What camera do I buy? / general gear talk

Have an EM10 i, and do value it for its size and handling. But hard to recommend a camera with contrast detect autofocus in this day and age. Focus speed on my EM1 ii is lightning quick by comparison.

e-group.uk.net is usually cheaper than MPB/ebay

The G7 was a decent camera, image quality upgrade to a E-M10 mk 2 isn't going to be any improvement, they are essentially the same generation of camera, with probably the same 16mp sensor.
E-M10 mk2 does have in body stabilisation, but so would the Panasonic kit lens.

Olympus jpeg colours might be a bit nicer, I much prefer Panasonic ergonomics and menus.

I like the rangefinder form factor, so you might enjoy the GX80 or GX9, get a cheap but excellent Panasonic 25mm 1.7 lens (50mm equiv), a cheap and excellent Olympus 45mm f1.8 (90mm equiv).

I'd suggest a GX80 as a change of form factor with built in stabilisation, with a 25mm 1.7 lens. Pretty compact setup which will hopefully have you taking more photos.

G80 with 12-60mm comes in at around £400, and gives you all round weather sealing, very useful zoom range, and improvements in all areas compared to the G7.

Fair point, though Pansonic's DFD contrast detect is rapid with Panasonic lenses. Not as good in continuous autofocus and does focus breathe in video though.

Its one of the reasons why I think older Panasonic camera bodies have aged better and in many cases have held their value better. My GM1 from 2013 still feels very snappy with operation and autofocus. My 2015 G80 is a bit quicker, and feels rapid in operation.

I want to hire a couple of Fuji lenses next week, Wex only have stores in Whitechapel and Vauxhall. Can anyone recommend somewhere central please?
Edit: or do people normally get this stuff posted?

I've used Lenspimp in the past and the service was very good, equipment arrived when it should and the return process was straightforward. Didn't have to pay a deposit either which was handy although this was a few years ago so may have changed now.

House of Fuji in Covent Garden have a loan service, though it's billed as 'try before you buy', they might help you out. Haven't used personally.

I want to hire a couple of Fuji lenses next week, Wex only have stores in Whitechapel and Vauxhall. Can anyone recommend somewhere central please?

Edit: or do people normally get this stuff posted

Free from fujifilm for 48 hours..
https://fujifilm-x.com/en-gb/news/2020/1005_30678/

https://www.fujifilm-loan.com/en-gb

Thanks all, especially @spinnnout ! All booked for next week.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/384521/#comment16896181

Hey Jimi, would sell this GX80 camera body for £170

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DP Review is shutting down https://www.dpreview.com/news/5901145460/dpreview-com-to-close

That's a shame, it's a good resource.

Yeah their camera comparison tool is really useful. Also, their forum is full of really useful information. Hopefully it gets archived.

Did not know they were owned by Amazon. Sad way to go.

Is it a sign of dwindling interest in digital cameras? I thought it was a good site which you could trust not to be just puffing for brands that placed ads on it like a lot of places.

That’s shite.

Anyone who regularly buys from amazon can count themselves partly responsible for the ongoing erosion of choice in products and information. I was a member for about a year maybe a decade ago until I could no longer stomach their dominance.

RIP DPReview.

Sign of Amazon wanting to create more profits by hard reducing all costs. They've never ever shut down things people were using, and very recently they've been doing so.

DP review was likely still very profitable in terms of revenue from cameras sold via Amazon because of DPR, but yet Amazon are betting that they would've sold the majority of those anyway and so why pay any of the headcount costs of DPR.

It's market dominance that leads to that hubris

what a dick move!

you mean the @reply?

smiley face

what a dick move!

Yeah, but as others say if you shop at Amazon you contribute to it.

Oh, did you mean the @reply ?

I hate amazon mainly because its a shit product discovery platform with extremely diluted reviews.

Wex mainly.

Wex mainly

For reviews?!

I prefer https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm https://dustinabbott.net/category/photography-reviews/ and sites like that where individuals are hustling to create great content that is opinionated (they admit their usage isn't for everyone but if your usage is similar to theirs then the reviews are more applicable to you).

nah to buy! I also read DP Review for reviews.

Ken is legendary

Well also a good reviewer is consistent, so even if your usage is different you’ll read their reviews and know what they are saying how it will translate to you. Ken Rockwell is great.

Still a shame about DPR. I bloody hope someone keeps up their image quality and iso compare tests, that’s been bloody handy over the years.

amey's go-to for reviews.

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