Prosumer or micro 4/3 for a beginner?


jeana

New Member
Mar 9, 2008
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Hi all~ newbie here (i guess u can tell from me posting in newbie section =x)

I am in kinda dilmenia here. I always had an interest in photography but never had the moo-lah to spend on it.:dunno:

Finally, the light had dawned and money had been saved...at last.. But i am faced with another issue.. Prosumers or micro 4/3.

Digital DSLR is out for me at the moment, too heavy to lug around .. Prosumers and Micro 4/3 like the GF1 seems to be more suitable.

At the moment I narrowed down to the following

Prosumers :Canon G11, S90, LX3
Micro 4/3 : Panasonic GF1 (okay was aiming GF2 actually but not in market), Olympus Pen series

Yes.. I can hear people thinking ..depends on what you want and budget/feel.. All feel similar to me at the moment all have is pros and cons.. How I wished for a mixed and match camera in the markets.

My requirements
- Wonderful image quality
- portable (DSLR are much heavier)
- allows for low light situations
- Easy to make manual adjustments (which both prosumers and micro 4/3 fits)
- Swivel screen (benefit though not a must)
- no specific favorites but I prefer to take landscapes/night shots..

Prosumers are attractive coz of their lower price (but certainly not by much), lots of manual modes to get started on.

Micro 4/3 : give muchhhhh better image quality, more expensive and bulkier (interchangeable lens though not a very big factor as of yet)..

In short, what would be better to get start on ? As price narrows between Micro 4/3 and a prosumer like G11, i keep wanting to get a micro4/3 but.. then wonder if it is like playing music to a cow ...for a newbie to get such a pro camera...

*confused*

Any input? Somehow I think choosing what camera to invest in seems a lot much harder than choosing a BF or husband...*sigh*
 

Hi all~ newbie here (i guess u can tell from me posting in newbie section =x)

I am in kinda dilmenia here. I always had an interest in photography but never had the moo-lah to spend on it.:dunno:

Finally, the light had dawned and money had been saved...at last.. But i am faced with another issue.. Prosumers or micro 4/3.

Digital DSLR is out for me at the moment, too heavy to lug around .. Prosumers and Micro 4/3 like the GF1 seems to be more suitable.

At the moment I narrowed down to the following

Prosumers :Canon G11, S90, LX3
Micro 4/3 : Panasonic GF1 (okay was aiming GF2 actually but not in market), Olympus Pen series

Yes.. I can hear people thinking ..depends on what you want and budget/feel.. All feel similar to me at the moment all have is pros and cons.. How I wished for a mixed and match camera in the markets.

My requirements
- Wonderful image quality
- portable (DSLR are much heavier)
- allows for low light situations
- Easy to make manual adjustments (which both prosumers and micro 4/3 fits)
- Swivel screen (benefit though not a must)
- no specific favorites but I prefer to take landscapes/night shots..

Prosumers are attractive coz of their lower price (but certainly not by much), lots of manual modes to get started on.

Micro 4/3 : give muchhhhh better image quality, more expensive and bulkier (interchangeable lens though not a very big factor as of yet)..

In short, what would be better to get start on ? As price narrows between Micro 4/3 and a prosumer like G11, i keep wanting to get a micro4/3 but.. then wonder if it is like playing music to a cow ...for a newbie to get such a pro camera...

*confused*

Any input? Somehow I think choosing what camera to invest in seems a lot much harder than choosing a BF or husband...*sigh*

The prosumers that you listed are compacts.Prosumer series refer to the Fujifilm S1800/2500/2000HD,Panasonic FZ-38(i think)..........

Anyway,we also can't help you decide.Try going to stores like BD/Courts/HN to get a feel of the cameras that you are interested:)
 

Welcome to CS :)
Take a peek at the 4/3 section ;)
 

For me I suggest getting a dslr only if you are truly interest in photography. by that does not mean holding a dslr and using auto mode. if you are into just taking pictures for fun, a compact camera is the best choice. light + easy to use. Some compact can even beon manual mode which sums it up to be a dslr with less pixel :)
 

If you are serious into photography, then get a DSLR. But if you just want to take nice, clear pictures, then S90 is very nice. It takes very sharp and clean photos, even at low light. However, the photography that you can play with your S90 is VERY limited. Hope this helps.
 

Hi,

First of all its great that you do know that you do not want a DSLR. Portability can be a big issue and it seems that you are not ready to sacrifice that aspect even for the potentially higher picture quality a DSLR might bring.

However, you also seem to be a person who does value picture quality and does seem interested in photography enough that a future upgrade to DSLR might not be impossible.

For these reasons, i suggest u look at the micro 4/3 offerings closely, heheh i am considering it as a backup to my DSLR even for holiday shots. ;p

Some of my Reason
1) Its darn close to a DSLR
2) Image quality under certain conditions rival DSLR (at least my D90)
3) Interchangeble lens and add ons available (flash even)
4) It looks chio (i referring to pen1 haha)
5) Its portable

Just my 2 cts worth :)

cheers,
kilkenny
 

The prosumers that you listed are compacts.Prosumer series refer to the Fujifilm S1800/2500/2000HD,Panasonic FZ-38(i think)..........

no la, g11 is definitely prosumer.

same for lx3.
 

My requirements
- Wonderful image quality
- portable (DSLR are much heavier)
- allows for low light situations
- Easy to make manual adjustments (which both prosumers and micro 4/3 fits)
- Swivel screen (benefit though not a must)
- no specific favorites but I prefer to take landscapes/night shots..

Prosumers are attractive coz of their lower price (but certainly not by much), lots of manual modes to get started on.

Micro 4/3 : give muchhhhh better image quality, more expensive and bulkier (interchangeable lens though not a very big factor as of yet)..
1) image quality, based on sensor size, you can expect micro 4/3 to be better.

2) portable, compact still better than micro 4/3, but micro 4/3 portability is impressive for the additional functions and lens swapability. if you buy telephoto lens for micro 4/3, also need to carry bigger bag.

3) low light, micro 4/3 should be better

4) landscape, night shots? then go for micro 4/3. i don't think most prosumers have bulb mode function, micro 4/3 have.
 

hi. i just got my canon s90 as an alternative to my canon dslr. i wanted a camera that is portable and light enough so that i wont feel it weighing down my bag. at the same time i was worried that image quality would deteriorate so much that i wont even use it much. (i'm very much used to the image quality of a dslr)

like you i was in a dilemma over which camera to pick. for me my choice was between the lx3 and s90. i asked soooo many ppl for their opinions but in the end it wasnt much help because they are equally good cameras. for every person who supported the lx3 there would be another who preferred the s90.

the choice is really up to you. i chose the s90 in the end because i liked how it looked, how it felt, and the fact that it had prettier and nicer colours compared to the lx3. when you're a beginner, these fancy fancy specs and numbers dont matter to you because you wont even know what's the big fuss about. and i can tell you the more you compare, the bigger your headache will be. all of your choices are excellent choices and just go with your gut feel. try them out at the shops and see which one 'clicks' with you. to me a camera is a very personal thing and choosing one that you like, and not what everybody else likes, is the most impt.

on a sidenote, I LOVE MY CANON S90. obviously there are limitations to what a prosumer can do compared to a full fledged dslr. but i would say that image quality and functions wise, the s90 is worth its $750 price tag.
 

The prosumers that you listed are compacts.Prosumer series refer to the Fujifilm S1800/2500/2000HD,Panasonic FZ-38(i think)..........

Anyway,we also can't help you decide.Try going to stores like BD/Courts/HN to get a feel of the cameras that you are interested:)

There are prosumer superzooms, then there are prosumer compacts.

New categories seems to be pooping up every once in a while though... :bigeyes:
 

Hi all~ newbie here (i guess u can tell from me posting in newbie section =x)

I am in kinda dilmenia here. I always had an interest in photography but never had the moo-lah to spend on it.:dunno:

Finally, the light had dawned and money had been saved...at last.. But i am faced with another issue.. Prosumers or micro 4/3.

Digital DSLR is out for me at the moment, too heavy to lug around .. Prosumers and Micro 4/3 like the GF1 seems to be more suitable.

At the moment I narrowed down to the following

Prosumers :Canon G11, S90, LX3
Micro 4/3 : Panasonic GF1 (okay was aiming GF2 actually but not in market), Olympus Pen series

Yes.. I can hear people thinking ..depends on what you want and budget/feel.. All feel similar to me at the moment all have is pros and cons.. How I wished for a mixed and match camera in the markets.

My requirements
- Wonderful image quality
- portable (DSLR are much heavier)
- allows for low light situations
- Easy to make manual adjustments (which both prosumers and micro 4/3 fits)
- Swivel screen (benefit though not a must)
- no specific favorites but I prefer to take landscapes/night shots..

Prosumers are attractive coz of their lower price (but certainly not by much), lots of manual modes to get started on.

Micro 4/3 : give muchhhhh better image quality, more expensive and bulkier (interchangeable lens though not a very big factor as of yet)..

In short, what would be better to get start on ? As price narrows between Micro 4/3 and a prosumer like G11, i keep wanting to get a micro4/3 but.. then wonder if it is like playing music to a cow ...for a newbie to get such a pro camera...

*confused*

Any input? Somehow I think choosing what camera to invest in seems a lot much harder than choosing a BF or husband...*sigh*

I am just playing devil's advocate here, to give you some view points contrary to your own.

- m4/3 image quality is not bad. But you can find better quality in DSLR offerings.
- You may think it is small and portable. But that is only if you are referring the camera with the 20mm pancake. I would like to see people carting that around with a long tele zoom lens (if one is available....). You just can't fit them in your pocket.
- If you shoot with the GF1 with the 14-45 lens no stop for 2 hours, I can tell you it will be much more tiring that shooting with a DSLR like D5000 for 2 hours non-stop. Handles differently.
- Using a micro 4/3 camera do not guarantee a good picture. I have seen some very PnS looking pictures coming out of a GF1. (Due to user of course).
- If you buy better camera bags, they are usually designed for DSLR in mind. So your micro 4/3 camera will fit strangely.

That said, I think m4/3 cameras are wonderful cameras. They fill a niche now. But do note that they are not "as good as DSLRs". Sure some of their picture quality may be comparable to some entry level DSLRs. But in the end, you do not get the handling, the controls, the speed, the availability of lenses and accessories available to the popular DSLR systems. And the micro 4/3s are not cheap too. The GF1 with dual kit lens cost more than 1400. That is more expensive than the very capable Pentax K-x with dual lens kit. But if these cameras meet you need, then they meet your need and you should get them.

And with regards to your specific questions, if you have the budget set aside already, and you are very serious about wanting to get more into photography, you should forget the prosumers for now and go m4/3.
 

nay, certainly there would be nothing better than a DSLR...IQ wise (all things being equal).

However ... the sheer size of it kinda puts me off given that telescope lens are not that important to me at the moment.. I do not want to end up like this picture =P (not sure if this is a real lens.fwded to me by a friend) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R27YKtRoa...U/s400/Juza_handholding_sigma_200-500_2-8.jpg

So sticking to portables at the moment.. hmz.. maybe i would aim at the Panasonic G2 which is coming up ...
 

If excellent IQ and compact size are what you're looking for then you already know your answer - the m43, provided that you've saved enough and budget is not a concerned now. Do note that m43 system can be big as well, if a long focal length lens is attached, as other members already pointed out. What is important is for you to go down to the shop, try the m43 (GF1/EP2 etc) with the intended lenses you want to use with it, and see if you're comfortable with the size. Also, do remember to set aside some money for accessories (tripod, dry box/cabinet, external flash, etc).
 

nay, certainly there would be nothing better than a DSLR...IQ wise (all things being equal).

However ... the sheer size of it kinda puts me off given that telescope lens are not that important to me at the moment.. I do not want to end up like this picture =P (not sure if this is a real lens.fwded to me by a friend) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R27YKtRoa...U/s400/Juza_handholding_sigma_200-500_2-8.jpg

So sticking to portables at the moment.. hmz.. maybe i would aim at the Panasonic G2 which is coming up ...

What I am saying is ergonomics. And how your hand is gripping the camera.

This is GF1

gf1_handling-heft.jpg



And this is DSLR

inhand02.jpg


Which hand in the above 2 pics will suffer more fatigue if holding the camera for, say, 20 minutes?

Weight is less of a problem than posture and grip placement sometimes.
 

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And with regards to size,

Here are a couple of pictures to show you how the camera looks with other lenses other than the pancake.

This is GF-1 with the 2nd kit lens 14-45mm
http://forum.getdpi.com/gallery/files/3/7/_1010065.jpg and the hood is not even on yet and zoom not yet extended.

This is GF-1 with the ultra wide angle 7-14mm
http://forum.getdpi.com/gallery/files/3/7/_1010066.jpg

I am not saying m4/3 is bad and DSLR is good. All I am saying is you need to understand that this is more than a PnS in terms of size as well.
 

nay, certainly there would be nothing better than a DSLR...IQ wise (all things being equal).

However ... the sheer size of it kinda puts me off given that telescope lens are not that important to me at the moment.. I do not want to end up like this picture =P (not sure if this is a real lens.fwded to me by a friend) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_R27YKtRoa...U/s400/Juza_handholding_sigma_200-500_2-8.jpg

So sticking to portables at the moment.. hmz.. maybe i would aim at the Panasonic G2 which is coming up ...

Actually there are indeed better options than a DSLR, IQ wise. Medium and large format digital backs and the announced and soon to be released Pentax 645 will kick DSLR's behind in terms of IQ. But they are also exponentially more expensive.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10031002pentax645d.asp
 

Probably check with yourself how much you wanna spend on the camera?

The price for the EPL-1 two kit lens will cost about $1210 (On the cheaper side). And the image quality for the PEN series is quite good. Speed wise will lose out to DSLR. Also the grip for EPL-1 is quite good, personal onion compared to EP1 or EP2.

Some of the image taken by the PEN series posted by some of the users here.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=617753

Some of the Panasonic m4/3 images
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=590304

Review of the EPL-1 by users
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=672876
 

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