Light packing, high quality photography?

BradJudy · July 24, 2009

I'm interested in stepping up from my P&S digital to something with a larger sensor and interchangeable lenses (I'm not too concerned with camera speed). The bulk of my photographs are taken while traveling (either abroad or domestically) and I typically travel very light when I go out each day (no backpack or shoulder bag). While I would try to keep the lens count to a minimum while traveling, it would be nice to have a camera with flexibility for things like a good macro lens while I'm around home.

I shoot some film (usually just locally, but sometimes when I travel) and have cameras in a variety of form factors for film (SLR, rangefinder, dual-lens, pinhole).

I've been considering the new Olympus E-P1 as possibly the best compromise for my light-packing and laid-back travel style with stepping up my image quality potential. (I'm waiting for a local shop to get one in stock so I can try it out.)

What are your experiences with traveling light with a non-P&S camera? Any recommendations?

ziggy53 · July 24, 2009

I would say that you are a likely market candidate for a Micro-Four-Thirds camera. The lenses are in pretty short supply so that might be a deterrent and even the cameras are in short supply (like try to find someone with a Olympus E-P1 in stock yet.)

The Four-Thirds cameras are also reasonable in size for travel and so are their lenses if you stay with the consumer grades. The best lenses are a chunk (but worth it IMO).

Mr Eddy · July 24, 2009

I can give you some idea of my experiences travelling with the G1, which has accompanied me on the road for the last six months or so. I use a pretty small bag for it as it's really not pocketable. You might be able to jacket/coat pocket it with the 17mm pancake lens, but other than that, not really. That's pretty much true of the E-P1 too. I have both the kit lenses (so 14-45mm and 45-200mm) with me at the moment.

Unlike you though I use a bag (a RedOxx gator) when wandering around for glasses/mp3/water bottle so the G1 and sometimes extra lens goes in there. I've also shoved it in the front pocket of my laptop bag without any problems. The biggest plus for me (more than the size) is the weight. Much lighter than my previous DSLRs.

Obvioulsy this all assumes you're not going to start accumulating and carrying lenses around. Dedicated m4/3 mount lens selection is pretty limited at the moment (should improve by end of year if rumors are to be believed) but it's worth keeping in mind that you can mount pretty much any legacy lens via adapters and a lot of them work very effectively. Manual focus obviously. So on the macro front I've been looking for a Canon FD macro.

20DNoob · July 24, 2009

The EP-1 looks really interesting. Keep an eye out on the FM B&S board, in the past two weeks five of them have gone up for sale and sold.

Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.

Nikolai · July 24, 2009

Amazon should have PEN in stock - at least I got an email from them with the ad that says they do. Although the image quality is a big mistery for me at this point...

BradJudy · July 24, 2009

Mr Eddy wrote:

I can give you some idea of my experiences travelling with the G1...

....So on the macro front I've been looking for a Canon FD macro.

Thanks for the thoughts - the G1 is another option (a features/size/cost comparison to the E-P1) and I'm keeping it under consideration.

My film SLRs are Canon FD mount (AT-1 and AE-1) and I already own an FD mount 90mm macro lens, although that converts to a somewhat crazy 180mm macro on a m4/3.

BradJudy · July 24, 2009

Nikolai wrote:

Amazon should have PEN in stock - at least I got an email from them with the ad that says they do. Although the image quality is a big mistery for me at this point...

Amazon does have it in stock. I want to see it in-person before making a purchase and there isn't really any E-P1 discounting going on, so I might as well buy from a local shop.

Nikolai · July 24, 2009

BradJudy wrote:

Amazon does have it in stock. I want to see it in-person before making a purchase and there isn't really any E-P1 discounting going on, so I might as well buy from a local shop.

Heh... buy it, try it and return it if you don't like it... Amazon is pretty good about it.

BradJudy · July 24, 2009

ziggy53 wrote:

The Four-Thirds cameras are also reasonable in size for travel and so are their lenses if you stay with the consumer grades. The best lenses are a chunk (but worth it IMO).

It may sound silly, but AF assist using the flash is a huge pet peeve of mine - enough that there would have to be a lot of other motivating factors for me to buy one of the Oly DSLRs. The Lecia Digilux 3 would be an interesting option...if it cost half as much.

Mr Eddy · July 25, 2009

BradJudy wrote:

Thanks for the thoughts - the G1 is another option (a features/size/cost comparison to the E-P1) and I'm keeping it under consideration.

My film SLRs are Canon FD mount (AT-1 and AE-1) and I already own an FD mount 90mm macro lens, although that converts to a somewhat crazy 180mm macro on a m4/3.

G1 from a size comparison is basically an E-P1 with a hand grip and eye cup/flash 'hump'. From a weight and depth perspective it's pretty close in size. The main differences (style/cool value aside) are EVF, flash, IS (E-P1 in body, G1 not), twistable LCD, video (none in G1, incredible in GH1, okay in E-P1), autofocus speed (G1 much faster) and AF support on 4/3 lenses (E-P1 has much broader support). The G1 is starting to go away now, very soon you'll only be able to buy the GH1.

For the moment it's the 50mm that I'm looking at, which seems a bit more reasonable. Seems to be no problem to find on KEH, but scarce on the ground in Australia. Obviously Oly has the 35mm and 50mm Macro in 4/3 as well.

BradJudy · July 26, 2009

Thanks for the additional thoughts on the G1, Mr Eddy. I checked one out at Fry's yesterday, but it didn't have power and was tethered, so I couldn't do much. I'll see if I can find one in town to check out.

swintonphoto · July 26, 2009

I agree with much of what has been said. you might also look at the E-620 with the 2 lens kit. Very compact package for a very powerful setup. If you have the money I would suggest upgrading the lenses to the 14-54 2.8-3.5 and the 70-300mmm lens.

Light packing, high quality photography?

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