I'm having a camera crisis!

[ManualFocus-G]

As much much as I love my Sony Nex-5n for image quality, I am struggling to enjoy using it It just doesn't fit my hands well.

Now this leaves me with an issue...I could probably sell it and the EVF and afford to buy something else instead for about £600.00. So...what are my options? I want something for street shots with a viewfinder, small in size but bigger than the Nex and decent high ISO. And with an AF option for self portraits

Choices so far appear to be:

Fuji X100 with 23/2
Pansonic GH2 with 20/1.7
Samsung NX11 with 30/2

Are there any more? I've discounted the Nikons due to the tiny sensor size.

The x100 looks fantastic but there's no option to mount old lenses I might cope though. The NX11 has bad high ISO but is cheap. The GH2 looks nice but I'm not a huge fan of the m4/3 crop. That said, the GH series seem to have a decent sensor in them.

Other than that, there doesn't appear to be much else out there at the mo. Perhaps Canon will release something soon...

[rbelyell]

graham you already have a camera you love to mount old lenses on, your 5d! think of the fuji as a complement to it, and not an overlapping tool. a gh2 is just a slightly smaller, not nearly as good, 5d. the samsung is nice, but not nearly as nice as the fuji, plus the fuji is truly pocketable, even in cargo pants. plus its amazing in low light, and has THE best b&w files i have ever seen from any digicam. go for it!
tony

[Aanything]

[ManualFocus-G]

Thanks guys, I've just spent the last hour reading about the X100's hybrid viewfinder and WOW! The X-Pro 1 looks good too, but there's no way I can afford that

Looks like I know what to do next now

[rbelyell]

i'm happy for you, i know you will be amazed at the output, and i very much ook forward to see the results!
tony

[Orio]

Instead of buying many cameras, save the money for a Ricoh with M mount module.

[iangreenhalgh1]

If you want something to fit in your pocket, take anywhere and reliably return good results, I reckon you can't do better than an NX10 with the 20-50 kit zoom, I found mine for 180ukp. If you want to use lots of legacy lenses, there are loads of NX adapters. Look at the work Attila does with his NX10 and 20-50 kit lens, it really produces great quality for pennies. If you want a viewfinder there's the NX11, it's not much more and offer the same IQ.

[kuuan]

[ManualFocus-G]

Thanks for all your views! The GXR looks very nice, but like the X-Pro 1 it's going to cost too much once the mount and viewfinder is costed in.

One of the issues I've had with the Nex-5n is the OLED viewfinder...for some reason I end up squinting a lot when using it and feeling dizzy from eye strain. I see that many others have suffered the same problem (and many others haven't!), so I'm going to avoid EVFs for now. I really prefer to use a viewfinder too.

This leaves me with the X-100, smaller DSLR or continue to use the 5D. I'm going to start saving for the X-100 now and see what happens

[kuuan]

[eddieitman]

Ghraham be sure to check the fuji refurbish store the x100 is £599 atm
http://shop.fujifilm.co.uk/refurbished-digital-cameras
Comes with 12 warranty

[ManualFocus-G]

Fantastic, thank you! The other thing I'm considering is buying from Jessops and using Tesco Clubcard vouchers which will double in value when used at Jessops...

[BRunner]

[ManualFocus-G]

BRunner, that is certainly one option

I've just been to John Lewis and spent 10 minutes setting up their demo x100 into a usable shape. It's a lovely size and has a fab viewfinder. But...the af was terrible! I guess I could have spent more time setting the af up but the battery ran out

[LucisPictor]

Sell as much as you can and buy the NEX-7.
It's a little bigger, just the decisive difference!

[rbelyell]

graham, i'm not sure what version of firmware the x100 had, but the most recent makes AF extremely good. even at its worst with original firmware, when properly set up, understood, and operated, i really never had a problem, even in low light. you shouldve asked to 'borrow' it! but seriously, dont let that dissuade you, the AF is good, ive maybe missed a half dozen shots since november when i got it.
tony

[ManualFocus-G]

Hi Tony

I will go back and check. I've just done some reading and it appears that AF is much improved from v1.20 onwards. Another problem I just read about is poor focusing when using the OVF at close distances (1-3 feet) due to parallax issues. As the camera was securely attached to the table, I couldn't really test it on much other than close objects. I was only using the OVF as I have a dislike for EVFs. Apparently the camera focuses fine with the EVF though? This looks to be a quirky camera!!!!

G

[rbelyell]

i wouldnt use the ovf for close focusing. for close/macro work what i do is set distance manually to closest distance, magnify the subject, physically move cam til best focus achieved, snap. frankly, as a 'comlpementary' camera, the x100 is not my preferred tool for macro work, and i wouldnt recommend it as a replacement for the excellent work the 5d does in that regard. i think all cams have their 'quirks', but remember, no other dslr has an ovf that can be quirky! the x is a very ambitious cam, with features found in no competitor, but not every innovative feature it has works perfectly in all settings. its just a matter of using the proper feature in the proper context, just like other cams.

the x100 should be thought of as a 'take anywhere' camera for generic street, landscape, informal portrait work, and top notch low light photography, not as a 'specialty' tool or a replacement for a dslr. it cannot do macro like a 5d, but can do low light better than a 5d. it cannot AF faster than a 5d in difficult circumstances, but is just as fast in most normal type circumstances. its b&w files are better than 5d. its color files as good as the 5d and pretty much any 35mm lens, except the distagon 35/1.4. when using AF lenses you cannot shoot the 5d hyperfocally; you can easily shoot the AF X100 hyperfocally as it has a DOF scale in the VF.

just take it for what it is, perhaps the best manually controllable, low light, p&s ever made, but not a dslr!
tony

[ManualFocus-G]

Cheers Tony, that's really helpful!

In the meantime, I've just found something that might also be suitable...on my shelf! I've changed the battery and all appears well...needs a clean but...hmm

[poilu]

[Orio]

and does anyone really think to pass unnoticed wearing those "camouflage" eyeglasses?

[poilu]

[ManualFocus-G]

Well, I think we have a winner! Do they make a leather case for them?

[Orio]

[ForenSeil]

Camounflage street photography while it's raining? No problem!
How about this waterproof FullHD camera-watch?

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/515662043-Free-shipping-New-8GB-mini-dvr-1080p-hd-Infrared-Night-Vision-Hidden-camera-watch-video-recorder-wholesalers.html

If you want to shoot analog that's also not a problem as cameras in watches are not a new idea:

Not waterproof though and it might a bit out of your budget
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/detective-cameras-detective-cameras-c-1059_105901.html;)

And finally to be a little serious:
The X100 should be the best choice, it has great IQ, great high ISO and an almost noiseless shutter and so on - and the step from NEX3/5/C3/5N to NX11 or GH2 is only small.
Another option might be the new Fujifilm X-Pro1 (interchangeable lenses, AF, IQ and high ISO even better than on X100 because of and highend APS-C Xtrans CMOS sensor (without bayer array; there's no moire filter necessary)) but it's nearly as expensive as an digital Leica (which should be also a good choice; the XPro1 Body costs around 1600€ + 600€ per lens) and I'm not sure if it will be able to use any analog lenses.
Size of the XPro1 is about the same as Leica M8 or M9

Of course you can't adapt lenses on an X100 but as an German saying says, there is no "egg-laying wool milk sow"