Lightweight Camera

paulocon2

Hi All,

Having walked the Mourne Wall previously, I'm hoping to give it a lash again soon to try and beat my time.

Last time out I carried a DSLR and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions re. a lightweight camera I could take that would produce half-decent images?

Thanks,
Paul

Judge

paulocon2 wrote: »

Hi All,

Having walked the Mourne Wall previously, I'm hoping to give it a lash again soon to try and beat my time.

Last time out I carried a DSLR and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions re. a lightweight camera I could take that would produce half-decent images?

Thanks,
Paul

As someone in the same position as you, i.e. fed up with lugging a bulky DSLR around, I'd take a look at the various mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras that are on the market now. The main advantage they share with SLR cameras is that you can use a range of different lenses for each situation you are in. They also have relatively large sensors compared with compact point & shoot cameras (although not as large as those on DX and FX SLRs), which means good image quality and good low light/high ISO performance. The one exception is the Sony NEX range, which uses DX sensors, which means that even though they have shrunk the camera body by dispensing with the mirror box, the lenses are roughly DSLR sized.

A good place to look at the various ranges on offer is Thom Hogan's sansMirror site.

In particular I'd look at the models that adhere to the micro four-thirds standard, which is used by Olympus and Panasonic. With two manufacturers in the market, there is quite an impressive range of lenses already on the market and more on the way with third-party manufacturers such as Sigma also looking at making micro 4/3rds lenses.

I bought an Olympus EPL1 a while back as they were being sold off very cheap at the time. It's a very basic entry level model which means controls are very limited compared with my Nikon D90 but it is much, much smaller and more portable. I initially wasn't impressed with the results from the camera using the standard 14-42mm (35mm equivalent: 28-84mm) kit lens but sprang for a Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 (35mm equivalent: 40mm), which made a huge difference and is very tiny; I can slip the camera easily into my jacket pocket. This image is shot with the EPL1 and the Panny 20mm (developed in Lightroom 4):



I currently have my name down on the waiting list for a silver Olympus OM-D with 12-50mm lens, which has garnered very favorable reviews, and, over time and finances permitting, am planning to supplement with the Olympus 9-18mm for wide-angle and the Panasonic 100-300mm (35mm equivalent: an astonishing 200-600mm) for wildlife. I reckon the whole lot should fit in small camera bag, which should make a huge difference when out hiking.

Dazzling D

Have a NEX-5 as I wanted a regular DSLR sized sensor rather than the Micro Four Thirds sensor that Panasonic and Olympus do or the smaller CX sensor that Nikon use. Very happy with it .