To sell or not to sell (all my gear)

[graynomad]

Thanks for going to that trouble Homer, I'll suck the 100% version into PS and see how it stacks up.

[Boatman]

SLR Gear has a review here http://slrgear.com/reviews/showprodu...ct/1251/cat/69 as well.

[inkista]

+1 on keeping the Canon gear for the birdies. I still have my 50D and 400/5.6L for that reason. I use the $250 consumer-grade Lumix 45-200 OIS on my G3, and while it's pretty dang remarkable for a $250 lens, it's not a patch on a Canon "great white" and the AF accuracy and speed is still not nearly as reliable as my Canon gear for me and my skill level. My guess is that the Panasonic 100-300 will have similar performance.

However, be aware that there are a few small differences in judging the IQ of mft lenses vs. dSLR lenses. To my mind the 45-200 takes more slagging than it should because a lot of MFT users got there directly from P&S land, not through dSLRs, and are not aware of handholding technique issues, like 1/focal_length. This also gets exacerbated by the larger crop factor, higher pixel density, and that a lot of newbies out there have cameras without EVFs (and are therefore holding their cameras at arm's length to compose on the LCD). I'm finding that WITH OIS turned on, I still need to get to 1/focal_length on the shutter speed. So sometimes, you have to account for added camera shake motion blur.

Where the MFT gear might come in handy, though, is in replacing the second "landscape" setup in the bag that you generally bring with you while waiting around for the birdies to show up. Most of the "killer" glass for MFT are the fast primes, like the 12/2, 25/1.4, 45/1.8 and 75/1.8. These things are best suited for street shooting.

And yes, the weight-shed is just as fun as everybody says. You play with a CSC camera in a way you don't with dSLRs. I think it's a combination of the small size and the P&S-type digital features that make these things more playful. The fun to be had with focusing-by-touchscreen cannot be emphasized.

I would also say, consider renting before buying or buying an older model used as a trial. The theory you get from the reviews can be very different in practice. There's a lot of churn'n'burn in mirrorless cameras as people try things on for size, and then find that stuff wasn't a great fit. MFT bodies tend to depreciate at a pace that astounds me. The GX1 came out 11 months ago to an MSRP of around $700 (body only). Today, you can, with patience, find an Amazon warehouse deal for a used copy of that same body for around $250. Just saying. You don't see that fast a price dip with dSLRs.

One more link. mu-43.com's forums have lens sample image threads. They can be useful in seeing what's out there.

[AB26]

Hi Rob,
To be honest, I think you are fooling around with a ridiculous idea. Looking at GREYnomad’s web pages I would think you should consider upgrading to Hasselblad.
Get yourself a trolley with big fat wheels to cart around your gear. Why not get yourself the Sigma bazooka (1000mm) and use it from your “lounge” and keep producing those wonderful images.

[graynomad]

not a patch on a Canon "great white" and the AF accuracy and speed is still not nearly as reliable as my Canon gear

I think I'm really staring to realise that.

I downloaded some 100% images from the slrgear site linked to above, these are controlled images on tripods so IS is not an issue and they are not sharp. Having now looked closely at Homer's image I have to say that to my eye it is also not sharp, although that's not a fair test due to the shooting location and nature of the subject.

I'm finding that WITH OIS turned on, I still need to get to 1/focal_length on the shutter speed.

Hardly a recommendation , IS is supposed to make that rule redundant by 2-3 stops.

replacing the second "landscape" setup in the bag

That starts to make more sense, especially for those multi-day bushwalks where I have to carry everything.

upgrading to Hasselblad.

Not in this life. I used Blads in the past for work, world's worst camera IMO. I'm sure the new ones are just fine but the price...yikes!

use it from your “lounge”

He he, actually one of my best images was literally taken from my recliner in the lounge room



Of course it helps when you can park your lounge room right next to a dam frequented by all manner of bird life

[inkista]

I think I'm really staring to realise that.

To be fair, it's not just MFT that's missing pro-quality telephoto/supertele fast-action capability. The entire class of mirrorless compacts pretty much does (except possibly the Nikon 1 system, but which has a 1" format sensor so uses a 2.7x crop factor to gain "reach"). And hell, it's not like Sony or Pentax dSLR systems delivered mightily in that arena either. To me, the design aesthetic behind most of the mirrorless cameras, though, is a driving wish for a cheap digital Leica M. And since M shooters never really go much beyond 90mm...

I downloaded some 100% images from the slrgear site linked to above, these are controlled images on tripods so IS is not an issue and they are not sharp.

OTOH, how sharp would you expect a $600 consumer-grade 10x superzoom to be? In equivalence, the MFT 14-140 does the job of a 28-300 lens.

For me, my 45-200 is definitely consumer-grade, but good enough. It certainly rises above the expectation levels I have of an equivalent SLR $250 90-400 IS lens. Sure, it's not Zeiss-contrasty or razor sharp at 100% crop, but for me, it's good enough for the casual use my mft gear is more suited to, and I still have my Canons for dedicated birding.


G3, 45-200 f/4-5.6 OIS. @158mm, iso 800, f/8, 1/320s. handheld.

100% crop:


The size/weight/cost difference, for me, means I'm willing to compromise on image quality with the longer glass. YMMV.

... IS is supposed to make that rule redundant by 2-3 stops. ...

It does behave more like Canikon IS/VR at the shorter focal lengths. I have a friend who shot an EP-1 and now shoots an OM-D who loves to crow about how low he can get the shutter speed when out night shooting with his wide lenses. I, otoh, have a Panasonic and my only wide stabilized lens is the 14-42 kit, so I don't use OIS that often. And with Olympus bodies and IBIS, all lenses are stabilized--even adapted manual focus glass.

I thought that when I got my MFT gear, that it would supplement my Canons as the go-light system. To my surprise, it took over nearly all of my shooting, with only two exceptions: birding, and multiple light off-camera flash. And if I'm just doing one-light OCF, I'll still use the G3.


G3. Panasonic Lumix G 20mm f/1.7. YN-560 off-camera with RF-602 triggers.

If your shooting, however, is primarily birding and nothing but, then maybe a mirrorless isn't the right path for you just yet.

[graynomad]

OTOH, how sharp would you expect a $600 consumer-grade 10x superzoom to be? In equivalence, the MFT 14-140 does the job of a 28-300 lens.

Yeah, back on an early post I mentioned reservations about a 10x zoom.

There has been some developments. I spent the weekend with friends in Brisbane, I planned to go into a camera shop and handle some MFT gear while I was in the city but as it happened my mate has an OM-D with a few lenses (no long ones though unfortunately) so I got to have a real good chat about it and also to spend time with it.

I really like the OM-D, the IS seemed to work well and the size is fantastic, albeit a little too small and he has the extra grip. The EVF is pretty good and although I found the top dial a bit awkwardly placed overall the UI is good. He has 24" sq prints from the Oly and the quality is very good, but this is with the 75/1.8 which is not a long lens.

It hunted a bit when focussing static subjects (dark admittedly) so I doubt it will be up to the job with fast movers, that and the reported (and observed) softness with long lenses means that for me MFT is not quite ready.

My mate loves the camera and system but still has a full Nikon kit for his pro/serious work, the Oly is for travelling and general walk around. I can't afford both so for the time being I'm staying with Canon and in fact have just bought another 1D Mk2 N to make my kit 1.5kgs heavier

Thanks to everyone for your input.

[xpatUSA]

. . . I'm staying with Canon and in fact have just bought another 1D Mk2 N to make my kit 1.5kgs heavier . . .

Perhaps an all-terrain shopping cart?

At least you've made the decision. Well done.

[graynomad]

Perhaps an all-terrain shopping cart?

Or a gym membership.

Yes for the moment the decision is made, one thing that tipped the balance was that I'd like to go back to Kenya and my current kit is about as good as it gets for that sort of trip.

I think it's a given that I'll be returning to this though

[AB26]

Hi Rob,

Glad to see you dropped the idea of selling your gear. All of us will eventually be caught by developing tecnology and will be forced to change gear. How long has it not taken to get DSLR gear to what it is today? I think there are still people out there who use film gear.
Give us a couple of good ones coming from the 1D Mk2.

An extra 1.5Kg's, have you considered an off road trolley? In Aus. they should build off road golf carts, how about using one of them.

[graynomad]

Yeah I'll stay with Canon for the time being, kind of hard to change when you have so much gear. If that's my only problem I've got no problems.

It will happen though, maybe in a couple of years.

have you considered an off road trolley?

Actually I reckon a llama or alpaca is the way to go, but I can't fit one in the truck.

[inkista]

Just one more footnote to say there is hope. Fuji just announced the X100S, a successor to the APS-C sensored fixed-lens X100. It has one big addition: on-sensor phase detection AF. The Wired short review was titled "The X100S is faster than your toddler."

The camera will focus in 0.08 seconds and shoot six frames per second in 14bit-RAW format. It’s a quick camera in a tiny package.

And petapixel has a video of the AF in action at CES.

So, not at Canon 1-series level, but creeping up to the entry and prosumer dSLR fast-action capability level. The new Sony sensor tech we first saw on the NEX-5R and A99 allows for phase-detection AF with mirrorless cameras. A lot of folks anticipate that the OM-D's successor may have this in it. Things move fast in the mirrorless world. It may not be THAT long of a wait for a decent birding setup in mirrorless land.

[graynomad]

It may not be THAT long of a wait for a decent birding setup in mirrorless land.

Yes the developments seems to occur on a daily basis.

Sometimes I long for my 5x4 days with a camera technology that hadn't changed in a hundred years. You purchased a kit once and used it for decades, rather than this mad rush for the latest/biggest/fastest.

Did Ansel Adams spend his evenings longing for the next 300/5.6 Distagon? Actually he was all for the latest technology so he probably did