Mirrorless Camera Recommendations

[Jeff Scott]

@JeffScott and everyone else:

I am a Pentaxian, and as we all know, Pentax cameras can accept all Pentax lenses ever made.

I have about 6 modern Pentax lenses and 4 old screw-mount lenses.

What’s so special about the old Pentax lenses?

As far as I can see, they’re slightly lower in contrast than most other lenses, and the colors are very accurate.

I don’t hate my K-01, but it is not a fast camera to operate.

It seems to want to stay on whatever settings you have it on, hence, it’s a very good studio camera.

As for my computer, an 11 year old Lenovo, I can still upload images from my camera to the computer, but a couple of years ago, it stopped recognizing my phone, so I can’t download images from my computer to my phone or any new flash drives.

I have 3 flash drives that it still recognizes, but they are all about 10 years old.

Someone told me the software in the computer has to be updated, so that’s one of my next projects.

The images of the model above would be of much higher quality, but they are pictures of actual prints taken with my phone.

I’ll post some old pictures direct from the K-01 to the computer in a minute.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

Mike

Do you have any LX bodies? A friend of mine from my L.A. daze had a couple plus a slew of Pentax lenses., all excellent. When I was at Bel Air Camera we sold batches of 50/1.4 lenses to Panavision.

We have a couple of Spotmatics and affiliated lenses here. And I still have my handy-dandy Digital Spotmeter (with Zone System scale on it, of course).

 

[Michael Jewels]

No, Jeff, I never bought an LX.

 

[Michael Jewels]

Olys are wonderful cameras, but I'm afraid I'm a hopeless Fujifilm fanboy, and I go back far enough to have exposed miles of Velvia and Reala.

Of the two Fuji's you've mentioned, I'd simply go by what feels best in hand, with the understanding that the XE5 will be a bit smaller.

The genius of the Fuji system is they've accomplished something no one else has: One single range of lenses its a range of SLR-style bodies, the rangefinder style bodies of the X-Pros, and the 'digital brick' shape of the XE cameras.

I no longer have any need for interchangeable lens cameras, but I do own an X100S, an X30, and the old superzoom XS-1, with several of their dedicated flashes and could not be happier. Their retro design language of a careful blend of metal bodies, knobs, and switches with the menus all digital cameras run suits me to a T. Especially for a dog old enough to have started out as a kid with one of these:

View attachment 7399110
Agfa Speedex, an ancient folding 120 6x6 rangefinder,

View attachment 7399111
Then and now: Fuijifilm X30.

Miles of Velvia.

That was a good film.

By the way, this is the camera I started on 50 years ago, a Konica III, my father’s camera.

Auto nothing. Now, the shutter is frozen.

 

[tzohn]

I got into the Fujifilm X series a couple of years after they were first introduced with an X-E2 kit. I was quite happy so after few months I decided to "invest" in X mount and got another two lenses. The camera had good build quality and the glass was even better.
In 2017 I upgraded to X-T20 and seven years later I found out that the internal button cell was dead and every time I turned the camera on all settings were reset. It was completely dead and unable to recharge. I asked the local shop for battery replacement and said I had to send the camera to the service dept. because it must be disassembled as the battery is soldered on the PCB. What? And then the cost would be about €100 or even more. WTH? Also by now the rubber piece in the viewfinder is half-disintegrated, you know, the sticky stuff and that requires tear down for replacement as well.The 4 years older X-E2 (Japan made) internal battery was dead as well but at least it was able to recharge while the rubber material in X-E2 was fine. Now I have 3 x-mount lenses that I probably have to sell as I'm not going to use any other Fujifilm product again and in the process lose about €2.5k. This is Fujifilm cameras.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

@tzohn Thank you - this is the kind of thing that isn’t mentioned anywhere else. Fujifilm cameras look the part but I have read they tend to be on the fragile side.

 

[tzohn]

Exactly, I was completely unaware of this detail and I was under the impression that there is somewhere a user-replaceable memory battery as in my old Canon DSLR. My experience with Digital cameras (including Panasonic and Canon) started out really nice but today I'm at the same point as almost 20 years ago. Film or Digital? I think digital camera manufacturers have set the bar lower in the last 5 or so years in terms of quality so...

 

[akukulich]

My nephew just asked this same question. I recommended the Fuji X-T30. I primarily shoot Nikon, but have owned several Fuji's, and I've always been impressed with the image quality and the toughness of the bodies. I dropped a Fuji X100 on Yosemite granite. After it stopped bouncing, it continued to work flawlessly and only suffered a few minor scratches.

 

[brianrost]

I’ve been using Olympus/OMD cameras since 2015, so I’m biased. Currently I use an E-M5 mkIII (the OM-5 mkII is the second generation since that camera) and an E-M10 mkIV which is my casual shooter. The OM-3 has most of the features of the flagship OM-1 mkII but in a smaller body with the lower resolution viewfinder from the OM-5 series.

I owned a Fuji X10 (fixed lens) from 2012 to 2015 and I think they make great cameras as well.

To make a real recommendation I’d have to know what sort of photography you want to be doing.

 

[WG Plum]

What would you recommend for a consumer-grade user who is primarily doing either night-time (moon/sky shots or live music) or outside/nature shots?

 

[BigBigGuy44]

To make a real recommendation I’d have to know what sort of photography you want to be doing.

It will mainly used for travel, I'm thinking mostly landscapes, kids in front of signs and unique buildings, cool things found along the way, that kind of thing. I don't have a need yet for sports or wildlife. Can I also ask what lens or lenses you like?

My nephew just asked this same question. I recommended the Fuji X-T30. I primarily shoot Nikon, but have owned several Fuji's, and I've always been impressed with the image quality and the toughness of the bodies. I dropped a Fuji X100 on Yosemite granite. After it stopped bouncing, it continued to work flawlessly and only suffered a few minor scratches.

Thanks for this info. Do you think the IBIS of the XT50 really makes that much of a difference to justify the higher cost? Also, what Fuji mount lenses are you using? I just starting going down the lens rabbit hole and am now looking at the entire system instead of a camera vs camera comparison.

 

[Jeff Scott]

My nephew just asked this same question. I recommended the Fuji X-T30. I primarily shoot Nikon, but have owned several Fuji's, and I've always been impressed with the image quality and the toughness of the bodies. I dropped a Fuji X100 on Yosemite granite. After it stopped bouncing, it continued to work flawlessly and only suffered a few minor scratches.

Did you drop it from the top of Half Dome?

 

[Jeff Scott]

I just starting going down the lens rabbit hole and am now looking at the entire system instead of a camera vs camera comparison.

Good that you are doing that. It really is a whole system approach unless you're just getting a point-n-shoot type camera (fixed, non-interchangeable lens camera).

 

[brianrost]

It will mainly used for travel, I'm thinking mostly landscapes, kids in front of signs and unique buildings, cool things found along the way, that kind of thing. I don't have a need yet for sports or wildlife. Can I also ask what lens or lenses you like?

My favorite OMD lens is the OM 12-40mm/f2.8 Pro. It’s only downside for me is it doesn’t zoom out to 50 or 60mm. It would work very well for your purposes except it doesn’t have the reach needed sometimes to shoot mountaintops, church steeples, far away buildings, etc.

My other lenses are specialized. I have the OM 60mm macro for flowers, bugs, etc., the OM 75-300mm/f4.8-6.7 lens I use mainly for wildlife, but I use it every year to shoot the Boston Marathon.

I have the OM 14-150mm/f4-5.6...it’s not as sharp as the OMD Pro lenses and it’s not as fast, either. I use it for shooting outdoor music performances where I may not be able to get close enough to the stage.

Do you think the IBIS of the XT50 really makes that much of a difference to justify the higher cost?

OMD has the best IBIS of any brand, period. Yes, IBIS is important if you need to shoot at low shutter speeds or shoot with long telephotos.

 

[mpdd]

Oatman, AZ
Nikon Z8 with 400 mm 2.8 TC VR S