Compact Dslr Cameras

BigLicks67

I'm thinking of getting 'er indoors' a compact camera as an alternative to her old/bulky Sony A200. Anyone got any suggestions?
Been looking at these :   

https://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras/pen_cameras/index.html

Any suggestions gratefully received.

stickyfiddle

Olympus pen stuff is generally good. I had one of the first ones and it basically taught me how photography works. 

I use Fuji, which are a little bit bigger but have bigger sensors, amazing lenses and really good JPEG’s straight from the camera which is great if she’s not keen on processing.

Whats the budget, and how important is size? What sort of thing does she shoot at the moment?

BigLicks67

stickyfiddle said:

Olympus pen stuff is generally good. I had one of the first ones and it basically taught me how photography works. 

I use Fuji, which are a little bit bigger but have bigger sensors, amazing lenses and really good JPEG’s straight from the camera which is great if she’s not keen on processing.

Whats the budget, and how important is size? What sort of thing does she shoot at the moment?

Budget is probably £400 to 1k but flexible. She mostly does close up stuff (macro?) plant life, fungus, woodland, people, in colour and B&W.  Very rarely is there any sports or action shots so no telephoto required. Ideally compact so it's easy to carry and an alternative to using an iPad camera, therefore small enough to carry round on the off chance you might do some photography. 

strumjoughlamps

Panasonic GX80  from Panasonic eBay Outlet, comes refurbished like new with 12 month warranty..

Foster

Not that I do much in the way of photography anymore but one of the reasons I rarely ever used my Olympus was:

1. You could only see the photo via a screen on the back or buy a gizmo that used the hotshoe
2. It meant buying more lenses 

In the end I just my D7000 for digital photos

hywelg

Serious question. How is her eyesight? Does she wear glasses? All the time? Just for reading?

Don't underestimate how difficult it is to use a screen if you are short sighted. A viewfinder would be essential , more so in bright light. The Sony Rx100 has a decent popup viewfinder but when you compare that with a 'proper' optical viewfinder of a full frame DSLR it's poor . It is very compact though and gets a very good write up.

www.dpreview.com is very good for reviews.

CaptainBb

Canon M6

Jalapeno

Just got a Canon M100 mirrorless and loving it. 

If you DO want to go 100% manual it is a bit fiddly compared with my old 550D & Compact G9

stickyfiddle

+1 on the crapness of screens. MrsBigLicks might not use it, but I find a viewfinder essential, which is the primary reason I went towards Fujis, as the XT1 has an amazing electronic viewfinder that I wouldn't want to be without now I've got it. 

You could get a lightly-used XT1 with the cracking Fuji 18-55 lens within the bottom third of your budget. Fuji primes are mostly small and really high quality, so you could get one of the smaller ones for a really neat easy-carry (albeit not pocket-able) solution. 

Rocker

Panasonic LUMIX. Great camera, zoom and as controllable as you want. Video too of course. Not SLR but a very good machine.

ThePrettyDamned

strumjoughlamps said:

Panasonic GX80  from Panasonic eBay Outlet, comes refurbished like new with 12 month warranty..

These are so damn good. 

I don't own one but I've played with one for a long time and couldn't believe how good it was. 

M4/3 is good for macro and close up stuff, too, as you can adapt old glass to it, and macro lenses have no progressed significantly - they're all fabulously sharp.

Alternatively  try a Sony a6000. Bigger sensor, not as nice to use. 

scrumhalf

They've pulled back from the low-end budget end of the market but the Fuji online shop sell reconditioned cameras with a 12-month warranty. I've bought several, great if you don't mind buying last year's model.

The only sign I've ever sign of them not being pristine was the box, you tend to get a generic box rather than a model-specific one.

strumjoughlamps

ThePrettyDamned said:

strumjoughlamps said:

Panasonic GX80  from Panasonic eBay Outlet, comes refurbished like new with 12 month warranty..

These are so damn good. 

I don't own one but I've played with one for a long time and couldn't believe how good it was. 

M4/3 is good for macro and close up stuff, too, as you can adapt old glass to it, and macro lenses have no progressed significantly - they're all fabulously sharp.

Alternatively  try a Sony a6000. Bigger sensor, not as nice to use. 

they are damn good , post focus is amazing on it as is 4K video.. I have been a 4/3 and m4/3 fan for a long time and always went with Oly as they had the edge.. not now Pana all the way after being uninspired with the Oly EM5ii..

GX80 is a stunning camera and a bargain considering its price tag.

revsorg

Would you get something like this lens to go with the GX80? 

ThePrettyDamned

revsorg said:

Would you get something like this lens to go with the GX80? 

For headshots and full body portraits, it'll be nice - about the same as my 85mm 1.4 stopped down to 2.8 or so. 

I know there is a trend for the most out of focus background possible  but to be honest I feel a lot of images suffer because literally nothing but a single eye is in focus on a head shot photographed at 135mm at 1.8 on full frame. 

For macro, look at a specific macro lens. They are designed to be sharp at close range and offer greater magnification. Alternatively  pick up a cheap 50mm manual focus lens, reverse it and mount - that'll do a good job.

strumjoughlamps

revsorg said:

Would you get something like this lens to go with the GX80? 

Cannot comment on that lens.. I mainly use the Leica Summilux Panasonic 25mm 1.4 and Sigma 60mm 2.8..

the Sigma 2.8 prime lenses (19, 30 and 60mm) are absolute corkers for the money.. remember m4/3 is a 2x crop so effective focal lenses double what it says.. I use the 60(120mm effective) for portraits and the Summilux 25mm 1.4(50mm) for pretty much everything else, its by far my fave lens the colours and contrast are amazing SOOC

BigLicks67

Thanks for all the suggestions I'll now be better placed when I go to see them in the flesh.