I have been shooting with a P&S Sony HX9V and have been pleased with the results. It's durable, fast and the extra zoom really makes for some great shots. That being said, I'd love to have a Canon G series camera (G16 = drool).

Matt

ZZZ said
Plus, for a time, those old lenses, some of which were VERY good glass, could be had cheap.

There are indeed certain "jewels" out there and I have used older lenses with a converter on my Micro Four thirds cameras.
Canon FD 135mm F2

For legacy FD series Canon there are two which I like a lot, the old FD135mm F2, shown above, and a very particular Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4 (early version made by Komine, later versions made by Cosina).Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm F 2.8
Here is the detailed history of that particular lens;http://www.robertstech.com/vivitar.htm. Also a discussion here: http://photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00YyPk

If buying, be sure to hold out and buy the superior version 3 only.. The above referenced article notes:

Exercise caution if you consider buying one of these lenses without seeing it: Some sellers would like you to confuse the Cosina (62mm filter) v4 with the much-sought-after version 3 made by Komine.

Incidentally, the newer Canon L series 135mm F2 is I think the best lens I have ever owned. I used it for shooting in available light for Concerts and portraiture to get that right perspective and Bokeh. One can get Canon EOS series to Micro Fout Thirds mount converters. Be aware that they come in dumb and smart versions. The former do not relay all the exposure data/settings between camera and lens and may require some manual intervention. Here is a quick link that gives an overview of "bokeh" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh


Finally, I have dumped every last Canon Digital DSLR body except for a lone Canon 50D which I have to have for my work. I do however have bags of L series glass, all Full Format lenses. I have been shooting so long that I am a creature of habit, and I can not wean myself off of an optical viewfinder. I also have been favoring somewhat fast primes, such as the Canon 85mm F1.8, and the 135mm F2, I also love love love my Canon 100mm F 2.8 Macro. In the final analysis, you choose what's right for you and your budget.

For now, I keep holding out for a Full Frame Canon DSLR that will offer semi decent Video, which the Canon 5D Mark III IMHO still does not. Panasonic seems to be blazing away in this arena with their GH4 camera. It leaves the 5D gasping for air.

Also, ZZZ, thanks for approving that Photography & Videography Group !!

Denali wrote: I am a creature of habit, and I can not wean myself off of an optical viewfinder.

Many modern bodies have what's called "focus peaking" where they overlay high contrast outlines on the features that are in focus. For shooting video and pulling focus in realtime, this is a MUST HAVE, and it's only available with a LCD viewfinder AFAIK. But that's videography...

For me, if it's gonna be a Grab & Go camera, it's gotta be small, it's gotta be tough, and it's gotta take great pictures. This camera fits my needs perfectly:



Nice zoom, waterproof, dust proof, shock proof. What's not to love?

@ ScottNT

That is one SWEET camera !. I almost bought that for my mother, but she can't handle the buttons. By the way, the in-camera Olympus logarithms for their JPGS are simply outstanding. Turn the noise reduction off for best results. I usually shoot RAW plus JPG, but the Olympus jpg outputs are usually so so so spot on... I just use them instead of spending hours in post. Maybe a little sharpening, and that is it. Done.

Of course color and saturation can be a very personal thing. It's like a lady slightly highlighting her hair in a subtle way vs going for that blow torch blonde look. I used to date a girl many years ago whose idea of applying make up was to use the Sherwin-Williams cover the earth technique. . She liked it; I'm afraid I was a tad less enthusiastic.

Note the skin colors and tones of that camera even when you are shooting in the iAUTO mode or whatever they call it They are usually just about perfect. I sold all my Olympus stuff except for the EP2 and VF2 finder. To not have at least one Olympus camera would be, IMHO, photographic sacrilege.

Do you guys know how much money you have cost me over the years?!

Hey all, so 2 cents from a new user from the other side of the world. I went through the same exercise a few years ago. I already had a Canon DSLR, but some times this was just to big to carry around and took up to much space on trips where things were tight. Also when just heading out for a brief jaunt I don't always want to take it along. I decided to get a smaller point and shoot for those times when the SLR just wasn't suitable. As I already had made quite a large investment in camera equipment I didn't feel spending the extra cash on a mirrorless or high end point and shoot like one of the Canon G series was justified. So after much internet drifting, review reading and chatting to folks in the know I bought myself a Canon Powershot SX240HS off eBay. This is a so called "travel camera" with a variety of features which includes the ability to choose manual modes such as aperture priority and shutter priority. The greatest thing about this little camera is the 20X optical zoom. In photographic speak this is the same as having a 25-500mm lens in your pocket. The camera, spare battery and spare memory card take up less space and weigh less than many of my lenses on their own. As for the image and video quality, I have been very happy with both. When shooting in low light one needs to be a bit careful with the settings to prevent grainy images but on the whole very good for a $200.0 camera. The current Canon equivalent is the SX710HS, all the major camera manufactures have at least one camera in this category, combined with a small Pelican Case or similar this makes a great go anywhere anytime camera. Here are some pictures we took with it on a trip to Mkambati which is on the South African Wild Coast last year.

Nice shots. I'm sorry though, that yellow light is cheating

Great shots. And great looking location!

I just bought a G7X after a G12 and am loving the smaller size. I think the G series cameras rock.

Luck of being in Africa, with the dust often our evenings are a most photogenic soft yellow

Alex wrote:...Anyway that’s my camera story. Here are some shots taken with the Fujifilm X-E2 (some may have been posted before):

I really like this photo, Alex!

So instead of doing all kinds of camera research on my own, I decided to just copy your choice of camera and bought a slightly used X-E2 with the "kit" XF 18-55mm F2.4-4 R LM IOS lens. I'm a complete newbie as far a photography goes so still learning all the lingo and how to take a good picture.

I wanted to ask you, though, what lens do you use when flying??

I don't wanna hijack this thread with photography 101 stuff, but wanted to know what the pro uses

In keeping with the direction of this thread, here are a few I've taken over the years with just a crappy P&S Sony cyber shot something or other. I'm sure with a little more experience and some better hardware, these could be way better.

I've got a cheapie point-n-shoot digital camera, don't even recall the brand or model, but would like to be able to take better pics. A quick check on a couple of the cameras mentioned here and it looks like the Canon SX240 is the most economical-- about $255 for a brand new one on ebay. Maybe the least capable, but even so I'm sure it is more capable than me and has more features than I'll be able to use (or even figure out, Luddite that I am). Might have to get me one.

I decided to just copy your choice of camera and bought a slightly used X-E2 with the "kit" XF 18-55mm F2.4-4 R LM IOS lens.

Good to hear it. I am happy with the results I get from the Fujifilm X-E2. And I think picking up a slightly used one is a good way to go. I got 2 used lenses when I bought mine.

I wanted to ask you, though, what lens do you use when flying??

I usually use the prime (not a zoom) Fuji XF 35mm f1.4 R. That is the lens I have on the camera when I take off. However, it depends what you are trying to get with your photos. I like that lens because it is generally easy to shoot without getting any of my struts, wing, wheel, or prop arc in the shot. I am usually after a landscape type photo when I use that lens. Here are some examples:





That being said, those kinds of shots do not always convey the feeling of flight. My goal is sharing the feeling of flight. Therefore, having some of the plane in the shot can add context to the photo. So, sometimes, I switch in flight and put on the wider angle XF14mmF2.8 R. Again this is a prime (non zoom ) lens. This allows me to get these kinds of shots:





Having a zoom lens would be much easier to handle in the plane. I would not have to switch between lenses while flying. And, although I do not have any experience with Fiji zoom lenses, I hear they are very good quality. They would surely be more convenient. It is the convenience that I think most people are after. But it is the prime lenses that came before there were any zooms. (I am speaking only about the Fuji X line here.) So I believe people will switch over and put their primes up for sale on the used market. I haven't looked lately but I have a hunch there are some decent deals out there for the primes.

I don't wanna hijack this thread with photography 101 stuff, but wanted to know what the pro uses

FYI, I am no "pro". I have never made one penny from any of my photography - much to my wife's consternation. However, I strive to improve so possibly, one day, that might be a possibility.

Remember, I was after the Fuji X-E2 because if it's size. I fly a Husky and found the full size DSLR too difficult to handle. I believe The X-E2 produces excellent quality in a generally smaller package. There are many other quality cameras out there but generally, they tend to be bigger. However, as the mirrorless segment of the market grows, there will probably be more and more high quality, smallish cameras to choose from.

Bart: I sent you a friend request. Feel free to send any specific questions my way.

Turns out my little cheapie is an Olympus FE-280. One of my gripes about it is that it is hard to get ahold of, esp one-handed when flying with the other. I googled up the Canon SX240, looks like it might be a bit hard to hang onto also. A friend of mine has a Canon SX170, which he showed off to me yesterday. Not really a pocket model, so maybe not quite as easy to always have with you, but the shape makes for an easy one-handed hold. He's taken some really nice photos with it so I'm thinking it might be the one for me. Googled it up, looks like a new one off ebay is about $150, but the Canon website indicates it doesn't come with a data cord for downloading. I have a Dynex DX-CR312 "all in one card reader"- will this work for downloading pics off the SX170? "All in one" is kinda like "one size fits all" which as everyone knows is one of the three biggest lies in the world. (the other two involve mail and oral sex).

Do the converters for the 35mm lenses change the focal length (aside from the normal magnification inherent to the sensor size) or anything else on the micro 4/3 bodies?

I have most of the best manual focus lenses Nikon ever made. 15mm flat field, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.4, 105mm f1.8, 105mm f2.8 macro, 180mm f2.8 ED, plus the highest end zooms they made at the time. I could throw a box of slides on the light table (go to wikipedia for reference) and without a loop instantly pick out every image taken with the 105mm f1.8 or the 180mm f2.8. They were that much sharper than any other glass being made at the time. I mentioned that in an article I did for Nikon World a couple decades ago and they quietly edited it out without telling me. I thought that was sort of funny.

I'd LOVE to use these lenses again but don't want to lug R2D2 around to do so. I'm tempted by the Df, but it's still a damn big camera body, and $3,000.

I'm amazed Nikon hasn't come out with a full frame digital body the size of the FM2. I'd buy one. I'd also buy the fujifilm X100T if it came with a 21mm lens instead of a 35mm lens. Oh right...Leica already makes that...for $13,032.00

I've lost two Lumix cameras to moisture this year, both due to being caught in heavy rain...ugh. I've got the Olympus TG3 which I cary kayaking, but the image quality is really marginal compared to the Lumix. The Lumix 100 looks great and is half the price of a comparable micro 4/3 system, but not at all moisture proof and significantly larger than the previous models.

One thing that really limits the cameras I'll consider is I want a minimum of 24mm equivalency at the low end, 20mm would be better, and most point n shoot cameras stop at 28mm. Seems like a small difference but I've never liked 28mm, or 35mm for that matter.

Hammer, they just crop the field of view. That's kind of a semantic answer but the bottom line is you end up with reduced field of view similar to slinger focal length lens unless the adapter itself is special and provides some optical conversion. Most of the time they are just couplers for the mounts and keep the lens at a specified standoff distance.

Still, it's worth it if you have good glass on hand, they just become "longer" lenses.

This 16mm T2.2 would normally be pretty wide on a 35mm sensor but coupled to this Black Magic with a m4/3 it's probably more like 32mm.


Though suited to video cameras, this is a good tool for estimate: http://www.abelcine.com/fov/

Been doing some googling and I think I'm gonna buy a Canon SX400. Kind of a newer version of my friend's SX170 which has been discontinued. Best Buy has them online, bundled with a case, 32 GB memory card, card-reader, tripod, hand-strap, & some misc doodads for $170. Not much of a camera compared to Zane's howitzer but I think it'll suit my needs.

hotrod180 wrote:Not much of a camera compared to Zane's howitzer but I think it'll suit my needs.

Ha! Hey don't think that I drag this beast along when I'm just out for a solo jaunt. This is for filming the grand cinematic productions of BCP! Like I said, I prefer little point and shoots like the LX.

Just picked up a Sony 7r to replace the $300 Lumix I waterlogged. That's what happens when the camera store is next door to a bar...

Good news is I can use my classic Nikkor glass with it, which is super-neat. Bad news is it was a little more than the Lumix.

Anyone wanna buy some tie-downs? Suddenly I'm a bit strapped...