Looking for a new compact camera with 50mm lens

G

Gzisis89

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Hello to the forum, i used the olympus omd em10 iii of a friend for a weekend and found the idea and results of such a camera with the 50mm equivalent lens nice. I would like to make a little change from my canon p, at least for some time. I would like a small digital camera with an also small 50mm equivalent lens, i dont need an evf, very good autofocus would be welcome and weather proof nice but i can live without weather proof if the camera ticks the other boxes i want. I shout only street photography and i dont want to manual or zone focus with this particular set up. What would you suggest ?
 
Micro 4/3 is a good option this kind of shooting, and the Olympus (or newer OM System) 25mm f1.8 is a great lens.

My favorite Olympus has been the E-M5ii, which is a bit older, with probably the best version of the 16mp sensor. It's extremely solidly made of magnesium alloy. Can be had for very good prices these days.

If you want to go new, the OM-5 (version i) can be had on sale now due to the release of an update.
 
There are small Leicas as mentioned. If you want really small, Pentax Q series. I have the Q S1 and it shoots well and renders great images. Lens off it will fit in a short pocket. Yes, it is an odd choice. Yes, it is a good camera. Here are a few images: Pentax Q-S1
 
agentlossing said:
Micro 4/3 is a good option this kind of shooting, and the Olympus (or newer OM System) 25mm f1.8 is a great lens.

My favorite Olympus has been the E-M5ii, which is a bit older, with probably the best version of the 16mp sensor. It's extremely solidly made of magnesium alloy. Can be had for very good prices these days.

If you want to go new, the OM-5 (version i) can be had on sale now due to the release of an update.
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Does the em5 ii focus quick enough ? I like the idea of this little lens but id like a kinda smaller camera than the em10 iii. Is there any good m43 camera without an evf ?
 
Gzisis89 said:
Hello to the forum, i used the olympus omd em10 iii of a friend for a weekend and found the idea and results of such a camera with the 50mm equivalent lens nice. I would like to make a little change from my canon p, at least for some time. I would like a small digital camera with an also small 50mm equivalent lens, i dont need an evf, very good autofocus would be welcome and weather proof nice but i can live without weather proof if the camera ticks the other boxes i want. I shout only street photography and i dont want to manual or zone focus with this particular set up. What would you suggest ?
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How small do you want it to be? Your G100 is already very small. An alternative is the quite sought after Panasonic GM1 or GM5, which are unfortunately expensive on the secondhand market due to demand. Pair this with the Olympus 25mm f1.8, Panasonic 25mm f1.7 or 20mm f1.7. This will give you a very compact setup. I use the Olympus 25mm f1.8 with the Olympus E-M5 original, the Panasonic GM1, GX85 and even the G9. All great fun.

As for a compact camera, as in pocket camera, the only gig in town is the Ricoh GR III x with its 40mm equivalent lens. This will give you superb image quality, better than the m43 cameras I just mentioned, and will fit in a pocket. Autofocus is decent, too.

Edited to add: Sorry @gzisis69 I mistook you for someone else who posted in the micro four thirds forum a little while ago about the Panasonic G100.
 
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Gzisis89 said:
Does the em5 ii focus quick enough ? I like the idea of this little lens but id like a kinda smaller camera than the em10 iii. Is there any good m43 camera without an evf ?
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Penty of good ones without an EVF. The most modern one would be maybe the E-P7. I consider the AF speed much more dependent on the lens than the body with Micro 4/3, and I remember the 25mm f1.8 as being pretty fast. There are older models too, such as the Olympus E-P5 or Panasonic GM1.
 
boojum said:
There are small Leicas as mentioned. If you want really small, Pentax Q series. I have the Q S1 and it shoots well and renders great images. Lens off it will fit in a short pocket. Yes, it is an odd choice. Yes, it is a good camera. Here are a few images: Pentax Q-S1
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QS-1 is awesome but the Prime 01 on it is about a 39mm lens.

For 50mm equivalent a few more options. Any version of the LX100 and I am pretty sure you can set it to remember the focal length and it will return to it on power up. Set it to 50mm. Ditto any flavor of the RX100s.

Samsung NX Mini with the 17mm prime is about 46mm. Tiny camera, big battery, great picture quality. Better than the Q or RX100, maybe sharper than the LX100.

Leica X Vario and just leave the manual zoom lens at 50mm equivalent. Little bit bigger but again great picture quality and full manual controls.
 
The best I could find is the Ricoh GRIIIx but it is 40mm. I wish it was 50mm, but I make do. Others seem to have a different definition of small than I do though.
 
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If you do go down the M4/3 route as others have said, I have always been very satisfied with my Panasonic GX-7. This is a quite an old camera now - GX-8 / GX- 85 / GX-9 and maybe later versions being available. Though with the type of photography I do I have never been disappointed with it. Panasonic and Leica collaborated on these cameras and lenses (indeed Leica rebadged some of the cameras with their own name and styling.) In any event I think the Panasonic firmware handles images beautifully and I prefer them to my Olympus camera (an Olympus OMD-EM 5 - also an older camera, I have never bothered much with updating cameras often). There is just something about the Panasonic images that is very nice. I often shoot my Panasonic with a Panasonic/Leica 25mm f1.4 which gives a 50mm equivalent result. Plenty of other options are also available including a Sigma 30mm f2.8 which performs exceedingly well (with of course a 60mm equivalent). You may wish to look into the later versions in this range if you are able to spend more $.


 
Gzisis89 said:
Hello to the forum, i used the olympus omd em10 iii of a friend for a weekend and found the idea and results of such a camera with the 50mm equivalent lens nice. I would like to make a little change from my canon p, at least for some time. I would like a small digital camera with an also small 50mm equivalent lens, i dont need an evf, very good autofocus would be welcome and weather proof nice but i can live without weather proof if the camera ticks the other boxes i want. I shout only street photography and i dont want to manual or zone focus with this particular set up. What would you suggest ?
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Wanting something similar, I couldn't find much with a 50mm (or equiv) lens that I liked. But I remembered the Leica X2 that I had an eon ago, with its equivalent 36mm lens, and thought I'd try one of those again. I turn off the LCD, fit an optical viewfinder, turn off auto-review, turn on autofocus with a broad 11 point focus pattern. I usually set it to Program mode, but sometimes I lock it to f/4 or f/2.8. And I just go walking and making photos with it.

99% of the time, the AF is right on the money, the AE is right on the money. And the image quality is so good that if you really want 50mm FoV, just center crop all the exposures to fit that field of view...

G
 
Come to think of it, there is one other 50mm compact alternative. The Ricoh GXR with 33mm aps-c module. This produces a 50mm equivalent field of view, and the file quality in raw is amazing. While it can be slow to focus in challenging conditions, it does have the advantage of Ricoh's Snap mode, essentially a middle distance hyperfocal setting intended for rapid street shooting.
 
JohnGellings said:
The best I could find is the Ricoh GRIIIx but it is 40mm. I wish it was 50mm, but I make do. Others seem to have a different definition of small than I do though.
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I think it's the best choice out there, if you can compromise with a slightly wider lens. Can't get a better camera as compact.
 
I would also look at the micro 4/3 G100D. It's not that much bigger than the GRIII. It does have an EVF though. You could use the 25mm Lumix or the 20mm pancake. This picture is with the collapsible 12-32mm kit lens next to a GRIII with VF.

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peterm1 said:
In any event I think the Panasonic firmware handles images beautifully and I prefer them to my Olympus camera (an Olympus OMD-EM 5 - also an older camera, I have never bothered much with updating cameras often). There is just something about the Panasonic images that is very nice.
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I, too, have an original EM5, and also many Panasonics including the GX85. While I prefer the GX85 for many reasons, there is something subtly satisfying about the EM5 and the way it handles. The shutter sound has a juicy crunch and the haptics are IMO better than the GX85. I've been able to tweak Lightroom profiles to get a lot out of the EM5, closing the gap to Panasonic cameras.
 
Archiver said:
I, too, have an original EM5, and also many Panasonics including the GX85. While I prefer the GX85 for many reasons, there is something subtly satisfying about the EM5 and the way it handles. The shutter sound has a juicy crunch and the haptics are IMO better than the GX85. I've been able to tweak Lightroom profiles to get a lot out of the EM5, closing the gap to Panasonic cameras.
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I would not disagree with anything you said. 🙂

I would not say I dislike anything about the EM5 (excepting, perhaps that its menu takes considerable getting used to). It's image quality it really very good but I do love those files from the GX7. Another advantage of course, is that unlike the first version of the EM5 the Panasonic supports IBIS which can be useful - though not necessarily an over-riding concern for me. I also often shoot RAW and will "massage" files from either camera in post which suggests I should not necessarily prefer the Panny but it's still nice to have a great image starting point.
 
Hmm. I was under the impression that the OP was looking for a compact camera. 🤔
If an Olympus, I have a wonderful old E-M1 .. fit a 25mm lens and you're there. Yes, complex menus but so much capability.

G
 
Oly E-PL1. 17/2.8. Put a fixed external VF on it and you have a tiny little pocket rocket. Only 12.3 mp but it really is pocket-able. The 25 would give you the 50 FOV but that 17/2.8 is an underrated gem from Olympus.
 
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