Camera Recommendations

[garyg]

Hello folks, my first post in this forum ..

Over the years B&B has been a great resource, so thought I'd ask here.

I want a new camera. I used a Leica in the stone age, Pentax in the 70's & 80's, though the 90's with various point & shoot 35 mm. Since digital I've had two Canon Elphs & the cell phone.

Anyone know of an idiot's guide to selecting a camera? I would like to go back to the 35mm days when composition was something you did when shooting, but don't want to have to schlep a 4 pound bag around. I realize everything is a tradeoff, that there's no 45 MP Elph the size of a credit card, etc.

Just curious if anyone here has spotted a decision guide somewhere? Thanks

 

[L.A. Jones]

I still have my high end Nikons and associated high end lenses. Tired of carrying all that around. Bought a Nikon P950 point and shoot. Also broke down and finally bought a cell phone (for the camera). Now I just use the P950 and I-Phone 11... the rest of my gear is gathering dust. Lost a little bit of quality but the pics are fine for Facebook.

 

[troy]

Are you looking for an interchangeable lens system or a fixed lens point and shoot? What kind of budget are you thinking?

 

[troy]

For what it's worth I love my Panasonic GX85. Some say a micro 4/3 sensor is too small, but it's more than good enough for me. Much better than film or my cell phone.

 

[garyg]

I hate carrying a phone, and don't like the lack of a real viewfinder. But I used to carry a heavier camera most of the time ..

What I'd like is a high MP digital with reasonable zoom range - say from the 35 mm equivalent of a 35 mm wide to maybe 200mm? And absolutely I need a viewfinder, not an idiot screen. I'm probably ok with a fixed zoom if the range is right

No budget really, in today's dollar a 1972 OM1 would run way more than I can guess, or pay for as a retiree ..

 

[hydro-magic]

Check out Fujifilm cameras. If you liked Leicas, they're sort of similar looking, not too large or heavy, and they can cover all the types of shooting you'd do with one. They do have a lot of different models so that can be a little overwhelming. Most of them can be had with a zoom lens that covers most of what you're looking for. They make some nice primes too.

 

[garyg]

Thanks the Fujis don't have a view finder though

 

[troy]

Sony RX100 might be worth a look. If 20mp 1 inch sensor is big enough for you.

 

[troy]

When you say real view finder do you want an optical or is an EVF OK?

 

[hydro-magic]

Thanks the Fujis don't have a view finder though

Sure they do. All of them have at least an electronic viewfinder. I'm not talking about just using the screen on back either, although you can use that too if you want. If you want an optical viewfinder, there are only a couple models that have those.

 

[garyg]

Ooh, Zeiss lens .. or have a misremembered anything else, they used to make the best glass

 

[garyg]

I want to be able to put the camera to me mug and look at the shot .. I am not sure which that is, but I heartily dislike the kidcam screen to frame.

 

[troy]

Electronic view finder should be fine then. Some people like the old optical of a SLR or DSLR where you look through a mirror ant the lens not a sensor and screen.

 

[hydro-magic]

I want to be able to put the camera to me mug and look at the shot .. I am not sure which that is, but I heartily dislike the kidcam screen to frame.

With the new mirrorless cameras, lots of them have an electronic viewvinder (EVF) which works just like the viewfinder you're used to. It just has a little screen in there instead of its own optics. Some have an optical viewfinder but on a small camera, a big lens can get in the way of it so a lot of the interchangeable lens cameras don't have an optical viewfinder. If you really like optical viewfinders, the Fuji X100 is a fantastic camera but only comes with a fixed 35mm equivalent lens. Fuji glass is really good.

If the Zeiss glass is something that sounds good to you, I think they're mostly making lenses for Sony now. Sony makes some really capable cameras but they take a bit of a beating for having confusing menus. Nobody really disputes the quality of the pics they take though. They make the sensors that lots of other camera makers use.

 

[troy]

I should add the disadvantages of a smaller sensor are not as good of low light performance and you wont get as shallow depth of field.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

I suggest you narrow your selection down to a handful and then make a trip to the camera store to hold each one in your hand. Often one will feel much better than the others and that is likely the one.


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[garyg]

Thanks folks for the guidance - you've given me some things to chew on, then I'll find them in a store as suggested.

 

[Peterv1]

I traded my dslr for a mirrorless about 2 years ago for the Sony A6300 along with a 35mm F1.8 prime and a 85mm lens and I never looked back as for a more compact system I can highly recommend the Canon G5X M2 or the Lumix LX100 M2

 

[Legion]

I want to be able to put the camera to me mug and look at the shot .. I am not sure which that is, but I heartily dislike the kidcam screen to frame.

Check out the Fujifilm X-pro 3. That will be closest to the Leica you used to have without dropping Leica money.

 

[garyg]

If any of you all are still following, I have done some browsing around and narrowed it down to a fixed lens but long zoom camera. The zoom I'd like for my casual wildlife photography, where you can't always just get closer. I realize the longer zooms sacrifice some low light ability, but that is ok with me. I really like the near-pocket camera format

Here are a couple I jotted down to handle, any others I've missed in my ignorance?

Sony either DSC-RX100 VI or VII (the latter is probably more than I want to lay out)

Panasonic/Lumix DC-ZS200 or ZS100

Thanks for the tips & suggestions