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Camera advice please.....

#81
After reading more reviews I think it's down to the Nikon D5200 and the Olympus OM-D EM-5. We're going to go hold a few today and see if the size/weight savings are enough to get around the potential losses of low light performance and aperture problems of the M43 format.

any more information/advice is still welcome. And again thanks to all who have contributed thus far. You guys are great!
 
#83
Just a quick word on Ken Rockwell, some of his advice is highly subjective (even controversial) and it's worth reading around before committing to a purchase.

Not that there isn't some good stuff on his site :)
 
#84
Background blur depends on at least these factors:
  • Aperture, obviously, but see below
  • Focal length and distance. Yes this matters most. Longer shots "stretch" the background much more and visually wipe it out. Think of it this way: at the same f-stop rating the actual aperture (in mm) is much larger for a longer lens.
  • Sensor size. Just play with a table that lists the size of the circle of confusion for different sensor sizes. You can buy mirrorless with large sensors - but most don't
  • The quality of the blur is determined by two lens qualities:
    • Shape of the aperture. How many blades, how shaped. Do round highlights turn into cat-eyes, hexagons, stay round, or what?
    • General lens assembly that decides whether blur gets jittery or smooth, and for many lenses it is different for objects in front of the focus plane and objects behind the focus plane

Or in short - they can't mount a 85L or a 135L :)
 
#85
OK so we went to the store and held some cameras. My wife was zero help. She doesn't care at all. As long as whatever we get has an "Auto" mode she's happy. Size? Not a factor for her whatsoever. "If we are going to take a camera with us anyway, what difference does it make what size it is?"

So, it's all on me. And I'm still going back and forth between the give and take of smaller size vs SLIGHTLY better features/quality in relative terms.
 
#86
As your first "real" camera, you'll be both happy and disappointed in whatever you get. There's a lot to love about both options. If the weight isn't a big deal, get whichever feels better in your hand. Make sure to check what it feels like to reach all the major controls without looking at them.
 
#87
two fingers said:
OK so we went to the store and held some cameras. My wife was zero help. She doesn't care at all. As long as whatever we get has an "Auto" mode she's happy. Size? Not a factor for her whatsoever. "If we are going to take a camera with us anyway, what difference does it make what size it is?"

So, it's all on me. And I'm still going back and forth between the give and take of smaller size vs SLIGHTLY better features/quality in relative terms.
Click to expand...
Did you take some photos with them? Nikon autofocus is traditionally pretty strong, the om-d claimed the fastest autofocus of any camera when it was released. That sort of stuff makes a big difference in the real world of non-pro photography (obviously there's degrees beyond which the speed differences become negligible) but still, it's something to test.
Test af in good lighting and poor lighting. Test the image results in good lighting and poor lighting on auto mode.
Easy stuff you can do in the shop :-)
 
#88
cleary said:
Did you take some photos with them? Nikon autofocus is traditionally pretty strong, the om-d claimed the fastest autofocus of any camera when it was released. That sort of stuff makes a big difference in the real world of non-pro photography (obviously there's degrees beyond which the speed differences become negligible) but still, it's something to test.
Test af in good lighting and poor lighting. Test the image results in good lighting and poor lighting on auto mode.
Easy stuff you can do in the shop :-)
Click to expand...
Yeah I wish. I live in a fairly small town. There is one real camera shop and it is run by a guy who is mean as hell and charges ridiculous prices. Everything else is a big box. I'm lucky if any camera in the store will even turn on. Much less will I be able to "test image quality" by actually downloading and viewing photos I took. So I am pretty well relying on reviews on line and tips from you fellas.
 
#89
two fingers said:
OK so we went to the store and held some cameras. My wife was zero help. She doesn't care at all. As long as whatever we get has an "Auto" mode she's happy. Size? Not a factor for her whatsoever. "If we are going to take a camera with us anyway, what difference does it make what size it is?"

So, it's all on me. And I'm still going back and forth between the give and take of smaller size vs SLIGHTLY better features/quality in relative terms.
Click to expand...

You didn't tell us how old your children are. You also mentioned baseball games, but I'm not sure if you meant pro baseball games or your kid's little league games. When you have small children, there are dozens of photo ops everyday. Just as many at the grocery store or at the mall as when you're on vacation. If you get an SLR with a big zoom lens I GUARANTEE your wife isn't taking it with her to the grocery store.

cleary said:
Did you take some photos with them? Nikon autofocus is traditionally pretty strong, the om-d claimed the fastest autofocus of any camera when it was released. That sort of stuff makes a big difference in the real world of non-pro photography (obviously there's degrees beyond which the speed differences become negligible) but still, it's something to test.
Test af in good lighting and poor lighting. Test the image results in good lighting and poor lighting on auto mode.
Easy stuff you can do in the shop :-)
Click to expand...

Yes. Take your time at the store. Take pictures and have them show them to you on a computer screen. Depending on their set up you may even print them.
 
#90
So one of you chimed in and said he doesn't mind refurbished items. Anyone else have good experiences with refurb cameras? According to my online research most of them are simply returns that can no longer be sold as new.
 
#91
two fingers said:
So one of you chimed in and said he doesn't mind refurbished items. Anyone else have good experiences with refurb cameras? According to my online research most of them are simply returns that can no longer be sold as new.
Click to expand...

I don't have experience with refurb'd items per say, but every DSLR I've bought after my first one was second hand.
As with buying through these forums, this is safest if you find a community of users dedicated to photography, with history of usage, example shots, and treatment of gear through their participation in the community.
The prices on these forums tend to be lower too in my experience, because people know demand, know the gear and whether it's about to be obsoleted or not, and most importantly, don't have ebay sales fees :p

I would not be surprised to find a good condition OM-D from my usual source with a 12-50mm lens or equivalent in the AUD$800 (roughly 1:1 with USD) range.

For 2nd hand/refurb'd bodies it's worth checking shutter count, and what the rated count for that model is. Check for any common warranty repairs/recalls and make sure the body has been included in any of those processes.
 
#96
I've had mixed luck with refurbs. My first DSLR (a Nikon D1 about ten years ago) was a real refurbed-by-Nikon body and has never had a problem, but I've also had a Sony refub croak in just a few months but outside the 90 day warranty.

Put it this way - are you willing to take the chance that your new camera was a demo body from Best Buy?
 
#98
"The best camera is the one you have with you." I totally agree...
And I think that "Camera's don't take great photos, photographers do"...

I know it's important to have a good camera, but I think it's more important to have the knowledge how to make dazzling photos...

There is many good training about this online...like this:
Link Removed
 

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