A New Camera For A Friend

Last week, I had a rather extensive discussion with a friend/co-worker/acquaintance about her desire to replace her camera and the plethora (and confusing variety) of choices out there today. We probably talked about it for the better part of half and hour with no clear front-runner. So I told her that I'd think about it and send her an email with some thoughts on the topic. Well: here are the thoughts on that topic!

How is this different than the myriad of articles that I've written about my camera buying travails? Well.... it's not for me, and as far as I can tell, she's not saddled with the baggage I lug around. Let's break this down then. The potential user is a young, bright and educated woman with some skills and experience with photography having already owned a early Sony DSLR (I can only assume that it was an A100 or 200) which she's already given up to a family member. So no baggage to speak of there, although there's some possibility that she might come into some "old" Nikon film equipment at some point down the road. This is duly noted but not an overriding issue such as my desire to acquire and use old glass. She's an educator, who has the ability, where-with-all and desire to travel extensively. In light of this, she's already done a little investigation into the Nikon One cameras.  So EVIL (Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens) cameras are definitely "in the mix". 

Let's start here. I'd say that she's looking for something that will fit her during her travels and not the other way around. Therefore, compact is going to be a major attribute that will be desired. This keeps all the EVIL types, ranging from micro-4/3rds, and smaller like the Nikon One on up to the APC-C type sensors. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath-water here! We'll still keep the lower (smaller) end of the Digital SLR cameras as well. These are often not much bigger than the better EVILs. Let's get down to specifics then.

The general type of "mirrorless" cameras as pioneered by Olympus with Micro 4/3rds have been wildly successful and unless I'm missing my guess, it will supplant  SLR as the most common type of advanced cameras some time in the next couple of decades. They take images of a technical quality virtually indistinguishable from DSLRs given equal conditions and they are generally smaller and lighter. They not only have the ability to interchange lenses, but can universally be adapted to SLR lenses due to requiring less "back-spacing". Of course you lose all automation when using said adapters, but hey, there is always "manual"! My main objection to them is that they are generally NOT equipped with an optical viewfinder and therefore often difficult to use outside in bright sunlight. And there is my personal objection to any camera without a viewfinder.... is that they encourage the user to do as you can see depicted above..... that's right, holding the camera away from the body thus introducing more hand-held vibration to the equation! Grrrr! But you say, most have accessory viewfinders that you can purchase and attach to solve that issue! Two problems with that scenario. If I spend several hundred dollars for a camera: A. I expect it to work optimally without having to buy an accessory, and B. attaching one of those things on top makes them just about as bulky as an DSLR!

Ahhh, but what about the Sony Nex 6 and 7? Yup, that's indeed a good solution and with a bigger APS-C sized sensor as well. Therefore, as far as EVIL cameras are concerned, this is the direction I would go. Either the one of the Sony Nex models with a viewfinder or the Fuji equivalent. That's it? EVIL wins?

Yeah..... kinda, not really. In the last year, the "old line" camera companies (eg. Canon, Nikon) showed that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Canon brought out the Rebel SL-1 and as you can see compared to the 6D, it's significantly smaller (even with the bigger lens attached). Plus it as the same sensor as the T4i! 

In the meantime, Nikon brought out it's new entry-level D3300 with the all new collapsing 18-55mm kit lens. That body is almost as small as my D40, bu the lens is quite a bit smaller than anything in it's class. You really have to go into a store and hold the camera to "get it". That's what you go to stores like Best Buy and Fry's for, but for Pete's Sakes, just don't buy it there!

So, at the end of the day; what is my recommendation? I'd go into a brick and mortar store(s) with a short list based on my criteria. Then I'd hold them, play with the controls, play with them some more. Go home without buying anything. Be a "pest" to friends (like me) who have similar cameras and see if you can borrow them for a while. Take pictures. Look at your pictures. Get a sense of which ones had controls and menus that you feel more comfortable with using. Then go to the stores and do it again. The fact is that all these cameras will take better pictures than you can, so that's really not the issue. The issue is to find one that you'll take good pictures with AND that you'll be happy to carry around. Even though I'm not a huge fan of the Nikon One cameras, they'll take WAY better pictures than your phone or tablet that you used because you didn't want to carry your "big" camera.