Im starting a new photography system and need some help

[Gzisis89]

Hi there,
I am an amateur photographer for about 10 years and i am very happy with this hobby, so many photos, memorie, good times etc. I was using a pentax mx with a 50mm lens and this combination worked like a dream for 5-6 years. Afterwards my eyes got worse and i couldnt focus properly but i wanted to stay in manual focus and film so i bought a nikon f3hp and used a 50mm there. Great combination, very good quality camera helped me a lot to make very good photos and develop my sight. The weight though was not helping at all and the camera started staying home most of the time. At the time i tried some cameras but didnt like anything else much and some personal problems too made me stop photography for a good year. This one year a made just a roll of film and i was really unhappy with the lack of interest i had. Sudently one day i picked up my old pentax with an 28mm and went for a 3 day vacation in Amsterdam and i did 3 films at once. I developed the old film and found 3 good photos that i printed and one of them decorated the kitchen of my girlfriends home. My interest in photography is back and i am ready to take the big step. Im about to get into digital photography and spend some good time on it to learn it and develop my photograph skills. I need your help on that new concept:
1) i need a camera thats doesnt weight a lot and is small so that i can take it all the time with me. Bright and very good viewfinder( evf too but i havent used-experienced many) is a must, weather resistance would be nice but not a must.
2) i need a small and fast focusing 35mm (equavalent ?) lens that im willing to use as a primary lens for 1 year and afterwards i maybe get into new focal lengths.
3) im not planing to collect lenses but i find it important to be able to find small-sharp-quick focusing lenses for 28-40-50 and maybe a tele if i decide to try something new, so that i wont need to change system but the 35mm will be the most important lens of the system.
What would you suggest ?
Thanx for your time and hopefully the topic will help others too.
Ps: Autofocus is a must, im not going in a new technology to try old manual focus lenses since i cant focus 100 acurate always and also i had enough manual focus in my life, want to try autofocus for at least a year and see what happens.

 

[jsrockit]

1) i need a camera thats doesnt weight a lot and is small so that i can take it all the time with me. Bright and very good viewfinder( evf too but i havent used-experienced many) is a must, weather resistance would be nice but not a must.

Fujifilm... many different models fit what you want. X-T20, X-T30, X-E3, X-E4, X-T1, X-T2, X-T3, X-S10

2) i need a small and fast focusing 35mm (equavalent ?) lens that im willing to use as a primary lens for 1 year and afterwards i maybe get into new focal lengths.

Fujifilm 23mm F2... the Fixed lens Fujifilm X100 series could work too, but you wouldn't be able to change lenses.

3) im not planing to collect lenses but i find it important to be able to find small-sharp-quick focusing lenses for 28-40-50 and maybe a tele if i decide to try something new, so that i wont need to change system but the 35mm will be the most important lens of the system.
What would you suggest ?

Fuji has all of these and they are all small and light.

 

[Glenn2]

Take a look at the Fuji offerings, in particular the XPro series. If you didn’t need interchangeable lenses I’d say one of their X-100 cameras.

My favourite carry everywhere cameras have been Leicas both M type and Barnacks. Always with a lens on the wide side.
Nowadays it’s usually the X-100v. I got my first X-100 before the XPro cameras came out or would probably have gone interchangeable lens capability. The X-100 cameras are so light and compact that they never seem a burden. The silent leaf shutter is a big plus for discrete shots.

 

[JeffS7444]

Check out Olympus OM10 + 14-42EZ kit zoom. It seems to be the big seller for OM System. OM image stabilization and sensor dust removal are top-notch. Tiny kit zoom lens approximates the coverage of a 28-82 mm lens.

Fast lenses: If you are concerned about shooting in low light, note that most of today's digital cameras have excellent performance at ISO 6400 and beyond, so even f/8 works better than you might imagine in lower light conditions.

Water resistance: No manufacturer actually guarantees it. A little sprinkling of snow or rain should be okay. A downpour or salt spray is not. Pretty much any modern digital camera will be better sealed against dust and moisture than a Pentax MX. Alas, actual water damage is regarded as abuse by all manufacturers, and the best you might hope for is credit towards a new camera or lens.

 

[agentlossing]

Are you looking for a crop sensor camera, or a full frame option? The Panasonic S5/S5ii are really portable for FF models, with some nice L-mount lens options from several manufacturers. Sigma has a nice 45mm lens which has been out for a while, and would be affordable, and they also have a 35mm f2 in the same lineup, which is newer.

For crop, Fuji or Micro Four Thirds are nice options. There is a slight quality difference due to sensor size, but less than you might expect.

The OM-System OM-1, or less expensive Olympus EM1 mark II or mark III are very competent, full-featured cameras. There is a pro-level 17mm f1.2 lens, or a very small 17mm f1.8 which are both very nice.

 

[Pál_K]

Before you choose a camera, first find a store where you can see maybe four or five of them and try using them.

Where I am there is a store, “Best Buy,” that has many models of Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, and Olympus cameras. You can pick the cameras up, turn them on, practice using the controls, and practice making photos with them. You can see what the viewfinder is like, how well you like the focusing, the adjustments to controls, and just how it feels. Spend an hour with different cameras to find what is good for you.

 

[JeffS7444]

Regarding camera size and weight: When you are eagerly examining them in the store, everything seems about 30% lighter and more manageable than it will in real life 😛

 

[Disappointed_Horse]

Before you choose a camera, first find a store where you can see maybe four or five of them and try using them.

Where I am there is a store, “Best Buy,” that has many models of Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, and Olympus cameras. You can pick the cameras up, turn them on, practice using the controls, and practice making photos with them. You can see what the viewfinder is like, how well you like the focusing, the adjustments to controls, and just how it feels. Spend an hour with different cameras to find what is good for you.

I wish this were true of all Best Buy locations. The two in my home town have only point and shoots and Fuji Instax cameras, maybe a few Canon and Nikon DSLRs that have been sitting on display for literally years. The Best Buy in a larger city 60 miles away has what you describe.

 

[Gzisis89]

Thank you for the great answers, i think ill decide between olympus and fuji cause from what i googled at least they both seem to have a good range of small lenses. I like the x100 series but the x100v is a camera o knew before i decided to go digital and thats because it has gained somehow a hype and i saw so many comecials on instagram etc. I wouldnt pay 1500 euro( i live in germany) for a fixed camera lens and im also very sceptic to buy an older model of the series that is also from what i see overprized( x100f goes for 800-1000 used). I think 35 is the focal length that suits my style more but i also like sometimes to experiment with others too. I googled all the cameras above and i liked the xt-3 xe-3 xe-4 and from olympus i liked the om10 iv the om5 and the pen f( thats also a hyped model from what i see). Is the size difference between olympus and fuji big ? Id like to mention that i like a good balance between lens and body and not the camera leaning towards or feeling like im always carrying a tele lens all the time. I also wear glasses and i dont know if thats important for the evf use.

 

[x-ray]

Fujifilm... many different models fit what you want. X-T20, X-T30, X-E3, X-E4, X-T1, X-T2, X-T3, X-S10

Fujifilm 23mm F2... the Fixed lens Fujifilm X100 series could work too, but you wouldn't be able to change lenses.

Fuji has all of these and they are all small and light.

I agree 100%.

I retired last year from a lifetime as a commercial photographer. I kept my full frame Nikon equipment but didn’t want to drag it around on vacation. I already had a Fuji X-E1 and two zooms, 18-55 and 55-230 that I was happy with but wanted a Fuji with a better finder and found an X-T3 new old stock open box for a great price and bought it.

What I like about it, I’m old school even though I’ve used digital for 25 years in my work I still like analog controls. I’m used to actual shutter speed, ISO and ev compensation dials and aperture rings and see no reason to change. It pairs nicely with my Nikon Df, image quality is excellent (I shoot raw only) and it compact and light. It ticked all the boxes for me.

What I didn’t like, nothing I love it.

I used primes much of my career with a few zooms. Their cones from using Leica Mcameras for nearly 60 years and doing motion picture with primarily primes.

Fuji has some great lenses. No lenses are perfect and honestly I don’t like the look of “perfect” lenses. Often they produce plastic sterile images I don’t like. I’m not saying their primes are sterile but they have a very good balance of perfection and beauty. Sometimes slight imperfections are part of the beauty. This is why I sold my new Leica glass and went back to my roots with 1960’s glass. They’re perfect enough to produce excellent images and imperfect enough to be beautiful.

I bought the tiny 16mm f2.8 (24mm), 23mm f2 (35mm), 35mm f2 (50mm) and 50mm (75mm) and carry them quite often. Some criticize the 16 but I find it very good. Unless you stop down a little the extreme corners are a tad soft but it sharpens nicely as you stop down. Honestly it reminds me of my 1st gen Nikkor 24mm f2.8 Nikkor. Anyway who puts the primary subject in the extreme corners. Really I think some people just like to whine.

The 23 is superb! Some criticize it for being soft at f2 at minimum focus distance. Sorry, it’s not a macro lens. I’ve not even tried it because I use my Nikkor Mucros on it if I want to shoot macro shots. So anything beyond minimum focus or if you stop down a couple of stops it’s great. At a foot and beyond it’s absolutely superb even at f2. Again, whiners.

The 35 f2 and 50 f2 are as fine as I’ve ever used. They are stunning good.

Very few people need full frame unless they’re printing really large. I don’t print huge and if I did I’d go to my full frame cameras.

A final comment, colors are very rich and very flexible. Processing raw in Lightroom highlights and shadows have a great deal of information and information can easily be extracted when desired. Skin tones are rich! Very nice skin tones, some of the nicest.

Overall I give Fuji an A rating.

Here are a few examples from the X-T3.

Edit: Forgot to mention high ISO is very good.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Have you set a budget for the initial camera and lens, and have a follow-on budget in mind?
This always helps put some parameters around the selection.

Speaking first hand- The EVF finders on the Olympus have been great used with my thick glasses, had mine for over 12 years. The EVF of the Nikon Z5 is also eye-glass friendly. EVF finders in general are easier to see the entire image and readouts for eye-glass wearers than rangefinder cameras and SLR's.

 

[Deleted member 82967]

Hi there,
Ps: Autofocus is a must, im not going in a new technology to try old manual focus lenses since i cant focus 100 acurate always and also i had enough manual focus in my life, want to try autofocus for at least a year and see what happens.

I would think twice about that and make sure that your new camera has:

electronic viewfinder (EVF)
magnified live view
blinkies or zebras that show the plane of focus live on the LCD or the EVF

Like myself at 83 and with poor vision, you'll be back to shooting all-manual in no time at all ...

 

[JeffS7444]

Thank you for the great answers, i think ill decide between olympus and fuji cause from what i googled at least they both seem to have a good range of small lenses. I like the x100 series but the x100v is a camera o knew before i decided to go digital and thats because it has gained somehow a hype and i saw so many comecials on instagram etc. I wouldnt pay 1500 euro( i live in germany) for a fixed camera lens and im also very sceptic to buy an older model of the series that is also from what i see overprized( x100f goes for 800-1000 used). I think 35 is the focal length that suits my style more but i also like sometimes to experiment with others too. I googled all the cameras above and i liked the xt-3 xe-3 xe-4 and from olympus i liked the om10 iv the om5 and the pen f( thats also a hyped model from what i see). Is the size difference between olympus and fuji big ? Id like to mention that i like a good balance between lens and body and not the camera leaning towards or feeling like im always carrying a tele lens all the time. I also wear glasses and i dont know if thats important for the evf use.

I own a Pen-F, and like it very much. However, it has been discontinued for some time. I regard it as a special boutique product incorporating some of the best features that Olympus had at the time: premium EVF, LCD, 80 megapixel pixel-shift mode + deluxe build quality. And because there has never been an exact replacement model, used Pen-Fs remain costly. I paid around 1200 USD for mine, at a time when factory refurbished Sony A6000s could be had for 350 - with lens!

Size difference between M43, APS-C and FF camera bodies can be modest. But lenses, and particularly faster or longer lenses, are where I see the biggest differences. Although I am a fan of Sony's FF camera bodies, I need to choose my FF lenses with care, as many weigh a lot more than 500 g! With Olympus/OM System, I can be a little crazier: 17/1.2 Zuiko Pro weighs 390 g, and it's a gorgeous lens.

 

[Keith]

I would suggest a full frame mirrorless with a couple of good autofocus lenses ... and if you want to retain a connection to your Pentax gear get an adapter to use your old SLR lenses occasionally. I've gone this way and I couldn't be happier. My eyes are pretty godawful these days but I find the EVF on my Sony A7ii makes manual focusing a breeze.

My only regret is that I didn't spend more money and buy a later model Sony or possibly a Nikon ... but I was being cautious and had a limited budget.

 

[JeffS7444]

Pentax MX + SMC Pentax-M 40/2.8
Olympus Pen-F + M. Zuiko 17/2.8

Foreground, left to right:
15/8 Olympus body cap/lens
20/1.7 Panasonic
14-42 EZ Zuiko
17/1.2 Zuiko Pro

 

[maddoc]

Eye-problem related I went for the Fujifilm XPro-3 (two bodies) after on an and a half decade using Leica M and screw mount cameras. The Fujinon lenses are top-notch, I have the 16/2.8, 23/2, 27/2.8, 35/2, 50/2, and the 18-55 (will be replaced with a 18-135). The Fujinon have all important controls directly accessible, not need to go through fiddly menus or to assign function keys. Compared to my Nikon Z7II the only disadvantage of the XPro3 is the quite small viewfinder. This weekend I will rent a XT-3, that offers even more direct accessible controls (metering mode and AF area selection to my understanding) and if I like it, I will sell one XPro-3 body and buy a XT-3 (same battery size and same sensor). I use the cameras mainly for hiking and every day documentary (street?) so weather resistance is a must for me. When hiking I prefer the smaller size of the Fujinon lenses as compared to large full frame lenses for the Nikon Z mount.

 

[x-ray]

Another good reason for the Fuji APSc system is small lenses. The Fujicrons are about the same size as Leica M lenses but priced at small fraction of the cost. Not only are they small the construction is excellent also.

Here are three of my primes, 16mm f2.8, 23mm f2 and 35mm f2. I didn’t photograph my 50mm f2 but it’s only slightly larger than the 35mm.

My hand size is very average so you can get an idea of size.

 

[Pál_K]

My ancient X-Pro1 body and its lenses have the latest firmware updates from long ago - in one update they had a feature which allowed you to see a zebra pattern for blown highlights and another feature gave a sort of “edge highlight” effect for objects in the plane of focus. It’s a nice feature to enable when doing careful work.

 

[boojum]

We all have advice on how you should spend your money. That's life. New or used, full frame or smaller? I ask because I got a Pentax Q-S1 with two autofocus zoom lenses pretty cheap on eBay. It is a star performer and punches well above its weight. It will fit in your pocket. It has auto everything. You can get going with the camera and the two zooms for less that US$300: pentax Q-S1 for sale | eBay And if you want to shoot movies it will do that, too.

Some image examples"

​

 

[Evergreen States]

I have the Fuji X-Pro3 and four lenses. The 23mm ƒ2 is very good, though I find its performance best between around ƒ/4 and ƒ/8. Wider or narrow apertures the performance drops off pretty dramatically. But careful digital sharpening can still make wider and narrower apertures pretty acceptable. It vignettes heavily, giving it a high contrast look that makes for lush black and white. It's very small but sadly not a pancake lens. I like it a lot. I hear the ƒ/1.4 versions have higher optical quality but they're also substantially larger. I've used both the 35mm ƒ/2 and ƒ/1.4 and they're both exceptional. I own the ƒ/1.4 version. I don't have experience with the 27 or 18mm lenses, but hear they're all good. It would be hard to go wrong.

One of the nice things about the Fuji system is that you have an electronic depth of field scale in the viewfinder for zone focus with. And it's pretty accurate, too.