Micro Four Thirds advice, pls

[rover214]

I have a dilemma, I am looking for a new camera and do not fancy a full size D-SLR so, Micro Four Thirds is the option I have in front of me,

I have around £300-£400 to spend on the camera and lens,

I have read numerous reviews of lots of cameras and also handled a few of them but, not taken any shots,

Any suggestions would be appreciated, especially from peeps who have first hand experience

thanks.

[kalniel]

I have a dilemma, I am looking for a new camera and do not fancy a full size D-SLR so, Micro Four Thirds is the option I have in front of me,

I have around £300-£400 to spend on the camera and lens,

Their are two makes of m4/3rds - Panasonic or Olympus. Panasonic cameras all have much faster autofocus, while Olympus lenses are in general better. Olympus cameras have in body stabilisation, Panasonic put it in the lens, so while you can swap lenses between makes (and third party 4/3rds lenses), if you go for a panasonic body and want image stabilisation you'll need panasonic lenses.

For the budget, I'd be tempted by the Oly EPL1 with 14-42 kit lens - £280:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olympus--PL1...079643&sr=1-12

That's a steal at that offer price and the image quality is amazing, and leaves you some budget towards a second lens some point down the line when you know what you need, or a decent tripod/software etc.

I don't have any experience with the EPL1, but I shoot an Oly E620 (full four thirds) system as my main camera.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Sony NEX3 can be had for around £300 with an 18-55MM lens:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/p...EX3KB.CEH.html

The lens gets good reviews and has a magensium alloy barrel. The NEX3 also has a larger APS-C sensor meaning it will be better in low light than the EPL1.

One of my mates has an EPL1. It seems a decent enough camera.

I know the OP doen't want a dSLR but I would seriously consider looking at the Pentax K-x:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/

It has a compact body and can be had for around £350.

Edit!!

It seems that the Pentax K-x is one of the smallest dSLRs ATM:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/page3.asp

[rover214]

Whilst browsing and looking at prices I have found these

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/577...42mm-Lens.html

and

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/578...-MSC-Lens.html

I know the olympus is £50 over my budget but, would I regret buying the E-PL1 over this, I had heard that the E-PL1 has had some new firmware that speeds up the AF somewhat

Thanks for the advice, by the way

[kalniel]

Whilst browsing and looking at prices I have found these

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/577...42mm-Lens.html

and

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/578...-MSC-Lens.html

I know the olympus is £50 over my budget but, would I regret buying the E-PL1 over this, I had heard that the E-PL1 has had some new firmware that speeds up the AF somewhat

Thanks for the advice, by the way

You will regret whatever you buy, about 6 months later something newer and better will come out

The GF2 is a little behind in image quality IMHO (the G3 or GH2 is a significant step up, and while the GF3 is nothing like as good as the G3/GH2, it's got a nice form factor).

The EPL2 isn't much different from the EPL1 in terms of image quality, so I wouldn't pay that price difference for it, but that's just me (image quality is king! )

Some reviews:

E-PL1:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusepl1/

E-PL2:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusepl2/

GF2:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicDMCGF2/

Bear in mind each reviews is written at the time the camera is out, so doesn't take account of competition that's come out since, or firmware updates (though they sometimes update the article).

[rox0r]

You will regret whatever you buy, about 6 months later something newer and better will come out

This.

Any tech' related purchase goes hand in hand with the self doubting statements, "If I'd just waited there's a new model just come out" and "Oh I'm so annoyed it's dropped in price since I bought it last week!"

Set a budget, stick to it and buy the best bang for buck you can get right now.

[Barakka]

There was an interesting feature on Compact System Cameras (the Oly E-P2, Panasonic DMC-GF2, and Sony NEX-5) last month in Turning Pro magazine.

Basically saying that their time is coming as the manufacturers are throwing so much money at them it would be daft to overlook them. As a test the writer took one along on a photo shoot he was doing for Vogue magazine and once he had his pictures in the bag got his GF1 out and took some more. When he submitted the proofs to the client he included images from both his 5D and the GF1, they chose 2 from the 5D and 3 from the GF1. Interesting...

His conclusions on the cameras, he has a GF1 and loves it as a pocket shooter, but the Sony NEX-5 is fast becoming the iconic choice of the breed. Down to it's able sensor, super-fast HD movie focusing, and Sony making the specs of the E-mount system freely available for third-partys to make lenses.

[rover214]

I ended up going for the E-PL1 with the 14-42 and 40-150 lenses

Started taking as many pics as I can and a trip to Warwick castle next week should get me some good shots,

thanks for all the advice

[dbh]

I own the Sony NEX-5 since last year and it's defo a awesome camera. Probably just out of your budget but if you look online you can get it for just over £400. There's also the recently announced NEX-C3 with it's new 16MP sensor which might be worth taking a look at. Sony are doing cashback at the moment on their cameras so might be worth taking a look. Just to note though the NEX range has a limited range of lenses but what it lacks in lenses it makes up for in versatility. You can adapt so many other different camera brand lenses to work with the camera in MF mode through an appropriate adapter. I'm using my dads old minolta and canon fd lenses on mine. Works a dream!

[TooNice]

As a test the writer took one along on a photo shoot he was doing for Vogue magazine and once he had his pictures in the bag got his GF1 out and took some more. When he submitted the proofs to the client he included images from both his 5D and the GF1, they chose 2 from the 5D and 3 from the GF1. Interesting...

I also find this kinda interesting: http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/do...y-by-accident/
According to that article, Panasonic 4/3s give the most attractive results, which may explain why it's so suitable for Vogue xD

I am kinda unsure whether to go with the Panasonic or Sony. What appeals to me about the Sony is that it's on APS-C, and I do quite a bit of low light shooting, and I kinda want to play with the built-in HDR settings.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The 16MP sensor is some of the NEX cameras is very similar to the one found in a couple of higher dSLRs.

AFAIK,it is one of the best APS-C sensors for low light pictures.

However,Olympus and Panasonic have the better range of lenses though IMHO.

[TooNice]

A shame that they are not compatible with their Alpha lenses range out of the box. In the long run, I am not sure if I want to go for the NEX or the Alpha (or Panasonic offerings). If I know that I can get the NEX or Alpha now, then change my mind later and need to swap the body, I would defintely go Sony.