Which 'large UL' or 'lightweight serious' camera

Are you traveling to make photographs or taking photographs while you travel? If you want the highest quality images, weight, bulk and convenience are the compromises.

It all comes down to the standards that are acceptable to you. Years ago, a fellow was looking at my 4×5 camera and said, “I don’t know if I ever wanted to take a photograph that much.” Once you decide that, the rest of the pieces fall in place.

I recently had the same question. I settled on the Olympus Pen EP5. Although I have not had it long enough to give you a full evaluation, so far it is promising.

The one down side is no weatherproofing.

So far it meets my needs of good image quality, smaller package, and lens variety.

It is better than my film SLR or my Nikon AW100 for my current needs.

Dale,

” are you traveling to take photos or taking photos while traveling”

Absolutely true. Sorry, I thought my opening statement made it clear that a lightweight DSLR with super zoom lens was to big and heavy, also I stated exactly what performance I was looking for and what I wanted to give up as a trade-off, including what standards are acceptable to me.

Given that, do you have any suggestions?

Mark,

what is the complete weight and size of your Pen with which lens?

Total weight should be less than 2lbs/900g.

My main priority is speed. I am sometimes a photographer, but most of the time I am a dad, a biker, a skier, a climber, a backpacker who wants to record what I come across.

So speed is number one:

The camera must be small enough to fit in a front pouch for fast access, and start up must be fast. Only one lens allowed, changing lenses takes to long.

Autofocus must be fast, when you spot a wild animal or even harder,a child doing something fun, you have only one chance to get a good shot.

Lens must be fast, especially at longer focal lengths. Most of my shots are handheld, and it’s no use if an image is blurry because of hand shake or because the subject was moving to fast for the shutter speed.

I don’t have asscess to my scale until this weekend, but i will get you a total weight then. I currently only have one lens, a 14-42mm ED.

There is an EZ pancake lens that gets good reviews and would be significantly lighter, but my next lens purchase will be a 12mm.

Sorry I can’t get you a weight today.

Nevermind, should have read your whole post…

Have you considered the Micro Four Thirds format produced by Panasonic and Olympus?

This will meet most if not all of your requirements. Small body size (some are tiny), excellent image quality, image stabilisation, interchangeable lenses. Some are weather sealed.

The only thing I don’t think you will get is a fast 28-200mm in a single lens, but image stabilisation helps a lot. For example Panasonic 14-140mm (28-280mm FF equivalent) is F3.5-5.6. If you want F2.8 then you will need 2 lenses to cover that range.

Note M4/3 focal lengths are half the FF equivalent.

I use a Canon G15 (now G16). That allows me fast access and operation in the field, light weight and small format so it travels in a small pouch on my shoulder strap, and yet I can also use it for indoor technical photography for my articles here. Zoom is 5x with IS. Canon UI is considered the gold standard by many.

Cheers

Upcoming Lumix zs100 might be just the ticket.  1″ sensor, 25-250 zoom, and point and shoot size.  I’m unaware of anything similar.

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Panasonic_Lumix_TZ100_ZS100/

Stuart,

I have considered the micro four thirds camera’s. Since they are system cameras its harder to find the dimensions and reviews with  an appropriate lens and there are so many that it’s hard to find a good overview article, so I was asking if anyone had good suggestions for one that fulfills my requests.

I will look at the Pana ones, thankfully their website allows some search criteria including a viewfinder.

The big question I have is:

Is it better to have a smaller sensor at f2.8 or a larger sensor at f5.6?

“Is it better to have a smaller sensor at f2.8 or a larger sensor at f5.6?”

Found an answer to my own question:

Stylus 1 compared to larger sensor systems

Sorry for the slow response (and just to close the loop). here are the weights of the Olympus PEN E-P5

Body only – 15.2 Oz

Body with 14-42 mm ED Lens – 1 lb. 3.8 oz

Not the lightest camera, but lighter than my SLR and still under 2 lbs. (Of course, there are lighter lenses out there)

Mark, thank you for taking the time to weigh that.

I have accepted a does of reality and am now looking more at a 28-150 mm equivalent zoom lens.

The Panasonic ZS100 looks like an awesome camera, it might be the ticket for me. I do a lot of mountain biking, and have kids, so fast (and tracking) autofocus is a big consideration for me, and one reason I am hesitant to buy an OMD eM5 II.

I do wish it had a bi faster lens though, even though that would mean it was a bit bigger and had a bit shorter lens.

For people interested in the size of the camera, not just the weight, here is a nice tool:

http://camerasize.com/compare/

I am considering that a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera might be a better option since it would allow me to adapt to specific situations.

Take a fast, compact, wide angle, like a 14 mm prime on things like a mtb ride, and take a bigger, longer, but slower zoom lens on trips.

I’m using an OMD EM5 mkII, which I upgraded to from an EM10. I figured it was worth the 1 oz. penalty for the weather sealing and superior viewfinder, among other things.

I’ve shaved weight off my backpacking kit so I can carry this 15.5 ounce body and ~18 oz. worth of lenses. Not the photo. kit to take on a thru hike, but rather when photography is the goal. That said, the EM5 or EM10 (mk I or II) with the 14-42 pancake zoom makes an exceptional photo. kit that weighs 18.9 or 19.9 oz., respectively. You could swap the 14-42 EZ for a small fast prime 17/25/45mm (that’s 34/50/90mm in FF parlance) for not much weight penalty (< 1 oz.).

On a weekend trip last year, I used mostly the tiny Panasonic 35-100 (70-200 equiv.) and loved it. At night, I switched to the Olympus 17mm 1.8. It’s nice to have a small daytime zoom and a fast prime.

If you still prefer a compact all-in-one, the Sony RX100 series (mk IV is the latest, I believe) are a favorite in this category, although I’ve only handled one, not taken it out in the field.

HTH,

Simon

Imho – anything with a lens which sticks out will be clumsy to carry. Sure, it will probably take good photos, but because of the problems with carrying and extracting the camera, you will miss photos.

My Canon G15 rides in a small shoulder pouch thus:

I can get it out in seconds with one hand while I am still walking. It has a decent amount of glass out front and it takes good photos. (These two photos are highly cropped of course.)

Cheers