

Derek Smith

45,660 posts

248 months

Wednesday 17th February 2016
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I've got a Panasonic FZ150, a (mention it softly) bridge camera. I'm after a CSC, or so I thought, probably a G7. I've asked my friends what they think and one mate brought his wife's new (Xmas present from him) FZ1000 with some images she'd got from them. I'd handled the FZ330 at a cameras shop and liked it but preferred the G7 for feel and handling. The FZ100 feels just a bit bigger and easier to handle than the 150/330, the bit to the left of the lens is handy for that, but is still compact. It also has a big sensor, and it shows on the image. It seems as if you can go on zooming in forever.

He said the reason he bought it for his Mrs, a graphic artist by trade, was that she kept borrowing his full size DSLR. He reckons he can see himself borrowing hers on location.

Excellent video as well. The zoom isn't as great as the massive (too massive?) one on the 330 - only up to 400mm 35mm equivalent - but he reckons that the extra enlargement an image can take makes up for that.

I don't know yet, but I thought the 330 was a cracker, and only just preferred the G7, but the 1000 makes the contest more open.

Take two lenses into the gadget bag with you?