Hello there,
I’ve been asked lately to take pictures of some events, some art performances, in low light/indoors environments. I’ve been using a Nikon Coolpix S6000, and it’s a sturdy little camera, but it has its limitations, like low ISO and slow F. So the time has come to get a new camera!
In a very instructive conversation over Twitter, Felipe Pait (@pait) made some very pertinent suggestions. He mentioned that “@ispmarin Minha opinião: SLR é para quem trabalha na National Geographic ou ESPN. For the rest of us, mirrorless. Tem também Olympus PEN. “, or, in English, “my opinion: SLR are for who works at National Geographic or ESPN. For the rest of us, mirrorless. There’s also the Olympus PEN”. So, he made a matrix at DPReview.com with his choices of cameras. A few interesting things to note: my two best candidates, the Fujifilm X10 and my present S6000 don’t have such huge differences, apart from the type of sensor (CMOS vs CCD), F (2-2.8 vs 3.7-5.6, what is a huge difference), and movie settings (1080p vs 720p).
So, what now? Should I invest in something like a Canon EOS Rebel T3i, the National Geographic League, keep my S6000 as my primary camera, or get something in the middle, like the X10? Price matters, too…
I did some research and I’d say there are now 4 types of camera. At the high end, professional cameras with large sensors (APSC or larger), meant to be used with several lenses: fast normal, telephoto, wide-angle, and macro. At the low end, telephones are always in your pocket. Cameras with small sensors that don’t make phone calls no longer make sense, even if they are cheap. Note that the main spec that affects picture quality is sensor size, assuming that you have the camera with you – a large and heavy camera that stays at home doesn’t take any pictures, good or bad.
In the middle there are 2 types: cameras that amateurs use when they want to look like pros, and cameras that pros use when they are not on assignment. The first are prosumer digital SLRs. If you carry only one zoom lens, the weight is still there, but the advantage of a large sensor is unclear. The latter are the interesting ones. They all try to be more or less like Leica rangefinders. Choices include Fujifilm X100; Leica X1; Olympus and Panasonic micro 4/3 mirrorless cameras; and Sony NEX. The Nikon 1 cameras are in the low end of the range, because their sensor is barely large enough to get them out of the “telephone” category. In fact the Nikon 1 format is pretty much the only sensor with intermediate size. I still like Pentax but I believe their Q format is a flop.
Among them I think it’s a question of personal preference. I find the X100 the most interesting one, although (or because) it has a fixed non zoom lens. The Leica is a Leica. Micro 4/3 has more lenses available. I bet that Sony will be the most successful in the market. And Nikon knows what they are doing, even with a smaller sensor.
Thanks, Pait. I agree with you on most of the points. The problem is price: something like the Leica X1 or the Fujifilm X100 have a quite steep price. So what about something like the Fujifilm HS20 EXR? It has a decent CMOS sensor size, and although it looks like a DSLR, it’s not. Maybe the biggest problem is weight, and I would agree with you, it would like an amateur trying hard to look like a pro. But the price range is way lower than X100 and company.
I agree that the Leica is too pricey but I love my X100. I reposted and expanded the comment above: http://fmpait.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-did-some-research-and-id-say-there.html
Although I find the Fuji X10 and XS-1 interesting, I wouldn’t go below the Four Thirds format for an upgrade, certainly not below the 1 inch in the Nikon 1. If cost is an issue, I’d postpone the upgrade and save until I could afford a better model.
… or until prices fall. These camera formats are new and will stabilize in time.
Agreed. Now it seems that Olympus put out a fiercy competitor: Olympus ZX-1. I saw it on this article: http://arstechnica.com/apple/guides/2011/11/can-the-iphone-4s-replace-a-real-digital-camera-for-many-yes.ars/4 and was impressed with the quality of the pictures, especially in low light.
Thorough comparison: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4333175133/buyers-guide-enthusiast-raw-shooting-compact-cameras
There’s a market for this type of camera, but it’ not me. I’d rather wait until I could buy a slightly more upscale. X100 for the Fuji (or whatever they come up with next), 4/3 for the Olympus (if the company doesn’t fold because of corporate malfeasance) or Panasonic, NX200 for the Samsung, V1 for the Nikon, or Sony NEX for the Canon. Canon doesn’t have anything comparable and that may be their doom.
New alternatives:
Canon http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canong1x/ (better than the Nikon 1, but it’s not for me);
and Fuji http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/in-deep-look-fuji-x-pro-1-specs/ (still a rumor, looks wonderful, will be expensive, I’ll buy myself one if I win the lotto).