A smaller walk-around camera kit
Monday, September 10th, 2012
Flickr member Steve J Makin has posted an interesting shot of his current city walk-around camera kit and this is the kind of kit that interests me.
This is not an inexpensive kit but it’s a lot smaller than its DSLR equivalent.
Fujifilm X-Pro 1 Digital Camera $1699.95
Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4 XF R Lens (on camera): $599.95
Fujifilm 18mm f/2.0 XF R Lens $599.95
Fujifilm 60mm f/2.4 XF Macro Lens $649.95
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Digital Camera $648
Total Fuji/Sony kit: $4197.80
There are other pieces to Steve’s kit but they’d be part of any kit.
No doubt some reading this will balk at the combined total cost of this kit but in fact, if one looks at this kit as a high end DSLR replacement kit that cost (with all the lenses) is about right. Here’s an example kit of Canon gear that might parallel Steve’s kit (keeping the Sony point and shoot
Canon EOS 7D SLR Digital Camera $1499
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM Wide-Angle Autofocus Lens $1329
Canon Super Wide Angle EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Autofocus Lens $489
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens $409
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Digital Camera $648
Total Canon/Sony kit: $4374.00
Granted, I used a very high end Canon 35mm lens in the comparison so let’s substitute a cheaper one to even things out (I don’t know the quality of the Fuji lenses parallel to Canon’s line).
Canon Wide Angle EF 35mm f/2.0 Autofocus Lens $309
Total Canon/Sony kit with cheaper 35mm lens: $3354.00
If you pulled the Sony out and put in a cheaper Canon PowerShot S100 at $363.95 knowing that you’d use the Fuji’s bigger sensor most of the time and why blow an extra $300 on the backup camera the price drops a bit.
This is a fascinating study and while there are pieces of it that are subjective (does one like using the Fuji camera?) assuming that both camera systems make excellent images (they do) and one likes using them (many like each) and assuming that Fuji’s lenses are in the same league as Canon’s (I don’t know this but the reviews are good) we have real choices now. And, the Fuji kit is much smaller and lighter. This really appeals to me.
There is a lot of talk that the Fuji X-Pro 1 is slow to focus but so are some of Canon’s lenses listed above. There is the issue of few lens choices in the newer Fuji ecosystem but how many choices does one need? A few good zooms and a few good primes and a macro and one is set for everything short of birds and sports. The talk is that a firmware update for the Fuji X-Pro 1 will solve some of its AF problems. We shall see.
I have an aging Canon 5D and a few nice lenses left in my collection. Selling that gear could finance much of Steve’s kit above but I’d have to grow fonder of Fuji cameras to want to do this.
I do, however, want a smaller, lighter kit for walking around New York and possibly to take on hikes where spending some time shooting wouldn’t get in the way of hiking and what Steve has posted appeals to me a lot.
I’m sure that you’ve heard about the Fuji X-E1 – smaller, lighter, just as capable, but without the hybrid VF. I’ve tried twice to like Fuji cameras (X100 and XP1) but eventually sold them both. They are cameras that I want to like, but we don’t seem to get along.
Still, lots of interesting things happening in the serious compacts segment! The hot rumor of the moment is a Sony FF 35/2 fixed lens camera. Said to be a statement camera with a statement camera price.
BTW I finally sold my DSLR earlier this year. Hard to do but I’m not looking back. But think carefully before you do it. The 5D is a very good camera. If its used price value does not make you happy just keep it and use it every now and then.
You can also rent pretty much anything from Lensrentals.com and try before you buy. That’s how I tried the Sony NEX cameras (another camera I did not like all that much).
What do I like – since I don’t seem to like a few cameras : ) – the Olympus E-M5 (my all-around camera) and the Ricoh GRD4 and GXR (with the APS units). The GXR system is currently “long in the tooth” and stalled and those of us who like them expect a revamp or perhaps something new sometime in the near future.
Andrew: I think we’re in about the same place on lots of this.
I have heard of the new Fuji coming out but like you, I’m not all that comfortable with Fuji in general so price or compatibility is not the problem, user interface is.
I won’t dump the 5D kit to finance a sea change experiment, you’re right on the money there. I’ll keep it and my lenses as long as it takes to get comfortable in another ecosystem or, I’ll stick with that ecosystem.
Of all the brands other than Canon, I had the best experience with the Ricoh GRD4 and I might have been shortsighted in returning it to B&H because I missed the 24mm wide of the S100. I like prime lenses and tend to use my S100 at 24mm without zooming much. So, a fixed 28mm would be fine. That camera has real appeal to me and it makes excellent images.
I use lens rentals.com a lot, maybe too much in that I might as well buy stuff for all the money I spend renting. But, I find it a better way to experiment, both with lenses for my 5D and with other cameras. Good advice there.
Both you and Wouter Brandsma (and many others) seem to have a thing Ricoh and that has a big effect on my thinking (what’s an APS unit?).
Oh, and I saw the post(s) on the new Sony with prime lens for $3K or something like that. Interesting.
What’s your thinking about the Sony RX100?
Thanks for the excellent comment and ideas Andrew, always good to hear from you.
Richard, I took a big bet on the GRD2 a few years and never looked back. Love those cameras! Probably my most used cameras too (and I use the macro capability a lot).
I tried the RX100 and returned it. Too small for my hands and at the time RAW support was minimal. RAW Developer supported it but does not offer lens correction (and manual lens correction is a challenge). Lightroom now supports it but forces lens correction (meaning, you have no control over how it’s handled). Not a bad camera, just not the right one for me. I figure that after its arrival others from other makers will follow. Perhaps the GRD5 will do that. As it stands, I’m pretty much done with tiny cameras.
The GXR “APS unit” is the A12 or A16 “lensor” lens+sensor thingies. They have APS-sized sensors. The GXR is an odd bird and I don’t recommend it for most people. It has not been updated this year and many of us speculate that it is either being refreshed or end of life’ed. I like using Ricoh cameras and the APS units are very good, and I hope that they don’t abandon the format. I’m basically waiting to see what they do before I invest in anything new.
There is a lot of choice these days and oddly enough it has me more interested in waiting for what’s around the corner rather than diving in right now. In the meantime I’ll just enjoy what I have and focus on the pictures.
Andrew: Great advice as always. The Ricoh GRD4 could be upgraded in the next little while so maybe best to sit tight on that.
From what I hear, the Sony is very slow to start up and focus and these are things that are important to me in a small camera. I agree, too small is too small and while I love the S100 I wish Canon made something G12 size with S100 capabilities. The G1X just doesn’t cut it for me: viewfinder useless and no macro capabilities.
I’ll sit on my hands a while longer and see what’s what. I’ll be down in New York at Photo Expo next month, maybe some new stuff will be out by then. Great advice from you as always Andrew.