What medium-small camera?

[peripatetic]

So currently I have 3 cameras:

1. Canon 5DMkII.
2. Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder.
3. Old Panasonic P&S.

I am looking for something to replace 2 & 3 above.

Features I would like:

• Fast "normal lens" for most uses. Wide angle available for occasional use.
• 3000+ pixels on the short edge. i.e. 10-14Mp depending on form factor.
• Image stabilisation.
• Compact size (compared to DSLR anyway).
• Good AF - for people and landscapes. Not sports or wildlife.
• Built-in flash.
• Should be able to take optical finder.
• Stylish, not ostentatious.
• Largest sensor possible.
• Reasonable price - though I will probably sell 1 & 2 above so not too serious, but must stay below £750 or so in the first instance.

Considered and eliminated:

• Leica M9 - my dream camera. Too expensive.
• Leica X1 - no IS, poor AF, poor LCD, poor battery life, insanely expensive. Otherwise nice. :P
• Samsung NX10. Mini DSLR styling - yuck! Image quality not inspiring.
• Panasonic G-series. Mini DSLR styling. No IS.
• Sony NEX 3/5. Nice articulated LCD. Big sensor. No suitable lenses atm. No OVF possible. Wait and see.

Candidates:

• Panasonic GF1 - no IS. Otherwise close to perfect. (£650 + 200 OVF = £850)
• Olympus EPL-1. Seriously ugly. So-so IS. Reasonable AF. Excellent JPG engine. Otherwise pretty good with Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. (£450 with zoom + £300 panny 20mm = £750)
• Olympus EP-1 with OVF and 28 f2.8. Some very good prices to be had (£400 with OVF and 28f2.8 lens!!!). No flash. Reasonable AF with new firmware. Poor LCD. Stylish. ( £400 + 300 panny 20mm = £750)
• Olympus EP-2. Body with Panny 20mm. No flash. Otherwise pretty good. Quite expensive. (£620 with zoom + £300 for panny 20mm = £920)
• Canon S95. In the P&S class, but very nice upgrade on the S90 - which my wife has. No OVF possible. A very impressive camera. Seems a bit expensive at £400.
• Panasonic LX5. Neck-and-neck with S95. OVF possible. Seems expensive at £500, but street price closer to £400.

Rumours of a Panny GF2 soon to be released. Probably with a slightly better sensor, esp for low-light. Won't have IBIS.

What to do?

[JimC]

What to do?

The mirrorless interchangeable lens market is "hot" right now. I'd wait and see what camera manufacturers have in mind for newer models, as we'll probably see more announcements leading into Photokina, giving you more options if you're not in a big hurry.

[Hards80]

i think you could wait for photokina too. i expect to see panny replace the gf1 with the gf2. and there are rumors that olympus will release an even smaller pen.

i think you listed out the major pros and cons of your cams right now. i think concentrating on the gf1 vs epl1 vs ep1/2, and with the ep2 you get the really nice external evf included which will negate some of the cost difference.

i have the epl1 and i love it. it handles well and the jpeg engine is really 2nd to none. the aesthetics are better in person, at least in my opinion. i like it enough that my canon gear isnt used as much as it used to.

i would probably wait and see if oly releases a stylish small pen. that could be almost perfect.

[Zoo]

You already have a DLSR so buy a small camera that can fit in your pocket like the S95 or the LX5. If you are going to be carrying a camera in a case and with an additinal lense you might as well take the 5DMkII.

[LTZ470]

For some fun and kicks and giggles you should get a FZ38 and just give it a whirl from a good vendor that has a 2-4 week return policy...

[mtclimber]

Craig-

We are going to see more new camera announcements as we draw closer to Photokina. It is probably best to hold off on your decision for a month or so.

Sarah Joyce

[peripatetic]

Well,everyone thinks it's best to wait a bit. So I will.

Decision aided by having our Satnav stolen from the car, so had to spend £200 unexpectedly to replace it, as we are going on holiday next weekend!

[shoturtle]

Originally Posted by peripatetic

So currently I have 3 cameras:

1. Canon 5DMkII.
2. Zeiss Ikon 35mm rangefinder.
3. Old Panasonic P&S.

I am looking for something to replace 2 & 3 above.

Features I would like:

• Fast "normal lens" for most uses. Wide angle available for occasional use.
• 3000+ pixels on the short edge. i.e. 10-14Mp depending on form factor.
• Image stabilisation.
• Compact size (compared to DSLR anyway).
• Good AF - for people and landscapes. Not sports or wildlife.
• Built-in flash.
• Should be able to take optical finder.
• Stylish, not ostentatious.
• Largest sensor possible.
• Reasonable price - though I will probably sell 1 & 2 above so not too serious, but must stay below £750 or so in the first instance.

Considered and eliminated:

• Leica M9 - my dream camera. Too expensive.
• Leica X1 - no IS, poor AF, poor LCD, poor battery life, insanely expensive. Otherwise nice. :P
• Samsung NX10. Mini DSLR styling - yuck! Image quality not inspiring.
• Panasonic G-series. Mini DSLR styling. No IS.
• Sony NEX 3/5. Nice articulated LCD. Big sensor. No suitable lenses atm. No OVF possible. Wait and see.

Candidates:

• Panasonic GF1 - no IS. Otherwise close to perfect. (£650 + 200 OVF = £850)
• Olympus EPL-1. Seriously ugly. So-so IS. Reasonable AF. Excellent JPG engine. Otherwise pretty good with Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. (£450 with zoom + £300 panny 20mm = £750)
• Olympus EP-1 with OVF and 28 f2.8. Some very good prices to be had (£400 with OVF and 28f2.8 lens!!!). No flash. Reasonable AF with new firmware. Poor LCD. Stylish. ( £400 + 300 panny 20mm = £750)
• Olympus EP-2. Body with Panny 20mm. No flash. Otherwise pretty good. Quite expensive. (£620 with zoom + £300 for panny 20mm = £920)
• Canon S95. In the P&S class, but very nice upgrade on the S90 - which my wife has. No OVF possible. A very impressive camera. Seems a bit expensive at £400.
• Panasonic LX5. Neck-and-neck with S95. OVF possible. Seems expensive at £500, but street price closer to £400.

Rumours of a Panny GF2 soon to be released. Probably with a slightly better sensor, esp for low-light. Won't have IBIS.

What to do?

EPL-1

Has better noise control then the new sony examor sensor form 100-1600iso. AF is not bad at all if you have the newest firmware. More options then any point and shoot. And with the panasonic 20mm 1.7 it is a excellent low light setup. And it can shoot well upto 2000iso.

I would seriously check out the olympus m4/3 section. Allot of epl-1 samples.

[Tullio]

I have the EP1 and find AF to be just as fast as some other cameras I have/had. The only negative is the lack of flash. The OVF for it is just a tunnel, not that helpful at all. I always found the EP2 to be overpriced. The EPL1 seems to be popular and the high ISO performance is outstanding for this type of camera and it has flash. The GF1 is a nice and capable camera but the lack of IBIS is a killer if you want to use non-stabilized lenses. I doubt Panasonic will implement IBIS on the GF2.