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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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One of the most respected (and thorough) sites for digital camera tests and analysis is:
http://www.dpreview.com/
A review of 2011 mirrorless digital cameras is at:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8986630048/mirrorless-round...
[Edited on 7-7-2012 by Neal Johns]
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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There have been many good suggestions made. I just want to add mine. I went from a film SLR to a digital point-and-shoot camera primarily due to cost.
I couldn't see paying $4000 for what I had been paying $300 just 15 years ago.
Diane, the point-and-shoot camera just isn't for a serious photographer. It's for snapshots. And regardless what features they add it remains so.
The worst thing is the viewfinder in these small cameras. You will be so disapointed after working with a DSLR. When you compose a picture you look
through that thing carefully so that your frame contains the objects in space just the way you want them. Then you shoot. This is virtually inpossible
in these small cameras. A viewfinder needs to be large enough so that it looks like a movie theater screen. There should be darkness all around the
image. Most people don't even use the viewfinder and resort to using the display screen instead. In fact the cheap models don't even have viewfinder.
They hold the camera at arms length and look at a 2" screen while composing.
And that brings up the next biggest problem - it's size. Size is supposed to be it's asset, right? Yes and no. The camera is so small that it becomes
difficult to hold it steady. When you shoot a DSLR you lock your elbows close to bode and push the camera into face. I've shot at speeds down to 1/60
of a second and still gotten sharp images. The smaller camera is now steadied by fingers rather than hands and you just have to shoot at higher speeds
to get good sharpness. If you don't have manual mode you don't know what you will be getting because the display screen is too small to show blur.
But even if you do everything right and get the best image that camera is capable of you won't get the quality you're now getting. The best mirrorless
cameras still have much smaller sensors than the average DSLR. And the average DSLR have sensors that are too small to take good images. The canon you
are now using, although not a full frame sensor, is the closest thing to it and much better than the average DSLR. There was a major step forward in
your photography when you got your current equipment so now you would be stepping back to the frustration you dealt with earlier (I remember). For
example, there are no gradations of white in the sky (that's my pictures look).
So, if you have your heart set on these small cameras then the newer ones with the bigger sensor is the way to go. I would wait about a year though.
I guess I feel that your photography will not improve with the small camera - it will regress.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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Most professional photographers have a smaller camera of some type in their quiver. Are they replacements for a full sized DSLR's? Up until the
current mirrorless models most would say no.
Thom Hogan one of the Nikon guru's and widely read for his reviews and opinions carries around this arsenal.
Compact: Canon G1x, or Nikon V1 instead of compact
Mirrorless: Olympus E-P3 (primary lenses: 9-18mm, 12mm, 14-42mm, 45mm, 100-300mm)
Nikon DX DSLR: D7000 (primary lenses: Tokina 11-16mm, Sigma 17-50mm, Nikon 70-200mm or 70-300mm)
Nikon FX DSLR: D4 and D800 (primary lenses: 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 200-400mm, 400mm Nikkors)
(SB-700/900 flashes with PocketWizards)
Video: Canon XA10, Sony FS100u, GoPro HD
I use a Leica D-Lux 4 and have posted many images with it. Unless you are enlarging beyond 8x10, and are careful in low light it gives very good
results. These images had minimal post processing.
this was taken indoors iso 400, f/2, 1/25 sec.
iso 400, f 3.2, 1/250 sec.
This is BW right out of the camera,
iso 100, f 2, 1/400 sec.
Everything in photography is a compromise. Like Hogan's inventory above, for instance, arguably the best camera he has is the D4, but it's bulk
makes it a second or third choice depending on what and where he is shooting.
just my 2 cents.
Diana,
My D-Lux 4 is essentially the same camera as the point and shoot I recommended to you (Lumix DMC Lx5).
Here is a good article on what PS cameras 13 professionals use and why.
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2011/11/digital-point-and-shoot...
[Edited on 7-7-2012 by tripledigitken]
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DianaT
Select Nomad
Posts: 10020
Registered: 12-17-2004
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Igor and Ken, I really appreciate the input. Lots of things to consider, but at least if I buy one, it won't be the investment that a full frame
camera would be!
And Neal, before I buy anything, I will read a review of same at dpreview!
Off to read the blog Ken suggested.
When a question like this is asked, it is really quite nice that people take their time to tell their own personal experiences, give their opinion,
nicely disagree with other opinions, and put links to places with more information. 
THANKS
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Thom Hogan one of the Nikon guru's and widely read for his reviews and opinions carries around this arsenal.
Compact: Canon G1x, or Nikon V1 instead of compact
Mirrorless: Olympus E-P3 (primary lenses: 9-18mm, 12mm, 14-42mm, 45mm, 100-300mm)
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Isn't the Canon G1x a mirrorless camera rather than a compact?
Is it because it has a fixed lens that you put it into the compact category.
Canon, as I understand it, has decided to feature the larger sensor that the mirrorless cameras use, but still have the single 4X fixed lens.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
| Quote: | Originally posted by tripledigitken
Thom Hogan one of the Nikon guru's and widely read for his reviews and opinions carries around this arsenal.
Compact: Canon G1x, or Nikon V1 instead of compact
Mirrorless: Olympus E-P3 (primary lenses: 9-18mm, 12mm, 14-42mm, 45mm, 100-300mm)
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....Is it because it has a fixed lens that you put it into the compact category.
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The list of his camera's were copied and pasted off his website, his definitions not mine. My guess it is there because of size.
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