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Voldenuit
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:03 pm

Panasonic GX1 body only goes for $265 right now and with power zoom 14-42 X lens, is $499. It may be 1 generation old, but will be much better than the compact options the OP listed, as well as being more flexible with glass. The Panny 45-175 X lens* is very compact when compared to its APS-C analogues, and produces very good image quality in an extremely compact package (I borrowed one from a friend and fit it easily in my inner jacket pocket on a zoo trip). If you want even more reach (eg going on safari) there's the panasonic 100-300 lens or the Olympus 75-300, giving the equivalent FOV of a 600mm lens on a full frame body.

Much smaller and lighter than the 5D, much more versatile than a compact, and at a price that's hard to turn down, this would be my pick for a small, powerful photographic tool on a budget.

* EDIT: One annoyance I had with the 45-175 X is that it resets the zoom to 45mm every time the camera is powered down; this may not bother you depending on your shooting habits, but I'm pretty fastidious about saving battery between shots. Because of this, I tend to get double the CIPA shot rating of my camera (800 shots on my GF1 out of a rated 400 for the battery - useful if you're in the boonies). Still, if you can find a good deal on the lens (my friend bought his new for ~$150), it's a great little lens.
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rogthewookiee
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 7:17 pm

If I take an SLR it will be the one I already have! I've never missed a shot because I was using a camera with lots of controls, only with a P&S with not enough controls!

I don't want to go with the bottom end of the compacts as I see it being my day to day camera. My day to day subjects wont be too far away.

So here is one hypothetical situation:

G15 ~$500 with accessories
E-PL3 used $320 comes with one lens
u4/3 to canon FD $50

take one of three awesome options for old lenses to be repurposed:
135mm f2.8 becomes 270mm 2.8
200 f4 becomes 400mm f4
300mm f4 becomes 600mm f4 (the current L version is $13k and 9 lbs)

All in all I end up carrying about a quarter of the $$ i'm used to carrying around. Probably close to a quarter of the weight too!

So I have the good camera to carry around and use prolifically, daily. Then I have the small enough to get there, big enough to get the job done to take on the safaris.
 
wintermane666
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:31 pm

There are some things you just should never get used. Duno if cameras are one of em but I realy would be leary of it.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:39 pm

Used camera gear tends to be fine, in my limited experience. We could ask Ludi about that, though.
 
Airmantharp
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:15 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Used camera gear tends to be fine, in my limited experience. We could ask Ludi about that, though.


Or factory refurbished; my 70-300 IS USM was half off retail, came in a Canon box like a new one, and works great.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:18 pm

My EOS 7D is a Canon refurbished unit.
 
kumori
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:27 pm

I went to Namibia for two weeks about seven years ago. I shot the whole time with a 35mm and while I certainly missed some shots I think you might be placing too much emphasis on the need for reach.
 
TheEmrys
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:48 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Used camera gear tends to be fine, in my limited experience. We could ask Ludi about that, though.


I've been buying and re-selling lenses to put together a good kit. I've had ~40 lenses come through, and I've had 1 that was bad. Needed some lubrication as the barrel would not extend. And this is gear from 1985 on to the mid 90's. Shoot, I replaced 3 different x-300mm lenses with a "Big Beercan" 75-300mm from 1985. On my new body, it focuses enormously fast and the in-body stabilization makes it enormously useful. Here are my used scores:

Sony 18-135mm SAM - $275 (vs. $500 new, was part of someone else's kit)
Minolta 24/2.8 - $140
Minolta 50/1.7 - $70
Minolta 70-210/4 - $100 (Beercan - constant f4 makes this one a winner)
Minolta 75-300/4-5.6 - $125 (Big Beercan mentioned above)
Tamron 200-400/5.6 - $120
Minolta AF500/8 - $300

But with all the flipping of lenses, I'm out $0.
Sony a7II 55/1.8 Minolta 100/2, 17-35D, Tamron 28-75/2.8
 
TheEmrys
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:52 pm

kumori wrote:
I went to Namibia for two weeks about seven years ago. I shot the whole time with a 35mm and while I certainly missed some shots I think you might be placing too much emphasis on the need for reach.


Really? I read people who go on safari and find their 300mm's don't reach for them. Others crow about their 500mm/8 being awesome on a monopod.

Maybe I just think in terms of wildlife that are a ways away. I geek out shooting wildlife.
Sony a7II 55/1.8 Minolta 100/2, 17-35D, Tamron 28-75/2.8
 
wintermane666
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:53 pm

I totally forgot about refurbished units..

Frankly in the end id go for a lot more money in flash cards and less on the camera... but that's just me.
 
Flying Fox
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:06 pm

wintermane666 wrote:
Frankly in the end id go for a lot more money in flash cards and less on the camera... but that's just me.

You sounded like we are still in the world of $100+ CF cards that don't even exceed 1gig? When 32gig SD cards are consistently going as low as $16-18 (granted, not the fast ones), this should be the least of his worries. And since the OP will be working some of the time he may have access to the internet to offload stuff.
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wintermane666
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:29 am

Well yes but I ment going somewhat lower so I can get larger cards so I can shoot a ton of vid as well as pics. hd vid takes up a heck of a lot of space.
 
wintermane666
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Tue Mar 26, 2013 5:39 am

Actualy that is a thought... anyone who has done what hes about to do know about how many gigs of flash he should expect to go through with such a camera?

All my friends whop did stuff like this always talked about running out of space or losing cards or even having them taken by customs...
 
TheEmrys
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Tue Mar 26, 2013 9:06 am

If you have lots of hd space on a laptop, I would go with 2-3 32GiB cards. And buy one at the highest speed you can for video. I'd also look for a good monopod.
Sony a7II 55/1.8 Minolta 100/2, 17-35D, Tamron 28-75/2.8
 
Voldenuit
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Re: A tale of two powershots

Thu Mar 28, 2013 3:04 pm

For those African safaris... http://www.43rumors.com/new-slr-magic-digiscope-lens/

GX1+14-42X showed up for $399 on Amazon a couple times in the past 2 days, sold out at that price, sadly.
Wind, Sand and Stars.

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