Small camera like e-Pl3 or Sony NEX with big lenses?

[Karhallarn]

Hi guys!

As my Oly e600s sensor died after two months of use I'm now awaiting the answer of the olympus service!

Meanwhile I startet looking around at some mirrorless cameras to maybe replace the broken e600, even if it would be repaired.

The reason for this possible change is the experience with a friends e-p2 and his m39 lenses, which are so nice small and sharp, it was a joy to use them!

So, I was considering the new e-Pl3 as it has the tilt screen, gorgeous new processor and a very nice price tag! BUT how do bigger lenses handle on it? I haven't been able to try it out yet!
I would think that my Nikkor 300mm would shourly have to go any way as it is a monster and I don't use it that often anymore (anyone interested?) but how about say the 85mm f1.8 or my beloved Tamron 46a?

Does anyone of you has a e-Pl3 and can state some impressions of using it with bigger lenses over a prolonged period of time?

I would be interested to know, if you guys who use the sony NEX, which is quiet similar in size use large lenses anymore or just shifted to smaller ones?

Cheers,

Karhallarn

[LucisPictor]

IMHO none of the small EVIL cams are suitable for long and heavy lenses.
You can us them, but it's not really fun and you must use them on a tripod anyway. Otherwise it will be extremely hard not to get a camera shake.

Perhaps a "normal" Olympus 4/3 would be a better idea, or even an EOS!

[Riku]

I wouldn't use a manual lens longer than 135mm on my Nex. Small Jupiter-11 135/4 still handles well and would be 270mm eqv. on Olympus sensor.
If you need lenses longer than that, you should get a new auto focus lens that is dedicated to small sensor.

[eddieitman]

I can use the Jupiter 11a no problem at all on the Nex and that is rather heavy, i would say that is also about the limit for handheld.
it all depends on weight and balance, but i have also used the 400mm with tripod no problem.

[yinyangbt]

For long big lenses 150 and over , definitely a tripod is going to be necessary even if in this area , maybe the EPL is a little in advantage with it's in body anti shake. For keeping a usable exposure time handheld it's going to need a higher ISO . Maybe , it's a good idea , I am going to try it myself to use a monopod together with a waist level shooting , the LCD flipped up and supported against the waist or lower to stabilise.
I have just now experimented this idea .
Look there are a few samples : 150mm on NEX (1.5 crop) , would need minimum 1/250s The technique : monopod made from a Giottos light tripod , flipped up lcd braced against abdomen , camera set to speed continuus shooting .


150mm 1/15s iso 1600 :



150mm 1/30 ISO 1600 :





I don't know if the in -body stabiliser of the EP-L 3 can do the job of the monopod (in this technique ,using the continuus shooting and camera braced on the abdomen ).If it does , it's great news .

[Karhallarn]

Hi Teo! Very interesting! Thanks for the detailed reply!

Would you mind posting a picture if the camera lens combo?

[yinyangbt]

[Karhallarn]

Nice set up, but indeed a little small!

I'm talking 1.2Kg Nikkor 300mm!

What do you think?

I tried a 500mm f5.6 Pentacon once on my Nikon D1 and later on my D200 and imagine that the 300mm on the Olympus would be nearly as unbalanced as the D200 and the 500mm!

What do you think?

[yinyangbt]

Well , I agree that in such a company , these small cameras don't fit . Hard to use handheld or at least unconfortable. But how much do you shoot this monster ? If you are mainly a long tele shooter you won't be comfortable with such a small camera attached as an appendix on the bottom of your ...Huh ? ...canon ? So , you're to buy a new 4/3 Oly DSRL , to use the 2X crop enhancing tele effect and use the IN Body antishaking . Or , one of the excelent G Pannys but there you'll have once again a small body ( but better grip , better handling) lacking stabilisation .The GH1 maibe the new G3 if you want good high ISO, the manual focusing seems to be quite good on the EVF .
If you get out of this area , Pentax ,Sony and Nikon won't let you use any Minolta , Canon FD , Konica ,etc.
The EOS could be a good alternative but I personally dislike the viewfinder on he Rebel series .The manual focusing is not very comfortable on this viewfinder , the focusing on the NEX screen is much superior .
Maybe searching for smaller and lighter teles would be a solution for replacing that monster ? your spine is going to thank you sooner or later and going instead with small cameras.
monopod for the 300mm in every situation .

[iangreenhalgh1]

300mm lens on NEX works fine if you use a tripod and mount using a tripod ring on the lens rather than the one on the camera.