[elen88]

That's great thanks a mil for that!

[cnocbui]

Originally Posted by elen88

I'm new to photography and I'm finding it very hard to pick a DSLR. Pictures in my previews camera looked crystal clear in preview but when I saw them in the computer, they were pixelated and a little distorted (mainly indoors pictures), I want to avoid this. I'm looking to buy a DSLR for travelling/lanscapes, low light images, shoots of people and good macro photography of objects and animals. I'm thinking that I may need two. One that is quite compact for traveling like the Canon G15 and perhaps something like the Nikon 3100 or the Canon CANON EOS 60D. Has anyone got any reccomendations for me? Thanks!

What camera are you having the problem with? If images look pixelated, at normal magnification, then possibly you have the camera mis-set to only record very low resolution images, instead of the maximum resolution possible.

You won't need two cameras. You could get a micro Four thirds camera that will give you DSLR performance in a small size.

[elen88]

I was having problems with the Samsung Nx11, unfortunately it is now broken and I'm looking for a replacement with better image quality. Is there any micro four thirds that you suggest in particular? Thanks!

[cnocbui]

As a capable alternative to, say, a D7100, the Olympus OM-D EM-5 - I have one, so a bit of bias applies.

Size comparison between the two: http://camerasize.com/compare/#289,440 Use the controls at the left to view the bodies from above and side-on to get the full impression.

Slightly more compact, but without the viewfinder and fabulous image stabilisation capabilities of the EM-5, but with the same sensor and image quality, the Olympus Pen E-PL5 or Pen E-PM2. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 would be worth a look too.

The lenses for M4/3 cameras are fully interchangeable, so you can use a Panasonic lens on an Olympus body, and vise-versa. Olympus have image stabilisation built into their bodies while Panasonic build the IS into some of their lenses. You get IS no matter what lens you put on an Olympus body, but you only get IS with Panasonic if you use an IS Panasonic lens.

You can use a huge number of older and current manual lenses from a multitude of manufacturers on M4/3 bodies by using a cheap and simple adapter, but you don't get autofocus and the aperture has to be set manually.

Olympus is about to release a new camera - the Pen E-P5 - that looks rather nice and should be very capable:



All the Olympus Pen style bodies can be fitted with an optional viewfinder, but they aren't very pretty and it drives the cost up to EM-5 levels.

[elen88]

It looks great, I will try them out and see which feels better. Thanks!

[cnocbui]

The E-P5 won't be released and officially announced until the 10th, so it might be a while before it is in stores.

[Mike.Za]

While I understand that everyone has their biases(I'm a Nikon man)

Check this

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d7000.htm

Note what he says about the comparison against a Leica M9(close on $7k)

For investment in Lenses Nikon never change the mount(Your glass will never age) Hence I stay away from Canon, Panasonic and Olympus.

Also the Four Thirds Systems has a severely cropped sensors(worse image quality) Dunno anything about the new Olympus mentioned. But general rule of thumb if you want Good DSLR quality then buy a Good DSLR(See here).

It was between the Fuji X100 and the D7000 when I bought and I have no regrets.

[cnocbui]

Originally Posted by Mike.Za

Also the Four Thirds Systems has a severely cropped sensors(worse image quality) Dunno anything about the new Olympus mentioned. But general rule of thumb if you want Good DSLR quality then buy a Good DSLR(See here).

If you care to check the Dpreview studio shot comparison tool, you would find that your statements are perhaps a bit out of touch with reality.

[Mike.Za]

Half the price for a better camera?

http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon_D7000-vs-Olympus-E-M5

In Effect what you just said is like saying APS-C has the same image quality as Full Frame. Not true. While impressive performance for a Four Thirds(I really am impressed) You will get better picture quality from a good DSLR every time.

For half the price as well it would appear!

[cnocbui]

That's not what Dpreview concluded.

The E-M5 can't completely overcome the light capture disadvantage brought by its smaller sensor, compared to APS-C, but it reduces it to the point that it's irrelevant for almost all practical purposes. At which point we think its size advantage, in terms of both body and lenses, will outweigh that difference for most uses. If you're absolutely unwilling to compromise on image quality then spending twice the money and moving up to the bulk of full-frame is the only way of gaining a significant step up from the E-M5.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusem5/22

I'll leave it at that and not say any more on the topic.

[elen88]

Originally Posted by cnocbui

As a capable alternative to, say, a D7100, the Olympus OM-D EM-5 - I have one, so a bit of bias applies.

Size comparison between the two: http://camerasize.com/compare/#289,440 Use the controls at the left to view the bodies from above and side-on to get the full impression.

Slightly more compact, but without the viewfinder and fabulous image stabilisation capabilities of the EM-5, but with the same sensor and image quality, the Olympus Pen E-PL5 or Pen E-PM2. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6 would be worth a look too.

The lenses for M4/3 cameras are fully interchangeable, so you can use a Panasonic lens on an Olympus body, and vise-versa. Olympus have image stabilisation built into their bodies while Panasonic build the IS into some of their lenses. You get IS no matter what lens you put on an Olympus body, but you only get IS with Panasonic if you use an IS Panasonic lens.

You can use a huge number of older and current manual lenses from a multitude of manufacturers on M4/3 bodies by using a cheap and simple adapter, but you don't get autofocus and the aperture has to be set manually.

Olympus is about to release a new camera - the Pen E-P5 - that looks rather nice and should be very capable:



All the Olympus Pen style bodies can be fitted with an optional viewfinder, but they aren't very pretty and it drives the cost up to EM-5 levels.

Can I ask how does the EM-5 do at night in low light? Thanks!

[cnocbui]

Originally Posted by elen88

Can I ask how does the EM-5 do at night in low light? Thanks!

I am not very good at night photography so don't do it often and am not an expert, but I did have an opportunity at new-year and I was very pleased with the results.

While the sensor is smaller than APS-C and full-frame, as has been pointed out, the slight noise disadvantage at very high ISOs is compensated for by the voodoo-like image stabilisation. If you have a look at this post, you will see a couple of night-time shots taken at new-year. The first of them was at ISO 200 with an exposure time of 1.3 seconds - hand-held - a near impossibility for any APS-C based DSLR without using a tripod. The focal length was 12mm so the conventional wisdom that 1 divided by the focal length is the longest exposure you can reasonably expect to manage a hand held shot means you normally wouldn't get a blur-free shot with any exposure longer than 1/12 of a second. That shot was more than 10 times as long an exposure. It wasn't a fluke either, I had less than 1 in 10 night time shots blurred.

All this means that you can use a lower ISO than you could with an APS-C camera for shots that are hand-held. Lower ISO means less-noise in dark areas.

I came across this video shot in low light with an EM-5 that I think is impressive:

[Armaghmagic]

Has anybody any opinion on the Sony RX100? Was thinking of getting one, or is there something better for the money?